Chuck
Liddell says the use of wrestling in modern mixed martial arts
by some fighters doesn’t sit well with him.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer has no problem
with wrestling itself. What bothers him is how fighters use it to
stall, rather than inflict damage or progress towards submission
attempts.
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Chuck Liddell takes issue with control-heavy wrestling that
doesn’t pursue a finish
During a recent livestream with N3on, Liddell was asked whether
there’s a current fighter he doesn’t enjoy watching. Rather than
name an active UFC fighter, the former champ singled out a style
that has become increasingly common in MMA.
“I don’t like the guys who try to wrestle and hold,” Liddell
said.
Liddell explained that his issue isn’t with grappling, but with
fighters who use wrestling primarily to control their opponents
without actively pursuing a finish.
“They’re not trying to finish. I’ve got nothing against wrestling.
I like wrestling,” Liddell added. “Good ground and pound?
Great!”
Liddell also placed some responsibility on the fighter stuck in
bottom position, arguing that failing to improve their ability to
escape contributes to the problem.
“But the guys that are just sitting there trying to win by just
holding a guy [I don’t like it],” Liddell said. “It’s the guy on
the bottom’s fault for not getting better at getting up, too,
right? He’s kind of causing some of the problems.”