Jon Jones versus Chuck Lidell is not happening inside the ring, yet the verbal shots between the two and perceived as a possible superfight in the light of the reigning light heavyweight champion's match with top prospect Glover Texeira.
In the days leading to the UFC 172 title, UFC Hall-of-Famer Chuck Liddell was quite vocal about his allegiances.
Since his retirement, "The Iceman" has been a busy man. He not only holds the Vice President for Business Development position at the UFC's mother company, Zuffa LLC, he also helps out his former trainer John Hackleman in mentoring budding fighters.
One of them is Texeira, a native of Sobralia, Minas Gerais in Brazil, who flew to the US to pursue a professional fighting career.
Jone Jones versus Chuck Lidell's series of verbal shots first came from Liddell's end, as he spoke about how his protégé will finish Jones in three rounds. Soon after, he released another bold statement, this time about how things will unfold if he was still in his prime and was given an opportunity to face Jones.
"I think I would have been a horrible matchup for him," Liddell said in an interview with FOX Sports. "I would have walked through his punches and he wouldn't have caught me with anything."
Not to be outdone, Jones fired back with his own set of tirades by challenging the elder Liddell to come out of retirement and fight him. The younger champion aired out his sentiments on FOX Sports' "UFC Tonight".
"I'm not going to sit here and insult Chuck. He's a very, very loved person by the masses, so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut. But I mean, it's like, come on, Chuck, just knock it off. Keep your mouth shut," he said.
The last laugh came from Jones, who after soundly beating Texeira, posted an Instagram photo of Chuck Liddell just moments after the fight.
Like Jon Jones, Chuck Liddell was also one of the most dominating light heavyweight champions in the UFC's history. Now that these two greats are on a warpath and a looming yet still highly unlikely superfight, who will come out as the victor? Place your thoughts on the comments box below!
