Four months after his most recent fight, a loss to Shogun Rua at UFC 97, Chuck Liddell is relaxing and enjoying life. But he's not ready to say he's retired.

In an interview Wednesday with FanHouse, Liddell said that he doesn't know if he'll fight again, and he doesn't know when he'll be ready to retire. Liddell wants to determine the future of his career on his own schedule, and he's only going to decide for sure after he gets back in the gym and tests himself again.

Liddell also talked about connecting with the fans, dealing with a Twitter imposter, and his acting career. The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: Let's start with the question everyone is asking: Will we see you fight again?
Chuck Liddell: I don't know. I don't know what my final decision will be. It's hard for an athlete to quit what he's done his whole life. So I don't know. I'm going to make the right decision for me, and that decision could come in a couple months. But we'll see.

Dana White has made it very clear that he doesn't want you to fight. Do you wish he'd keep that opinion to himself and let you make your own decision?
He's an opinionated guy. That's how he is. He says what's on his mind, and that's why I like him: You always know what he's thinking. So that doesn't bother me.

What kind of time frame are you working on? If you decide to fight again when will that be, or if you decide to call it quits when would you officially retire?
I've always said I'm going to make that decision in the gym, not in the ring. After some time off I'll get back in the gym, throw some punches and take some punches and see how I feel again, and after that I'll make my decision.

You've lost four of your last five. If you do fight again, what do you think you need to work on to start winning again?
Well, some things work and some things don't, and for me, the way I was fighting, I was getting hit too much and taking too much damage. Things were hurting me that didn't used to hurt me. So I think I need to work on my timing and my head movement.

What do you think of Tito Ortiz returning to the UFC?
It is what it is. He's coming back and doing what he wants to do.

You've already beaten him twice. Would you like to beat him a third time?
Well, I always enjoy beating him up, but I don't see that unless he has a few wins. He'd need to have a win or two for that to make sense.

Dana has said he'd like you to be sort of an ambassador for the sport. Is connecting with fans the kind of thing you want to do more of?
Yes, for sure. I love the fans and I love the sport, so anything I can help out with in any way, I'm going to. I'm also doing this Sports Legends Challenge, where there are 25 of us sports legends going to the Bahamas and playing some poker with a bunch of fans.

Another question about connecting with fans: Are you on Twitter?
No, I'm not.

Are you aware that there's a fake Chuck Liddell on Twitter with more than 11,000 followers?
Yeah, I know, and it's ridiculous. People have called me and asked me about my Twitter, and it's not me. I think I'm going to need to take it over or get it taken down or whatever and have an official one so people know if they see something with my name on it, it's coming from me. That's why I got on MySpace, too. There was some guy on there telling people he was me, people were sending e-mails to him and he was replying like he was me, he was telling people I was going to meet them somewhere, he was telling girls to send him pictures.

You mentioned wanting to connect with the fans. Do you see the value of Twitter in doing that?
Yeah, I don't do a lot of that -- I don't like the online chats or post on message boards -- but if I get on Twitter I'll tell fans what I'm doing.

What's up with your acting career?
I've got some things coming up. I have some meetings next week talking to people about some roles. It's something I enjoy.

Everyone knows you were in Entourage and you've done some other stuff, but you were a child actor long before you were a fighter, right?
Yeah, I was in The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jack Nicholson. That was fun. I think I made like $33 or something. I got to miss a whole day of school, and when you're a little kid, that's cool.

What did you think of UFC 101?
I thought it was a good show. B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva winning was what I thought would happen, but it was a good show.

What do you make of Anderson Silva? Could he move up and win the light heavyweight belt that you owned for a couple years?
Anderson Silva is a tough guy, man. He's dangerous. He's got heavy hands and he's not afraid to throw them. He's a dangerous opponent for anyone.

Are you still watching a lot of MMA even though you're taking some time off from fighting yourself?
Absolutely, I watch all the fights I can.

Are you going to do more training of younger fighters?
I'll decide that when I make a final decision about whether I'm fighting again. Lately I've been doing other things and haven't had much time to train guys, but that's something I want to do. I like working with younger fighters.

What do you like about coaching?
I like the personal interaction. I like working on the finer points, improving the little things that can make a big difference that the younger fighters don't always know about.

When you look at where the UFC is now compared to where it was when you first started fighting, how much more popular it is and how the sport has grown, do you take a lot of personal pride in that? You were one of the best and most popular fighters and you had a lot to do with its growth.
I don't know if I'm the one who gets credit, but I'm proud of where the sport is, and I think it's still going to get bigger. It's a great sport and it's going to get a lot bigger than what it is. Mixed martial arts is great, and it's here to stay.

Source: MMA.FanHouse.com

Hawaii and Indiana have both begun to regulate mixed martial arts this week, boosting the number of states which officially sanction the sport to 39.

Pennsylvania also began regulating MMA in recent months, with Pittsburgh's first event taking place last weekend and the UFC's "Keystone State" debut slated for August 8 with UFC 101 in Philadelphia.

One of the last major holdouts on the list of 11 states which have yet to legalize the sport is New York. Though a bill to regulate MMA is making progress in the state's legislature, it won't be until next year at the earliest until it could be approved with the first UFC event in the state unlikely until 2011.

A UFC event in Indianapolis, Indiana appears most-likely with the new regulation now in place, with an event in Hawaii, the home state of UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn (picture), likely on hold for the time being due to steep taxes and fees that accompany the state's regulation.

Un-sanctioned MMA events have been frequently held in both Indiana and Hawaii in the past, but the official regulation of MMA opens the doors for major promotions such as the UFC and Strikeforce to hold events in the states.

According to a new posting on BJPenn.com, UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn will defend his lightweight title against number one contender Kenny Florian in the headlining bout of UFC 101 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 8. The report states that Florian has already signed the bout agreement, and Penn's own signing was imminent. It will be the first time the UFC Lightweight Title has been contested in 15 months, since Penn defeated Sean Sherk by TKO at UFC 84 last May. Florian has won his last six fights, including five by stoppage, but hasn't competed since his first-round submission of Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 in November.

If the Penn vs. Florian report is accurate, it would mean that two of the UFC's five championship titles could potentially be on the line in the month of August. A middleweight title match between Anderson Silva and Demian Maia may also be added to UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon, on August 29.

Japan's DREAM organization announced on Friday that top ranked lightweight Tatsuya Kawajiri (picture) will take on BJ Penn trained fighter Ross Ebanez at DREAM 7 on March 8 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Kawajiri (22-5-2) made an impressive kickboxing debut at Dynamite!! 2008 after his MMA loss to Eddie Alvarez at the semifinals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.

Ross Ebanez (19-6) last competed in October, defeating Waachiim SpiritWolf at Rumble on the Rock: Beatdown 9.

DREAM 7 also features the opening round of the organization's featherweight tournament with fighters such as Masakazu Imanari, Chase Beebe, Atsushi Yamamoto, Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura, Micah Miller and more competing in the tournament.

The UFC and New Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC), announced today that UFC Gyms will partner with Georges "Rush" St-Pierre, UFC's Welterweight Champion, and BJ "The Prodigy" Penn, reigning Lightweight Champion to build "St-Pierre" and "Penn" UFC Gyms, with locations planned for St-Pierre's native city of Montreal and Penn's home state of Hawaii.

St-Pierre and Penn, who compete in a historic rematch for the UFC Welterweight Championship belt at UFC 94: ST-PIERRE vs. PENN 2 this Saturday, Jan. 31, live from MGM Grand Garden Arena, are the first UFC athletes to have UFC Gyms featuring their name and likeness.

"Besides being a great way for us to connect with UFC fans on a daily basis, UFC Gyms is another way that UFC is providing economic opportunities for UFC athletes outside of the Octagon," said Dana White, UFC President. "Combining the UFC brand with superstars Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn gives them an exciting business venture that is unprecedented in the fight industry."

"When you are presented with the opportunity to work with two of the greatest athletes, Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn, in the fastest growing sport in the world, the UFC, in two great destinations, Montreal and Hawaii, with the best promoter in sports, Dana White, and the business talents of Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, your decisions come fast and easy," said Mastrov.

"UFC Gyms" will be the first major brand extension for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the all-time industry leader in the sport of mixed martial arts. In alliance with NEFC owners Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley, developers of many of the world's most successful fitness brands, UFC Gyms will give UFC enthusiasts and fitness seekers alike the opportunity to practice the training techniques of famed UFC athletes, including Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn in their respective UFC gyms.

"It is a dream come true to have a St-Pierre UFC Gym in Montreal," said St-Pierre. "Ever since the UFC came to my country, the sport has been so huge - I know this gym will be very popular."

"I'm very excited to be a part of this tremendous opportunity, I look forward to working with the UFC to make UFC Gyms a huge success," said Penn. "It will be such an honor to have a UFC gym in my name, and right in my homeland of Hawaii."

With a diverse, loyal fan base of millions in the United States and abroad, UFC Gyms will become the fitness destination of choice, providing all-around training, conditioning and health options for men, women and children of all ages.

For more information about UFC Gyms, please visit UFCgyms.com.

Source: UFC.com

The K-1 Dynamite!! bout on New Year's Eve between Shinya Aoki (picture) and Eddie Alvarez will determine the first ever World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Lightweight Champion.

With just a few days to go before the show, it's been made official by press release that WAMMA will recognize the winner of the bout between Aoki and Alvarez as their lightweight champion. The press release also states that the winner will not receive the physical belt at the event, but it will be presented to them in a ceremony at a later date.

"New Year's Eve is rich in both history and tradition for combat sports in Japan," WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch said. "FEG officials have put together an amazing night of fights and WAMMA is looking forward to recognizing the winner of the Aoki versus Alvarez fight as our first ever lightweight champion."

Aoki and Alvarez would have met in the finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix 2008, but Alvarez sustained an eye injury in his win earlier that night against Tatsuya Kawajiri. This brought in Joachim Hansen, who won the reserve bout, to step in for Alvarez. Hansen then defeated Aoki by TKO to become the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.

In the WAMMA rankings, Aoki is ranked number two in the lightweight division while Alvarez is ranked number three. UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn is ranked number one.

"WAMMA's board of directors supports the WAMMA pollsters in their recognition of BJ Penn as the number one rated lightweight fighter in the world," Lynch said. "However, Penn has not fought since May 24 and isn't scheduled to compete again until January 31. His January 31 fight will be contested at welterweight against Georges St. Pierre for the UFC's 170-pound crown. If Penn wins, UFC President Dana White has already stated that Penn's next fight will be a welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves. Needless to say, Penn's future as a regular competitor in the lightweight division is uncertain."

Lynch continued by saying that if Penn's returns to lightweight, WAMMA would approach the UFC to facilitate a fight between Penn and the WAMMA Lightweight Champion. However, that's only wishful thinking as the UFC has strongly opposed cooperating with WAMMA.

WAMMA is an independent sanctioning organization for mixed martial arts, with their own fighter rankings and championships. Earlier this year, Fedor Emelianenko became the first and only current WAMMA titleholder when he submitted Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds at Affliction: Banned. Fedor holds the WAMMA heavyweight title.

Georges St-Pierre is to MMA like Sidney Crosby is to hockey or Kobe Bryant is to basketball. He is just on a whole different level.

Georges St-Pierre winning Sportnet's 2008 Athlete of the Year is not only an incredible achievement for the sport of MMA, but for GSP himself; just another chapter in what will surely be a UFC Hall of Fame career.

I remember Georges' debut and thinking to myself how impressive he was against UFC veteran Ivan Mengivar. He then proceeded to defeat one of my training partners at the time, Justin Bruckmann to win his first title, in what was only his second pro MMA bout. After his brutal victory over Pride veteran Travis Galbraith in his third fight, it was his fourth pro fight when it hit me; GSP was something truly special and I was witnessing something legendary unfold right before my eyes.

When GSP was originally matched up against Thomas 'The Wildman' Denny, I vividly recall voting down this match-up as I thought Georges was over-matched. Denny was 10-9 and had fought some big names coming into this bout. He had quite the name for himself and I just felt Georges wasn't ready for such a big challenge so early on in his career. How wrong I was.

Georges proceeded to dismantle Denny and crush the veteran en route to a TKO victory in the second round. The turning point for me was GSP's double leg entry in the first round as well as all of his takedowns and ground control. I thought to myself "this guy is on another level". He was simply too much for a fighter I had high regards for. It was like Georges was the veteran and Denny was the younger fighter. It not only opened my eyes to how good GSP was but it was a defining moment in my own MMA career as I was watching the birth of a legend less than five feet from where I was sitting.

Georges continued to develop his game and just got better and better. It wasn't like he was making baby steps in his development; he was making drastic improvements to his striking game, his takedown and throws, as well as his positional control on the ground. He would take control of the fight and never let his opponent catch up. Georges would start in fifth gear and never ease off the gas pedal.

Georges has set the standard for what 'rhythm' is in an MMA fight. His pace is relentless and often gets the better of his opponents as they just cannot keep up. They eventually begin to slow down giving Georges the opening he uses to finish the fight. Whether it's a left high kick to the head, or a left hook to set up a takedown, he is ruthless until he gets what he wants in the fight. As it stands right now, he is part of a select group of MMA fighters that are the gold standard and what the future of MMA will look like.

I often get asked to debate the merits of MMA fighters and whether or not they are true athletes. In all of my arguments, I bring up GSP. Here's a guy who trains with pro level boxers, not just your average recreational athlete at a boxing gym. He trains with Canada's Wrestling Team, not the local high school or college team. He travels to Brazil to work on his Jiu-Jitsu game; in essence, he is always training and sparring with world class, single discipline athletes. He does all of this because he is a multi-combat sport athlete and in order to achieve and maintain his level of dominance, he has to be exceptional at all levels of MMA, both offensively and defensively.

Right now, there are only a handful of MMA fighters that are on a true elite level. I am talking about fighters who can win by knockout, who can take the fight to the ground at will and can submit their opponent in the blink of an eye. There's Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre.

GSP, along with the aforementioned champions are ahead of their time. They are what the next generation of fighter will look like. They are great at all disciplines, are difficult to defeat and can win a bout at any given point in time. They can out box their opponent, they have exceptional takedown defence and if they choose, will take their opponent down to finish the fight with some ground and pound or a submission. They are the gold standard and are the living blueprint of what will be in years to come.

2008 may have been the year of GSP, but in 2009, he may just take it to a whole other level. Should GSP go undefeated in 2009, he will reach superstar status greater than what Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture did in their careers. On tap for GSP right now is a super-fight with BJ Penn in January, followed by a mandatory title defence against #1 contender Thiago Alves and then the unbelievable. Should he go undefeated against the latter, UFC President Dana White has publicly stated that a super-fight with Anderson Silva would follow suit.

If the stars align and this super-fight between GSP and Silva were to actually take place, and should Georges be victorious in that bout, I cannot begin to imagine how monstrous his worth would actually be to the UFC marketing machine. Add to all of this the fact that he has signed on with the CAA Talent Agency and we may not only see a repeat next year, but a true pop icon born in 2009.

Taken from: Sportsnet.ca

There are lots of rumors circulating about a possible November bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva (picture). And while most of the MMA world would love to see a third fight between the two (Silva won the first two, one by TKO and the other by KO) it's going to take some work for the fight to occur.

From Jackson's side, there's certainly some legal issues that he needs to overcome, and there's uncertainty as to whether he'd be eligible to fight in November. From Silva's side, he has requested to not fight until December which forms another roadblock for the UFC to get over. One could see Silva coming around under the right circumstances but it's hard to determine what exactly is going on with Jackson's situation.

The fight between these two will likely happen but the question of November is a hard one to know. UFC will market these two and the fight should garner good viewership, but with the returning of Noguiera in December, a Georges St. Pierre-BJ Penn fight on the horizon and a Chuck Liddell-Rashad Evans battle upcoming there's no real rush. Suspect the fight to occur, but it will require some luck for the fight to occur in November.

Not before and not since Dan Henderson won Pride Fighting Championships 183-pound and 205-pound titles has a fighter in a major organization held two title belts in two weight classes simultaneously, but it appears the current UFC 155-pound champion, BJ Penn, will try to do that very thing as he sets his sites on the Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre later this year.

But what does that mean for the 155-pound weight class and the Lightweight Championship if Penn is off fighting for another title in a different division?

"BJ's not vacating the 155-pound title," according to UFC President Dana White following UFC 87 in Minnesota last weekend.

Of course this puts possibly the deepest weight class in all the UFC on hold for an indefinite amount of time as Penn and St. Pierre aren't likely to clash before late December and the lightweight title could be out of the picture until some time deep into 2009.

The reigning UFC Lightweight Champion feels confident in his abilities to defend both titles if he is able to defeat St. Pierre.

"I'm moving up to the welterweight division and moving down to defend the lightweight title," said Penn.

Kenny Florian, who defeated Roger Huerta at UFC 87, is most likely next in line to face Penn for the 155-pound crown, but he doesn't plan on waiting around for a title shot. Instead he will try to compete again later this year against a different opponent, but he's still not sold on Penn retaining the title the entire time.

"I know BJ's game plan is to win the Welterweight title and defend both belts at the same time. I don't know if Dana's going to allow him to do that," stated Florian. "If he beats GSP is he going to stay in the welterweight division? If he loses it's probably more probable that he'll go back to 155. So I don't know, there's a lot of 'ifs"."

"I want to stay busy. I need it for me for me for my game mentally, physically I want to stay busy. I think it's important. I want to keep making money, I want to keep fighting."

For the time being it appears set that Penn will hold onto the lightweight title while waiting to fight Georges St. Pierre and Florian will look for another fight this year.

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice has emerged as one of mixed martial arts' highest profile athletes and most controversial figures. His quick rise to MMA stardom from street fighter to main event status has been received with varying results within the MMA community.

One of the biggest critics of marketing Kimbo Slice to a mainstream audience by having him headline an MMA event has been UFC President Dana White.

"To have CBS, a big network like that, move forward with a guy like Kimbo Slice headlining it, I mean there's no secret, that's what I tried to stay away from," said the outspoken UFC figurehead. "Kimbo Slice isn't a mixed martial artist. This guy was fighting in your backyard three months ago, and now he's going to be headlining on CBS. Personally I think it sucks."

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk shares White's opinion. "To be honest with you, I wasn't crazy about the idea," said the nine-year professional mixed martial artist.

"I think if you're going to headline a main event, a mainstream thing like that, you should have the credentials to follow it. You know? I would have liked to have seen a more established fighter, somebody who maybe would represent the sport a little better, because if you're tuning into CBS for the first time and you catch this street fighter guy on television, I think that's going to give us a bad name. And I think it sets us back a couple of steps."

But not everyone in the industry has the same opinion of Kimbo Slice as White and Sherk. UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn is a fan of Ferguson.

"I'm a street fighter. I love street fighters. You know what I mean? Me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan," stated the Hawaiian fighter. "I'm a street fighter. That's where I draw my thing from. I don't draw my fights from athletics or from sports… I used to fight, so me, I'm a Kimbo Slice fan. I like fighting. For me, I'm a street fighter. I like that kind of stuff."

Former UFC heavyweight champion and Pride veteran Josh Barnett agrees with Penn. "I'm a fan. I like him. I think he's good for the sport, and I think he's got potential and shows it in every fight. I think he trains hard and wants to expand his repertoire of techniques and strategies, everything. I think he's really taking the routes to becoming a full-on pro fighter," Barnett told MMAWeekly Radio.

"He certainly has gameness, if anyone has seen his fights on YouTube. He's the kind of person to go out there, bare-knuckle against some totally unknown guy and be like, hey, let's scrap right here, right now. And that takes the right kind of mindset to get out there in front of everybody and fight.

"I can understand where hardcore people would get upset because it could present the image that a street fighter could just walk right on in and beat top level MMA guys," explained the Seattle born fighter. "Although, Tank (Abbott), I'm sure he wouldn't even disagree that his best years are behind him. Bo Cantrell was never a top fighter, and Ray Mercer was a boxer, but went out there, scrapped it up with him and got taken down. He ended up getting a front-choke of all things. That shows that he's thinking like an MMA guy, not just a street brawler or straight-up boxer.

"I think he's sort of an exception when it comes to street fighters. I don't think he's the kind of guy you pick off of like Felony Fights, or you see tussling with some frat boys at a bar," Barnett concluded. "This guy is big, powerful. He's clearly an athlete, and he's got the kind of training and experience that you just don't find in some street fighter. He beats up all the other street fighter guys pretty handily, and the one guy that beat him had a background in wrestling and MMA training... I don't think you can just casually treat it as if it's just some street fighter."

Former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz publicly criticized Ferguson in the past, but retracted those previous statements to MMAWeekly.com. "When he first came in, I said some things about him. I said he wouldn't last with anybody because he hadn't put in the hard work and hard training. Now it seems like he's focused.

"I kind of have to take back a few things I've said about Kimbo," commented Ortiz. "He was a young guy coming in. I watched some of his street fights on Youtube. I saw him as strictly a street fight guy. He had no technique or anything. I'm going to take back a few of my words.

"I watched his last fight and he's starting to be a well-trained athlete. He's actually putting in the hard work it takes to be a fighter. The way he dismantled Tank Abbott, oh my God, I was like that is very impressive. His punches were crisp and looked sharp. He's actually putting in the hard work."

Love him or hate him, as the CBS-EliteXC Saturday Night Fights nears, everyone is talking about Kimbo Slice.