Thread: Will Chuck Change The Way He Fights/win title again? *mult merge*

Going into UFC 71, Chuck has stated in interviews and on Spike's UFC 71 preview that he doesn't change the way he fights for particular opponents, his motto being if it's not broke don't fix it. He has gotten to the top of UFC LHW division doing the same thing he always does. Chuck's style of fighting is as I've stated before perfect for fighting grappler's with sub-par striking, as he avoids the take down with a great sprawl and later on catches his opponents with devastating blows that can knocks out most people.

But at UFC 71, this wasn't the case. Chuck was on the receiving end of a perfectly placed right hook, that knocked him down and received some ground and pound afterwards. Many for seen it the other way around as did Chuck. So where does Chuck go from here? Do you think Chuck needs to go back and evaluate the way he fights at all, or at least for certain fighters with as good as striking as Rampage? Chuck always keeps his hands low, and he generates a lot of power by doing so especially when he is throwing his bolo type punches. If Chuck would of brought his left hand up to protect himself after going for the body shot, it could of very well been blocked. Boxing 101 if you ask me.

Originally Posted by fight2night

Going into UFC 71, Chuck has stated in interviews and on Spike's UFC 71 preview that he doesn't change the way he fights for particular opponents, his motto being if it's not broke don't fix it. He has gotten to the top of UFC LHW division doing the same thing he always does. Chuck's style of fighting is as I've stated before perfect for fighting grappler's with sub-par striking, as he avoids the take down with a great sprawl and later on catches his opponents with devastating blows that can knocks out most people.

But at UFC 71, this wasn't the case. Chuck was on the receiving end of a perfectly placed right hook, that knocked him down and received some ground and pound afterwards. Many for seen it the other way around as did Chuck. So where does Chuck go from here? Do you think Chuck needs to go back and evaluate the way he fights at all, or at least for certain fighters with as good as striking as Rampage? Chuck always keeps his hands low, and he generates a lot of power by doing so especially when he is throwing his bolo type punches. If Chuck would of brought his left hand up to protect himself after going for the body shot, it could of very well been blocked. Boxing 101 if you ask me.

Sounds like youve got it all figured out, maybe you should be a contender or at least Chucks trainer...I was waiting for you blowhards to come out of the woodwork to question whether Chuck can come back and if he needs to rework his training. CHUCK GOT CAUGHT thats it, there is no more.

I don't think so. Chuck is 37 and he's been doing what he does for a long time now. He won the UFC title and successfully defended it 7 times. He's 20-4 as a pro fighter. His losses are to Couture, Horn, and Rampage (twice) - no slouches there. It just seems that Rampage has his number - just like Wandy seems to have Rampage's number. I don't think we'll see Chuck change much and I really don't think he needs to completely change his game. Everyone can improve and I think we'll see him work on some things, but I don't expect to see massive stylistic changes.

Originally Posted by chucksmasher

Sounds like youve got it all figured out, maybe you should be a contender or at least Chucks trainer...I was waiting for you blowhards to come out of the woodwork to question whether Chuck can come back and if he needs to rework his training. CHUCK GOT CAUGHT thats it, there is no more.

Talk about blowing it way out of proportion. I'm not some blow hard (not even sure what that means), coming out of the wood work saying that Chuck's training sucks or anything like that. I am in no way trying to be a contender or Chuck's new trainer. I think all in all, I'm asking a legitimate question here. After Chuck lost to Randy Couture the first time, he went back and looked at what he did wrong and changed the way he fought Randy for the second time and knocked Randy out! Just curious as to why he didn't do the same thing for this fight with Rampage. And I am not talking about a major change in the way Chuck fights but maybe utilizing some kicks more often, and maybe keeping his hands up a bit higher to protect himself better. It could very well make all the difference in the next time he fights Rampage, you just never know.

The sport is constantly evolving and the fighter needs to do the same to stay in the game. Point is it's broke and now it's time to fix it.

I don't think his style as a whole is broke. He can still be very successful using his sprawl and brawl style. I just think he needs to better utilize some kicks, better utilize his jab to help establish distance and setup shots, and concentrate more on keeping his guard up instead of relying so much on his chin. Chuck has a great chin, but anyone can get knocked out by the right punch at the right time.

This is a good topic. Thank you.

I believe Chuck may not change his fighting style but he needs to rethink how many distractions outside from fighting and training he can handle.

The UFC has become so huge of late, with Chuck being their front man, that, without a doubt, this must have affected Liddell's preparation leading to the fight. I am of the opinion that he was already losing it by the time he fought Ortiz. Whether he is partying or not t is just not encouraging for his fans (who want to see him at his best), and the UFC (who pays him lots of money to fight) to see him hanging out in bars around Vegas days prior to his fight.

So, even if Chuck does not change the way he fights, yes, he may need to change the way he prepares.

Originally Posted by earvinarp

This is a good topic. Thank you.

I believe Chuck may not change his fighting style but he needs to rethink how many distractions outside from fighting and training he can handle.

The UFC has become so huge of late, with Chuck being their front man, that, without a doubt, this must have affected Liddell's preparation leading to the fight. I am of the opinion that he was already losing it by the time he fought Ortiz. Whether he is partying or not t is just not encouraging for his fans (who want to see him at his best), and the UFC (who pays him lots of money to fight) to see him hanging out in bars around Vegas days prior to his fight.

So, even if Chuck does not change the way he fights, yes, he may need to change the way he prepares.

Can't disagree with any of that and many people have been saying that for a couple of years now. Chuck became a victim of his own success. He started getting a little lax in his preparation and was still successful, so he continued down that path. Against guys like Rampage, if you're lax, you're gonna get dat @$$ whupped! Chuck pretty much admitted as much - however, IMO, that should not have been said publicly. That comes across as just another excuse (which it is) and unprofessional.

Originally Posted by SeikanJudanski

Strange, everybody is saying he was lax in his preperation, but the word from The Pit was, that he trained like never before.

I am talking about "distractions" more than being lax. I believe it when they tell me that the guy did his work in the gym. What I also believe is that there was too much going on outside of the gym at the same time, and that would probably affect anybody. It is not a personal attack on Chuck. Damn! I like the guy. But he certainly looks like he has lost a bit of his edge lately.

Originally Posted by SeikanJudanski

Strange, everybody is saying he was lax in his preperation, but the word from The Pit was, that he trained like never before.

Even if that wasn't true, what the hell are they supposed to say?! Chuck's eatin' gravy and biscuits with bacon on the side every morning then going out and drinking all night? I don't think so!

Originally Posted by Pitbull

Chuck doesn't need to change anything. He lost one fight, and he'll return to his winning ways.

Pretty much every camp says the same thing before fights. Camp went great, our fighter looks better than ever, blah, blah, blah. I don't put any stock in it at all.

Originally Posted by Ring_Raider_07

As said before, Rampage is just better than Chuck. The sooner everyone realizes that, the better for them.

It sure looks like Rampage has Chuck's number just like it looks like Wandy has Rampage's number. MMAth would say that Wandy > Chuck, hopefully we'll soon see if that's true.