UFC’s Liddell in crossroads clash

His boss says one more loss means retirement.

Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell counters that if he can win tonight’s light-heavyweight Ultimate Fighting Championship bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Montreal, he’ll need only one more victory to get a shot at retrieving the title he surrendered less than two years ago.

Liddell is 39, Rua is 27. Liddell has lost three of his last four fights, two on knockout blows delivered by the men standing as the new generation of UFC’s stable, current light-heavyweight champ Rashad Evans and top contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rua beat Jackson in 2005.

“I could’ve been more patient against Rashad and worked on my defense more,” Liddell said of his most recent octagon fight, when he was flattened by a devastating right-handed strike that Evans landed directly to Liddell’s chin in the second round.

The moment ranks high on the list of the UFC’s best knockouts, and it had the distinct feel of a torch passing. The unbeaten Evans went on to upset Forrest Griffin in December and capture the light-heavyweight belt that Liddell held for three years with six successful defenses to emerge as the best-known fighter in a sport that surged in popularity.

Now, Liddell (21-6) finds himself dealing with retirement questions while mired in this late-career slide of three losses (counting a 2007 split-decision loss to Keith Jardine) in his last four fights.

“I’m fine,” Liddell told The Times in a recent telephone interview from his training compound in San Luis Obispo. “I’d have to think long and hard about [retiring] if I lost, but that’s nothing I’ll worry about until after the fight. I always think I can beat whatever guy they put in front of me.

“I should’ve shot at ‘Rampage’ quicker and taken down Jardine. I feel good, and as long as my body lets me -- I still enjoy fighting -- I want to keep going. I love this game.”

Liddell expects Rua, the 2005 PRIDE Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner from Brazil, to “exchange and come after [me]; that plays into how I like to fight.”

Rua (17-3) beat Jackson in that 2005 PRIDE tourney, but his time in UFC since a September 2007 debut in Anaheim has been spotty. He lost to Griffin in his debut, then ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament that resulted in two knee surgeries. He returned in January, and unimpressively defeated 44-year-old Mark Coleman.

Liddell said he has been training for Rua since Jan. 12. He has brought in 1976 Olympic gold-medal boxer Howard Davis Jr. to spend more time on striking defense and footwork, and says, “My wrestling is about as strong as it’s ever been; so is my conditioning.

“I want to give a great performance and force people to put me back in a title fight. At most, I’m two victories away. . . . I want to end up on top with the title.”

In light of recent comments by UFC President Dana White that Liddell should retire if he loses again, and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya’s calling it quits this week, tonight’s pay-per-view fight (accompanied by a middleweight title defense by Anderson Silva versus Thales Leites) marks an obviously perilous time in Liddell’s storied MMA career.

“He is a great, dangerous fighter with great skills; this is what motivates me,” Rua said. “I’m expecting the best possible Chuck Liddell.”

Tonight probably will reveal if that’s still possible.

“I’m looking forward to showing people I can still fight,” Liddell said.

--

lance.pugmire@latimes.com