If there was one thing that former UFC light heavyweight champion and MMA icon Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell was never accused of, it was playing it safe. Win or lose, Liddell always came to fight. In a recent interview on ESPN's MMA Live, Liddell explained that the safety first mentality of some of the sport's current luminaries is a blemish on the sport.
"I think [Georges] St-Pierre is a great fighter; he's awesome. Jon Jones is a great fighter. I don't like watching them play it safe," Liddell explained. "Against Diaz, [St-Pierre] spider-rode him for half the fight. I don't like watching that. Now, for him to be able to do that against guys that are at that level, is impressive. But, it's not exciting to me."
Liddell said that, from the eyes of a fan, watching fighters dominate without taking any risks is boring, if not understandable.
"From a coaching standpoint and a manager's standpoint, I understand," he conceded. "It makes big money now. But from a fan's standpoint, I don't want to watch it."
The Iceman did point out that both men are capable of greatness when pushed to fight, as with Jones' last bout against Alexander Gustafsson. He believes that St-Pierre's next opponent -- Johny Hendricks -- will bring out the same kind of fight in St-Pierre as Gustafsson did for Jones.
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