Chuck Liddell on Brock Lesnar: 'He is afraid to get hit'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ANAHEIM, CA - OCTOBER 23: (L-R) Cain Velasquez connects on a left to the face of Brock Lesnar in the first round during the heavyweight title bout during UFC 121 on October 23, 2010 in Anaheim, California. Velasquez defeated Lenar by first round TKO to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brock Lesnar;Cain Velasquez
It takes a lot to impress former light heavyweight world champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell.
Take, for example, Brock Lesnar. The former NCAA Division I freestyle wrestling champion jumped into MMA with virtually no fight experience, and still managed to become heavyweight champ in just a few fights. Now, the pro wrestler is making a sudden, highly-publicized return to MMA and the UFC. But Liddell isn't optimistic about Lesnar's chances at beating a KO artist like top-five heavyweight Mark Hunt.
"He was a good college wrestler, but he is afraid to get hit," Liddell recently told Hollywood Life.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That makes things dangerous [for Lesnar]," Liddell continued.
According to Liddell -- himself a former Division I wrestler who later styled himself as a kickboxing slugger -- if Lesnar's opponents can stuff a few takedowns, they have a clear path towards victory. "When you have a guy that can punch, and if he can stop Brock's takedowns a little bit, then [Brock] is in a lot of trouble," he concluded.
"I mean, he is tough and has heart because he will still fight and still keep coming and I will give him that," Liddell conceded. "He has heart and he fights hard, but he is very afraid of the punch. So you just have to start punching him!"