UFC 115: Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin UFC 115 Fight Picks: The light heavyweight bout between “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell [EVEN] and sports betting odds favorite Rich “Ace” Franklin [-130 ML] are both coming off loses in their last time out in the Octagon. As the main event of the UFC 115 evening both former champs will look to get back into the thick of things. UFC 115 Fight Picks takes place tonight, live from the General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
For one of the most celebrated and recognized UFC light heavyweight champions of all time, age is nothing but a 
number, as Liddell believes he’s still one of the best in the world at 205. “I want to keep fighting because I love to fight, I love to compete and I think I’m still good at it,” Liddell said. “There’s a lot of things I can be doing with my life. I do this because I love it and because I believe I still can do it. Now, it’s up to me. I got the chance and now I have to go take advantage of it.”
Nevertheless, Liddell comes in winless in the last two years. “I think I’m different, but I’m still good,” he said. “The other talent is getting good, too. The difference now is there was a time when no one could beat me. Now, it’s that there is no one I can’t beat. It’s a little difference, but I’m still there. I can still win this thing.”
One of the adjustments he has done to his training was staying away from taking punishment by not sparring much. The last two times we’ve seen him in the Octagon, he has been knocked out in dramatic fashion by former title-holder Rashad Evans and now-UFC light heavyweight champ, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
“I didn’t spar for all that time to give myself a rest and, hopefully, the chin is back,” Liddell said. “They say you can recover it and so hopefully I did. And I’m working hard to try to protect it a little better, too.”
For Franklin, despite coming in as a substitute for Tito Ortiz, UFC 115 Fight Picks experts love this guy in the matchup against the Iceman. UFC president, Dana White also believes this will not be an easy fight for the 40-year-old Liddell.
“Dan Henderson was busted up, hurt bad,” White said. “It took him a few weeks before he felt normal again. Rich Franklin is tough and people don’t realize it. Chuck’s in for a tough fight.”
White also went on to address Chuck’s chin, or lack thereof, going into this fight. “There is a belief that once your chin goes, it goes,” White said. “We’ve seen it with guys in boxing and in MMA. But the other thing is, Chuck Liddell was a zombie, man. He was literally walking around like a zombie. You can’t go out and party every night and then go and roll into a camp for four weeks and go out and fight. It doesn’t work.
“This guy took a long time off, which I’m usually not a fan of, either. Ring rust is real. I believe in it and I’ve seen it with tons of people. In Chuck Liddell’s case, though, he needed that time off. He needed that time off. As goofy as this sounds, it’s true: The time on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was good for him. He took it seriously and he started to get into shape for that show and he continued it all the way through ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ until today.”
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