Chuck didn't handpick Jardine after all

From MMAweekly. Anyway that answers that, now I just want him to Ko Jardine quick and emerge injury free to finally fight Wandy in December.







- LIDDELL: "I'VE NEVER HAND-PICKED AN OPPONENT"
Thursday, August 02, 2007 - by Jeff Cain - MMAWeekly.com
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When the possible match up with Wanderlei Silva for UFC 76 fell through and Keith Jardine was named as Chuck Liddell's next opponent, reports surfaced that the former UFC light heavyweight champion picked Jardine as his opponent. Liddell recently spoke with MMAWeekly, setting the record straight about how the fight with Jardine transpired.

The reports that surfaced last week stated that Chuck Liddell (the #3 light heavyweight in the MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings) was offered potential fights against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (the #1-ranked light heavyweight), Kazuhiro Nakamura (the #10-ranked light heavyweight), Lyoto Machida, or Keith Jardine, and that he chose to take on Jardine. Liddell emphatically denied those reports.

Liddell told MMAWeekly, "I've never hand-picked an opponent. I'm not going to. There would be no reason to hand-pick Jardine. The only time I've ever asked for a guy is when I asked to fight Kevin Randleman because I wanted to fight a guy that had a name at the time because they kept giving me guys as little known as I was. I think that's the only time I've ever asked for someone specifically."

"They talked to me about fighting Wanderlei in September, and I said, 'Yeah, that's fine. Cool. Perfect.' Then I heard it fell out. I assumed they were going to put me with Shogun [Rua] because I knew he was on the same card. I figured they would put me with Shogun, but they came to me and said they wanted me to fight Keith. I'm not complaining. I don't argue with people about who I'm going to fight. I fight whoever they tell me to," explained Liddell.

He added, "The way I've always done it is they ask me if I want to fight on this day. I say, 'Yes, so by the way, who am I fighting?'"

I didn't think Chuck picked Jardine. That was just all the haters. Chuck fights whomever they put in front of him.

If Chuck got to pick his opponents, I'm sure he wouldn't have picked Rampage. People are just jumping off of the Chuck bandwagon because he lost 1 fight out of his last 10 or however many. That's ignorant.

If Chuck got to pick his opponents he would still be champion.

But if he didnt pick jardine, dana knows jardine doesnt come to mind for a main event.

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Posted by hippysmacker

From MMAweekly. Anyway that answers that, now I just want him to Ko Jardine quick and emerge injury free to finally fight Wandy in December.

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Yeah I don't think that one's gonna happen.

UFC Junkie

Now before the Wandy nuthuggers start in about the video that he released saying he never ducked Chuck,... Imagine what you would do if you talked a bunch of s*** about beating someone, then kept at it because there were set-backs, then find a way for it to happen but don't really want it. How are you gonna respond when it becomes known that you said you didn't want to fight someone? Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, but IMHO that's what I think it is.

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Posted by kofranklin

If Chuck got to pick his opponents he would still be champion.

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Spot on dude !!!!
I bet jardine will take chuck down and submit him for the upset. Chuck will never be champ again, his time is done now, i bet he's still gonna be shakey from jackson handing him his ko. Keith has nothing to loose and a huge amount of limelight and credibility he could steal from chuck.

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Posted by keith-hackney1

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Posted by kofranklin

If Chuck got to pick his opponents he would still be champion.

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Spot on dude !!!!
I bet jardine will take chuck down and submit him for the upset. Chuck will never be champ again, his time is done now, i bet he's still gonna be shakey from jackson handing him his ko. Keith has nothing to loose and a huge amount of limelight and credibility he could steal from chuck.

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Actually, Chuck is full of crap. The whole idea behind Chuck fighting Rampage was that he wanted to avenger is 3 losses. First was Couture, then came Horn and last was supposed to be Jackson. He did pick his opponents and he still lost his belt.

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Posted by nubby

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Posted by keith-hackney1

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Posted by kofranklin

If Chuck got to pick his opponents he would still be champion.

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Spot on dude !!!!
I bet jardine will take chuck down and submit him for the upset. Chuck will never be champ again, his time is done now, i bet he's still gonna be shakey from jackson handing him his ko. Keith has nothing to loose and a huge amount of limelight and credibility he could steal from chuck.

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Actually, Chuck is full of crap. The whole idea behind Chuck fighting Rampage was that he wanted to avenger is 3 losses. First was Couture, then came Horn and last was supposed to be Jackson. He did pick his opponents and he still lost his belt.

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I agree

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Posted by zephead

I didn't think Chuck picked Jardine. That was just all the haters. Chuck fights whomever they put in front of him.

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But doesn't Chuck need to sign the contact to the fight?.... If i were chuck i would not fight jardine.. he is like 15 levels below liddell... liddell had the belt his last fight,... jardine got KO-ed in the first.. and it was his opponents debut...

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Posted by waylon_o

If Chuck got to pick his opponents, I'm sure he wouldn't have picked Rampage. People are just jumping off of the Chuck bandwagon because he lost 1 fight out of his last 10 or however many. That's ignorant.

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Im guessing chuck wanted to fight rampage... he wanted to avenge all of his loses.. he beat the last 2 guys that beat him.. he wanted rampage to avenge his loss and be known as the greatest LHW...

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Posted by TNunley

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Posted by hippysmacker

From MMAweekly. Anyway that answers that, now I just want him to Ko Jardine quick and emerge injury free to finally fight Wandy in December.

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Yeah I don't think that one's gonna happen.

UFC Junkie

Now before the Wandy nuthuggers start in about the video that he released saying he never ducked Chuck,... Imagine what you would do if you talked a bunch of s*** about beating someone, then kept at it because there were set-backs, then find a way for it to happen but don't really want it. How are you gonna respond when it becomes known that you said you didn't want to fight someone? Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, but IMHO that's what I think it is.

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Wandy specifically stated he was going to take a year off for personal reasons. Dana knew Wandy had stated this and yet still he offers him a fight with Chuck in Sept. IMO you are wrong, Dana knew Wandy was not ready to fight and still offered it to him, then publicized that he backed out of the fight. Now if the fight never happens people like you can blame Wandy.

On another note, whenever I look at this card it makes me laugh. Any dummy would look at #1 and #3 LHW on the same card and wonder, "Why don't they just fight each other?"

Actually, Chuck is full of crap. The whole idea behind Chuck fighting Rampage was that he wanted to avenger is 3 losses. First was Couture, then came Horn and last was supposed to be Jackson. He did pick his opponents and he still lost his belt.

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Nonsense. You supposing what Liddell did or didn't do means nothing. The UFC is a business like any other and those at the top will decree which match up's make business sense. The avenging a loss angle is a nice publicity spinner. The most Chuck can do is request a fight, he can't dictate to his boss.

It amazes me that a man can step into a cage and put himself in the firing line time and time again, yet people like you can't respect him for it. i wonder how you'd react if you met him at an event, would you tell him he's full of crap or would you slobber all over him like i suspect?

Even though i respect Chuck it annoys me that people immediately accept his arguments and excuses while Wand is labeled a "liar" when he does the same thing.

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Posted by redmist

Nonsense. You supposing what Liddell did or didn't do means nothing. The UFC is a business like any other and those at the top will decree which match up's make business sense. The avenging a loss angle is a nice publicity spinner. The most Chuck can do is request a fight, he can't dictate to his boss.

It amazes me that a man can step into a cage and put himself in the firing line time and time again, yet people like you can't respect him for it. i wonder how you'd react if you met him at an event, would you tell him he's full of crap or would you slobber all over him like i suspect?

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It's not a matter of supposing anything, Chuck himself has said in interviews he picked these fights because they were losses from his past. To say Chuck has absolutely no say in who he fights is ridiculous. Dana is known to give his top guys a choice in who they fight look at the options they gave Tito.

As for your second paragraph, why is that even remotely relevant to what we are talking about? Hypothetically if I ever had the chance to talk to Chuck about his choosing opponents and he responded by saying that he never did, you're damn right I would say he was full of crap. You obviously don't know me... my favorite fighter is Tito Ortiz and I think it's pretty safe to say that I have been his most ardent defender on these boards for for the past 3-4 months. There is no doubt in my mind, that given the chance I would make it pretty damn clear how I feel about the liar known as Chuck Liddell.

lets face it the ufc has the fighter fight who the ufc wants the UFC want to make money so they put the whole rematch thing together for the rampage fight to hype it if you watch the fight again IMO Chuck looked scared I really dont think chuck thought he was gonna win maybe not though whell its not up to chuck who he fights

Who is stupid enough to believe Chuck would do that? I mean if he wants another shot at the title, hes going to have to fight actual competition so I know he didnt want thsi fight.

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Posted by Pitbull09

Who is stupid enough to believe Chuck would do that? I mean if he wants another shot at the title, hes going to have to fight actual competition so I know he didnt want thsi fight.

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Sometimes the fights are about confidence and have nothing to do with competition.

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It's not a matter of supposing anything, Chuck himself has said in interviews he picked these fights because they were losses from his past. To say Chuck has absolutely no say in who he fights is ridiculous. Dana is known to give his top guys a choice in who they fight look at the options they gave Tito.

As for your second paragraph, why is that even remotely relevant to what we are talking about? Hypothetically if I ever had the chance to talk to Chuck about his choosing opponents and he responded by saying that he never did, you're damn right I would say he was full of crap. You obviously don't know me... my favorite fighter is Tito Ortiz and I think it's pretty safe to say that I have been his most ardent defender on these boards for for the past 3-4 months. There is no doubt in my mind, that given the chance I would make it pretty damn clear how I feel about the liar known as Chuck Liddell.

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I don't believe i said Liddell has no say. In fact i think he's completely within his rights to request a fight with whomever he wants. But the fact remains that Chuck Liddell is the most recognizable face in MMA, and as such he is the UFC's biggest assett. Is it wise from a business angle to hand your most marketable fighter possibly the toughest fight of his career so soon after a big loss? or would it be better to give him an easier fight and allow shogun to showcase himself to North America before putting the blockbuster fight together. It's not rocket science. it's about big business making money. An employee's wants or desires don't factor in.

I'm confused as to why Tito Oritz' name has been mentioned. i assume this is some kind of admission that you harbour ill will towards liddell for handing your boy a couple of beatings. If so your viewpoints on the matter are partizan and should be taken with a grain of salt

Come on guys every fighter has the option of sort of picking their fights, thats why we here about fighters ducking other fighters all the time ex: Leben vs. Swick. Both fighters have to sign the contract. Of course Chuck gets some say on who he fights.

I like Keith more than Chuck. Always have. I hope Keith KO's him in the first

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Posted by waylon_o

If Chuck got to pick his opponents, I'm sure he wouldn't have picked Rampage. People are just jumping off of the Chuck bandwagon because he lost 1 fight out of his last 10 or however many. That's ignorant.

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Posted by redmist

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It's not a matter of supposing anything, Chuck himself has said in interviews he picked these fights because they were losses from his past. To say Chuck has absolutely no say in who he fights is ridiculous. Dana is known to give his top guys a choice in who they fight look at the options they gave Tito.

As for your second paragraph, why is that even remotely relevant to what we are talking about? Hypothetically if I ever had the chance to talk to Chuck about his choosing opponents and he responded by saying that he never did, you're damn right I would say he was full of crap. You obviously don't know me... my favorite fighter is Tito Ortiz and I think it's pretty safe to say that I have been his most ardent defender on these boards for for the past 3-4 months. There is no doubt in my mind, that given the chance I would make it pretty damn clear how I feel about the liar known as Chuck Liddell.

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I don't believe i said Liddell has no say. In fact i think he's completely within his rights to request a fight with whomever he wants. But the fact remains that Chuck Liddell is the most recognizable face in MMA, and as such he is the UFC's biggest assett. Is it wise from a business angle to hand your most marketable fighter possibly the toughest fight of his career so soon after a big loss? or would it be better to give him an easier fight and allow shogun to showcase himself to North America before putting the blockbuster fight together. It's not rocket science. it's about big business making money. An employee's wants or desires don't factor in.

I'm confused as to why Tito Oritz' name has been mentioned. i assume this is some kind of admission that you harbour ill will towards liddell for handing your boy a couple of beatings. If so your viewpoints on the matter are partizan and should be taken with a grain of salt

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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Posted by nubby

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Posted by redmist

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It's not a matter of supposing anything, Chuck himself has said in interviews he picked these fights because they were losses from his past. To say Chuck has absolutely no say in who he fights is ridiculous. Dana is known to give his top guys a choice in who they fight look at the options they gave Tito.

As for your second paragraph, why is that even remotely relevant to what we are talking about? Hypothetically if I ever had the chance to talk to Chuck about his choosing opponents and he responded by saying that he never did, you're damn right I would say he was full of crap. You obviously don't know me... my favorite fighter is Tito Ortiz and I think it's pretty safe to say that I have been his most ardent defender on these boards for for the past 3-4 months. There is no doubt in my mind, that given the chance I would make it pretty damn clear how I feel about the liar known as Chuck Liddell.

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I don't believe i said Liddell has no say. In fact i think he's completely within his rights to request a fight with whomever he wants. But the fact remains that Chuck Liddell is the most recognizable face in MMA, and as such he is the UFC's biggest assett. Is it wise from a business angle to hand your most marketable fighter possibly the toughest fight of his career so soon after a big loss? or would it be better to give him an easier fight and allow shogun to showcase himself to North America before putting the blockbuster fight together. It's not rocket science. it's about big business making money. An employee's wants or desires don't factor in.

I'm confused as to why Tito Oritz' name has been mentioned. i assume this is some kind of admission that you harbour ill will towards liddell for handing your boy a couple of beatings. If so your viewpoints on the matter are partizan and should be taken with a grain of salt

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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He picked Randleman because at the time Randleman was one of the biggest names. Beating him would boost Chuck's name. We all know why he picked Couture, Horn and Jackson. If Chuck' handpicks names, he picked the ones that beat him and a big name. It's not like he was bigging bums to boost his record.

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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OK let me clear this up for you. Chuck Liddell has denied picking Jardine. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but i have no problem with him requesting fights, especially the ones you mentioned. The point i'm making (for the third and final time) is that Liddell is an employee not a decision maker. If Joe Silva and Dana White decide that a fight with Jardine has no merit then it won't happen, regardless of Chuck's desires. Only they can rubber stamp match up's.

So once more for clarity. Liddell denied picking Jardine from a list, i believe him. Successful businessmen do not allow staff to make decisions and forum members should not throw around words like "Liar" without good evidence. I'm done with this thread

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Posted by redmist

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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OK let me clear this up for you. Chuck Liddell has denied picking Jardine. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but i have no problem with him requesting fights, especially the ones you mentioned. The point i'm making (for the third and final time) is that Liddell is an employee not a decision maker. If Joe Silva and Dana White decide that a fight with Jardine has no merit then it won't happen, regardless of Chuck's desires. Only they can rubber stamp match up's.

So once more for clarity. Liddell denied picking Jardine from a list, i believe him. Successful businessmen do not allow staff to make decisions and forum members should not throw around words like "Liar" without good evidence. I'm done with this thread

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There was nothing to clear up because it was already clear as day that Liddell has --by his own self admission-- hand picked opponents in the past, their abilities as fighters are completely irrelevant. Now, I don't particularly care if he picked Jardine or not, but here are the facts
1) Liddell hand picked no less than 4 opponents
2) liddell stated he never hand picked opponents

What do you call a person who contradicts the truth?

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Posted by nubby

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Posted by redmist

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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OK let me clear this up for you. Chuck Liddell has denied picking Jardine. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but i have no problem with him requesting fights, especially the ones you mentioned. The point i'm making (for the third and final time) is that Liddell is an employee not a decision maker. If Joe Silva and Dana White decide that a fight with Jardine has no merit then it won't happen, regardless of Chuck's desires. Only they can rubber stamp match up's.

So once more for clarity. Liddell denied picking Jardine from a list, i believe him. Successful businessmen do not allow staff to make decisions and forum members should not throw around words like "Liar" without good evidence. I'm done with this thread

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There was nothing to clear up because it was already clear as day that Liddell has --by his own self admission-- hand picked opponents in the past, their abilities as fighters are completely irrelevant. Now, I don't particularly care if he picked Jardine or not, but here are the facts
1) Liddell hand picked no less than 4 opponents
2) liddell stated he never hand picked opponents

What do you call a person who contradicts the truth?

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Some people think that fighting Jardine is beneath Chuck. What I think Chuck was saying, but doing it in a political manner not to disrespect Jardine, is, he doesn't handpick fighters that aren't in the same class as he is. That if he gets his choice he'd rather fight someone who he feels has a chance to beat him.

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Posted by nubby

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Posted by redmist

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The reason you are confused is because you obviously have a reading comprehension problem. The issue was not if Chuck should be given an easier fight with Jardine but whether or not he picks who he fights. It's undeniable that he has picked people that he wanted to fight specifically he has asked to fight Kevin Randleman, Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn, and Quinton Jackson. If that's not hand picking your competition I don't know what is.

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OK let me clear this up for you. Chuck Liddell has denied picking Jardine. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but i have no problem with him requesting fights, especially the ones you mentioned. The point i'm making (for the third and final time) is that Liddell is an employee not a decision maker. If Joe Silva and Dana White decide that a fight with Jardine has no merit then it won't happen, regardless of Chuck's desires. Only they can rubber stamp match up's.

So once more for clarity. Liddell denied picking Jardine from a list, i believe him. Successful businessmen do not allow staff to make decisions and forum members should not throw around words like "Liar" without good evidence. I'm done with this thread

---

There was nothing to clear up because it was already clear as day that Liddell has --by his own self admission-- hand picked opponents in the past, their abilities as fighters are completely irrelevant. Now, I don't particularly care if he picked Jardine or not, but here are the facts
1) Liddell hand picked no less than 4 opponents
2) liddell stated he never hand picked opponents

What do you call a person who contradicts the truth?

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Requesting to fight someone is not handpicking opponents. If the UFC thought they couldn't sell a fight well, they probably wouldn't make it. If Matt Hughes requested to fight Dennis Hallman, I doubt the UFC would oblige him. Anyway, there is a difference between saying to Dana I would like to avenge all my losses, and him granting the request. I think this fight is about PPV numbers for the casual fan, and Jardine is well known to all. Also, Jardine is still top 15 IMO, so It's not a gimme fight. I would have a problem if Chuck was still champ, but he's not. I don't mind him having to work his way back up with a couple of fights personally.