The Iceman Kick-Asseth!
You ever run into a friend you haven't seen or heard from in years, but you start talking and after a few minutes it's like you were never apart?Other times you meet someone for the first time and they are so at ease that within minutes you can be talking like you were old friends or long-lost brothers.
That other guy would be Chuck, I think. Perhaps it's staying in his home town that has kept him so grounded, or perhaps it's keeping his day job where any kid who walks into his gym off the street can talk to him about starting classes, but you simply will not meet another guy as unaffected and unassuming as Chuck Liddell.
We had a nice chat at SLO Kickboxing, then after I checked into my hotel Chuck picked me up in his Humvee and we had a late lunch at a seafood place overlooking the pier on Pismo Beach. Chuck is a busy guy, I'm guessing from how often he has to take calls or check his Sidekick. While we were eating he took a phone call, slapped his forehead and said like "Dude! I totally spaced!" Seems he was supposed to meet a local TV news crew for a story and would have to reschedule, but he said I shouldn't worry about it.Even though we were chowing down on crab legs and steamers at four, Chuck invited me to a "victory dinner" he was having at a steakhouse that night. I thought it would be some big public awards event...but it turns out they'd already done that. This was a private dinner with his loyal retinue, the people who have backed him since day one and the up-and-coming fighters he's working with. It was a little awkward for me when Chuck was the last to show, but as long as he's treating a total stranger like an old friend, I was down with it.
When Chuck had to change our original plans to do something with his daughter, he invited me to drop over to his house for a short visit instead, which says volumes both about what kind of dad Chuck is and how generous and open-hearted he is. He's at the same time proud and a little embarrassed to show off some of the extravagant gifts his employers have given him. Compliment Chuck on his nice house, or his nice ride, or his nice girlfriend (Chuck, you lucky dog, you), and he'll likely answer the same every time: "I can't complain." I think the writer at ESPN Magazine who interviewed him searched long and hard for the right phrase to describe Chuck, and must have been pleased with himself when he came up with: "awash in serenity." It's hard to argue with that.
