SUMMARY
- Chuck Liddell fell off a Lamborghini yacht in San Diego over the weekend.
- Fans were reminded of a claim made by his ex-wife that Liddell suffered from CTE due to his fighting career.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell fell off a boat in San Diego over the weekend. According to a video obtained by TMZ, Liddell fell over the edge of a Lamborghini yacht—however, scenes after his rescue confirmed that no real damage was done.
In the video, it is seen that Liddell was talking to a couple of people on the yacht expressively. During the conversation, he started to move backward – maybe due to the yacht’s movement – and slipped off the boat’s edge.
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The people surrounding him were unaware of his descent and got right onto the scene when they saw him drop into the bay. He was helped back on the boat. However, after returning, he shook off the fall like it was nothing. He even waved to some fans around him.
CTE
— AJ (@AlexJ_Daugherty) February 25, 2024
This abrupt fall took many fans back to a claim made by his ex-wife. Heidi Liddell claimed Chuck suffered from CTE and cannot remember things.
Chuck Liddell’s ex-wife Heidi accused the former UFC fighter of suffering from CTE
Heidi and Chuck were reportedly married for over a decade before they filed for divorce in 2021. Chuck was arrested under the charges of domestic violence but he accused Heidi of being the instigator instead.
Their situation led to a court battle between them for the custody of their children. In the court document, Heidi alleged that The Iceman suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“He’s been knocked out many times and has CTE,” she said, according to MMA Mania. “He can’t remember stuff and gets stuck on speech. He’s going to have dementia or Alzheimer’s. He has terrible sleep apnea.”
Up until 2006, Chuck held a 20-3 record in pro-MMA and had defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship four times. However, by the time he retired in 2010, his record was 21-8. Chuck went against everyone’s advice to face long-time rival Tito Ortiz in 2018 at the age of 48. He lost that bout via KO in the first round.
Out of his 9 career defeats, Chuck has suffered 7 knockouts. His training and hard-sparring regime have also been stated as reasons that could lead to CTE. However, there are no confirmed reports about Chuck suffering from CTE. He also settled with his wife on joint custody of their two children – a daughter and a son.
Chuck Liddell claims football has more risk of CTE than fighting
Liddell touched upon the topic of CTE in a December 2023 podcast appearance. He was a guest on the ‘Club Random with Bill Maher’ in December 2023. Maher, the host, claimed Liddell was completely normal and there was nothing about him that indicated he had CTE.
Moreover, Liddell talked about how fighters are protected against CTE more than footballers. He claimed that fighters can take a break after suffering a knockout. They are not called into action straight after. However, when it comes to footballers, they have to come straight back next week to take more beating.
