The Iceman takes on a whole new challenge with Dancing with the Stars

Chuck Liddell gets his first taste of the spotlight as a dancer

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell received mixed results from his dancing debut on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” on Monday night. The pro-Iceman crowd, led by UFC president Dana White and majority owners Lawrence and Frank Fertitta, gave Chuck a warm ovation after performing the foxtrot with his partner, 28 year-old Russian professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya (4th season). The judges however are a totally different story, as the effort was appreciated but the technique was criticized to a “T.”

Taking the floor second out of eight on an all-male, two-hour season premier night, Liddell looked quite out of his element without the eight-sided cage surrounding him.

Wearing a suit, tie and black hat, which covered up his trademark Mohawk, Liddell performed a stiff, calculated and deliberate routine. As he finished his minute and a half foxtrot, it was time for a part of the show that was not unfamiliar to him. It was time for three judges to help determine his future in the competition.

First up was Bruno Tonioli, who began by commenting on the surprising approval of the Hollywood crowd saying, “I have to say, the gentle Neanderthal and the Russian princess went down very well with the audience.” His critique of the dancing part was not as comforting saying, “Nevertheless the Foxtrot was very rough” and concluded with “You’re very charming and people liked you.”

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba agreed with Bruno stating: “It’s true you’re not graceful yet, but you were smooth and you were charming and they loved you.”

Usually the most critical of the three judges, Len Goodman, gave Chuck advice instead of his usual harsh remarks by commenting, “Now don’t get overexcited but it was actually better than I thought it was going to be. It was a bit aggressive though. I want you to get in touch with your feminine side a little but more, a little more graceful if you could. But great entertainment, I smiled the whole way through.”

When it was time for the Iceman to face the music and get his scores, they were not what he would have liked to see. Taking scores of 5/10, 6/10, 5/10 for a total of 16/30, Liddell didn’t finish in last position after the first dance. Former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Michael Irvin (13/30) and Ashley Hamilton (15/30), son of singer George Hamilton, scored lower.

For his second dance, Chuck was part of a salsa relay which saw four couples go in succession of each other. The results were much of the same as the first dance, finishing third out of the four couples. He finished the evening in sixth place out of eight male competitors with a score of 22.

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For now, it looks as if the UFC world is going to be open to this mainstream gig on network television, pushing for the future Hall-of-Fame fighter by setting up a voting link on their home website. Even Dana White is getting in on the Dancing with the Stars action, helping motivate Chuck by putting up a $10,000 bet, claiming that he wouldn’t weigh 212 pounds before this weekend. Needless to say, Chuck met his mark and won his bet and is earning credit for taking this spot seriously.

If you would like to vote for Chuck and keep him dancing for one more week, you can call 800.868.3402 or go to ABC.com or UFC.com and vote for Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer