"I can’t retire him, but he gave me his word that he was going to retire so … To be honest with you, he and I have talked, and he has said, yes, he will retire … So we’ll see what happens. He and I are getting together next week … We’re going to get together and talk about a lot of things. He’s coming into town, and we’ve got a lot to talk about."
-- UFC President Dana White responds to comments made on the "Cofield and Cokin Show" on ESPNRadio1100. Despite claiming that he "retired" Chuck immediately after his loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 back in April, White has since backed off a bit from the retirement talk, allowing that it’s the former champion’s ultimate decision, but underscoring the fact that Liddell gave White his word that retirement was imminent. Everything could be settled at their meeting next week, when White plans to discuss "The Iceman’s" future with the organization, including his retirement plans (or lack thereof), as well as "a lot of things." (Perhaps an induction into the UFC’s Hall of Fame could fall into that category, as could details of a post-fighting career with the promotion?) Steve Cofield pressed White regarding rumors that Liddell could be interested in a light heavyweight matchup with former middleweight champion Rich Franklin as the headliner for UFC 103, which is thought to be occurring in Dallas on September 19. When asked, White simply laughed it off, saying, "Who knows, we’ll see what happens." Since reigning atop the UFC’s most exciting division from roughly 2004-2006, Liddell (21-7) has since dropped four of his last five bouts, albeit to three of the top five ranked light heavyweights in the world, and can likely still serve as a top pay-per-view draw. The countdown to "The Iceman’s" future in the UFC, which began back in April, looks to be coming to a conclusion with his upcoming meeting with the company president. Will he retire, or could we see one more round against "Ace"? Sound off, maniacs.