A UFC Hall of Famer was on the streets promoting peace in Huntington Beach, Calif. – and it wasn’t hometown “bad boy” Tito Ortiz.
Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was seen Sunday trying to de-escalate situations during a protest for the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer subdued him with his knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes. The Floyd incident, which was captured on video, has sparked demonstrations throughout the country, some of which have resulted in looting and rioting.
In a video posted by Los Angeles news affiliate ABC7, Liddell, 53, can be seen standing between two groups. When one man starts getting aggressive, Liddell steps in front of him in an attempt to calm him down.
“It’s good to see people defending their city,” said Liddell, who lives in nearby Santa Barbara but is staying in Huntington Beach. “It’s terrible. Violence begets violence. Violence doesn’t help anybody. We all know what happened (to George Floyd) was wrong. Everybody I know thinks it was wrong. It’s hard to watch.
“This doesn’t help it. Destroying cities, destroying people, hurting people does not do any good for anybody. Hey, protest all you want; just do it peacefully.”
Liddell is the second UFC star to be spotted serving as a peacemaker in his community. On Monday, current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones posted a video on Instagram of him taking spray canisters away from vandals in Albuquerque, N.M., where he resides.
