Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell
San Luis Obispo, California, USA

Any fan of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) knows of Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. This light-heavyweight champion is touted as the main reason that UFC fighting has overtaken boxing as the favored sport of Vegas odds-makers and pay-per-view patrons. Nicknamed the Iceman by an early trainer, who was amazed at how calm and collected Chuck was before a fight, Liddell has won numerous wrestling, martial arts, and kickboxing titles.

Known for his powerful kicks and trademark overhand left hook, Chuck is also well-known for his tattoos. He currently has two. Most visible is the one on his arm, which depicts the upper body of a fighter and reads The Pit Kempo. It is the fight team tattoo from the studio where Chuck trains. One must be on the fight team, or a black belt at the studio, to be eligible to wear the design.

Chuck’s most famous tattoo is on his mohawked head. Yes, his head. The three Asian letters behind his left ear translate to “a place of peace and prosperity.” It states the philosophy behind his original martial arts training style. Almost as interesting as what the tattoo says is the reason behind its placement. Chuck got the tattoo as an accounting major in college. “I wanted it somewhere where people could see it,” he explains, but adds that if the fighting career would not have worked out, “I had to be able to cover it up, if I were to go and be getting a real job.” Fortunately for Chuck and his fans, he’s never had to grow the hair back over it.

In fact, it is the one feature that fans most use to identify Chuck in public. He describes how people approach him, “you’d see them, walking up to you in a bar, and they’d see my haircut. ‘Okay, I think that’s him,’ and then you’d see them kind of look and walk around and check to make sure I had the tattoo on the side of my head.”

A number of UFC fighters have tattoos. “I don’t know if it’s expected, but it’s definitely accepted,” says Chuck. “I had them before I was fighting professionally. I don’t think they could have stopped us anyway. I would have done it even if it didn’t make them happy. Fighting’s a different kind of career. Whether they like it or not, if I’m fighting, it’s not like they could stop me from doing stuff. Although I was thinking of doing a big back piece at one point, and they (the UFC) asked me not to. They don’t mind if they already have it, that’s fine. They won’t hold it against you. At this point, they thought I had plenty. I think the idea was, I have enough tattoos where if people don’t like tattoos they can accept it. But if I did a little more it might be too much more.”

Of course, there may still be additional tattoos in Chuck’s future. “Never know. We’ll see….” If there are, they will be purposeful and meaningful. “What I think is always funny is those guys that walk in and say, ‘I’ll take number…let’s see, let me look through that book…I’ll take number 8.’ That’s weird to me. You know, to get tattooed just to get tattooed.” However, if the design means something personal to you, the Iceman thinks that’s great. “I think as far as tattoos go, these are groups of people that aren’t afraid to express themselves. They like to express themselves with tattoos, so that’s what they do.”

And do people like how Chuck has chosen to express himself with his tattoos? “Everyone seems to like them,” Chuck muses. “I mean, I don’t think they’d tell me if they didn’t.”

(Editor’s Note: Chuck graciously consented to interview with Tattoo Meanings over the phone, so we were not able to take any photographs. To see Chuck’s designs , please visit his website).

Return to Top of Chuck The Iceman Liddell Tattoo Page.

Return to the Professors Page.