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Chuck Liddell prepares to go “Dancing With The Stars”

Mixed Martial Arts Betting and Odds
August 22, 2009

It was announced today that mixed martial arts legend and Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will face his toughest opponent yet: dance judge Len Goodman.

Online sportsbooks have the entertainment betting prop bet odds for all this years contestants with the former UFC champion opening up at 12/1.  The favorite to win this year’s Dancing with the Stars is Singer & Reality Star Aaron Carter and Grammy Award Winning Singer & Actress Mya followed by 51 year old Singer, Actor, and Entertainer by Bodog.

Once again the athletes will be well represented. Not only will Chuck Liddell be the first mixed martial arts fighter to ever Dance on stage but Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Natalie Coughlin 7/1, Professional Champion Snowboarder Louie Vito 12/1, Michael Irvin 7/2 win try to be the last dancer standing.

Michael Irvin was Emmitt Smith’s, the season 3 winner NFL teammate and will have a lot of advice to give his former Super bowl teammate,

If you like long shots you can place a prop bet on Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay who opened up at 25 to 1.


“I want to win,” Liddell told UFC.com. “I don’t like losing in anything, so I’ll work as hard as they’ll let me.”


“The Iceman” will join 15 other celebrities on the hit series, in the process becoming the first mixed martial artist to compete on DWTS. But Liddell, the sport’s first true crossover star, is comfortable with being an ambassador for MMA, and looking forward to having some fun in the process.


“I’m gonna go out, be myself, and show what kind of people we do have in this sport,” he said. “I’m sure the reaction will be mixed (among fight fans). My friends are gonna be excited and I’ll never hear the end of it because they’ll make fun of me, but it should be fun and I think everyone will like it.”


Liddell, 39, is no stranger to “Dancing With The Stars”, having appeared on the third season to support friend Willa Ford during her stint on the show, but despite there being talk of him competing over the years, the timing never worked out until now.


“They asked a couple different times, but it would be too much time to take off from training for fights,” said Liddell. “Now I don’t have any fights coming up and I’m not training, so it’s something to do.”


“It’s working different muscles that maybe I haven’t used before,” said Liddell. “I did a golf tournament where I had to play 18 holes four days in a row and I hadn’t played that many rounds of golf in my whole life. So I was sore – my back hurt, my ribs were tight.”


And that’s just a taste of what he’ll be going through to prepare for his dancing debut and what he hopes will be a weekly return to the ABC stage. He’s already been gearing up for his Monday meeting with his dance partner and the initial training stages as he gets ready to become the latest in the line of sports greats who have competed on the show, including NFL legends Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice, Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno, Shawn Johnson, and Maurice Greene, and former boxing champions Evander Holyfield and Laila Ali.


“There’s a month up to when the show starts when I’m practicing, and I’ve been trying to get in a little bit of shape before I meet my partner,” said Liddell, who may have an edge over his competitors thanks to the footwork that has led him to 21 pro MMA victories, a light heavyweight world championship, and a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. He’s not so sure though.


“I don’t know who else is gonna be on there, so I don’t know how much of an edge that gives me or how that’s gonna translate, but I haven’t tried it yet, so we’ll see,” said Liddell, who has no formal dance training. “When I talked to them after I agreed to do it, they said if you don’t have any background in dancing, just learn it when you get here. Don’t confuse yourself by starting with somebody and then having to come over and re-learn it.”


Liddell has a little over a month to learn, and fight fans know that if you give “The Iceman” a solid training camp, good things usually follow. He’s eager to find out if the same applies to “Dancing With The Stars”.


“It’s work time, so it should be interesting,” he said. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited to get started and see where I’m at.”


“Dancing With The Stars” premieres on Monday, September 21st at 8pm.

This year’s cast of Season 9 Dancing with the Stars along with the online betting props and entertainment bets provided by Bodog include:

To bet on Dancing with the Stars Seaons 9 go to Bodog