Liddell proves he’s a ‘deadly warrior’

By Andy Samuelson

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 | midnight

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell packs quite a punch.

Need proof?

How about 1,000 pounds of force per pop. That’s the reading “The Iceman” tested out at for Spike TV’s newest show, “Deadliest Warrior,” which debuts tonight at 10 p.m. on Cox Cable Ch. 29.

According to the show’s description, the nine-episode series pits “two of the most feared warriors civilization has ever known against each other.”

“Along with the use of 21st century science and the latest in CGI technology, each episode enlists warrior-specific world-class fighters and experts to provide insight into what makes these combatants tick, analyzing every facet of their unique skills of destruction, culminating in a head-to-head final fight between two legends of the battlefield that will produce the deadliest warrior.”

The program starts off tonight with a classic showdown between Apache versus Gladiator.

During a preview for the adult-themed program Liddell is seen testing ancient Roman weapons, including a Cestus — the original boxing glove, only lined with several sharp spikes.

“That’s sick,” says a smiling Liddell. “I would love to bring one of these in the Octagon, it would give me a distinct advantage when I’m throwing my jab.”

So naturally, the camera quickly cuts to a scene of Liddell swinging away on a slab of beef, destroying every rib in the animal’s carcass in much the same manner the barbaric glove would to a human.

“This would make a whole other level of being scared,” Liddell said.

No fear here: As if actor Mickey Rourke needed any help Sunday night after being called out by Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXV, mixed martial artist Frank Shamrock backed his buddy inside Reliant Stadium in Houston.

After weakly trying to talk the star of “The Wrestler” from giving in to Jericho’s macho prodding, Shamrock reluctantly gave Rourke his blessing.

The former boxer quickly removed his jacket and cowboy hat and proceeded to drop Jericho (who had just disposed of legendary wrestlers, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Ric Flair) with a left hook.

No doubt the action, scripted or not, had to pump Shamrock up — not only for his Strikeforce fight this weekend against Nick Diaz in San Jose, Calif., and possibly a future battle with his brother, Ken.

Ken, who in the late 1990s was a pro wrestling champion in the WWE organization, has had a longstanding feud with Frank.

The two talked about scheduling a fight with each other, but when the 45-year-old Ken recently failed a drug test by the California State Athletic Commission his already cloudy future in the sport came into doubt.

“Fighting is a lot of ego, and that's OK," Frank said in a recent radio interview with "MMA Nation" in Washington, D.C. "But you got to walk a fine line between what's ego and what's reality. And Ken's ego unfortunately has passed way into his reality and now it is his reality.

"I'm 36, I'm pretty broken and I see the end coming. Ken doesn't see the end and it's just silly."

More wrestling, MMA and boxing: Local fight fans will be able to get a triple dip next weekend in nearby Primm.

On Friday night, undefeated Cuban boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa (13-0, 11 KOs) will take on Jose Rojas (25-6-1, 17 KOs) for the WBA Featherweight World Title.

Saturday marks the second installment of the Worlds Collide event at Buffalo Bill’s casino. Five Nevada fighters will take part in the eight-bout show that marks the second of three quarterfinal rounds in the MMA/boxing event.

Then on Sunday, 24 wrestlers will participate in a Lucha Libre event. Legendary wrestlers “Super Crazy” and “Super Parka” highlight in a promotion featuring 10 minis, women and three-man tag-team matches.