UFC alum Chuck Liddell filed for divorce on Friday from his wife of 10 years, Heidi. The news comes days after he was arrested for domestic violence in Los Angeles. TMZ reports Liddell was arrested on Monday morning at his Hidden Hills home after reports of a domestic disturbance. After police spoke to the couple, they determined that Liddell and his wife had gotten into a verbal altercation that turned physical.ย
Liddell was arrested and placed in a cop car, but he insists he was actually the victim in the incident. However, he went with the police so that his wife could stay in the home with their minor child.ย
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“I was the victim of the incident last night at our family home, as details of the case will reveal,” Liddell said in a statement the day after the arrest. “The deputies informed me that my wife would be arrested, as I did not respond to her assault while I sustained bruising and lacerations. I volunteered to go in her place.”
“This was one of many times I have tried to shield a family mental health issue from public purview. It has become painfully apparent that this cannot continue, as our private life has now reached a public breaking point,” Liddell continued. He went on to ask that the public respect their privacy at this sensitive time. Chuck and Heidi share two children together: a daughter, Guinevere, and a son, Charles David Liddell Jr.ย
Liddell “officially retired” from UFC fighting last March, right around the time he began fielding comments about his age from President of the UFC Dana White. White alleged Liddell shouldn’t be stepping up to fight at his age โโ he was pushing 50 years old at the time. “I think the headlines of that really didn’t go with what he said, exactly. I talked to him about it afterwards and that’s not really,” Liddell said in response. “He understands. He doesn’t want me to fight. I get it. I don’t think he was begging me not to fight. He was just saying, age. If he was worried about me going out and fighting again he’d give me a call. He called me last time. We talked about it and it is what it is.”