Chuck Liddell has created quite a name for himself in the intense world of the UFC. I know Chuck from “back in the day,” as they say. We both grew up in Santa Barbara and went to San Marcos High. Sometimes our crews would overlap at parties in IV or where ever. He hung out with my brother Bobby more. (Bob, if you read this call me.) Sometimes we would get pretty crazy. Sometimes we would get REALLY crazy. One night in The Goodland I got myself into an impossible situation. There was no way I could fight my way out of it and expect to live. Jacobsen’s sister Mary Lynn saw the situation developing and made a call and got a hold of Chuck. It wasn’t long until he arrived.

Chuck was maybe seventeen at the time and he already had a heavy reputation. When he arrived he walked into the room crowded with 30-40, mostly drunk and aggressive, young men and their female companions. It was like the parting of the Red Sea in the Bible. He walks in, comes right through the parting mass towards me. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. When he gets to me he says, “Looks like you got yourself into a fix. You ready to go?” I said “Yep.” “We’re outta here.” he said. As we left not a word was said and it remained quiet. Never once was there a glint of concern on his face. When we got outside I said thanks, he said no problem and we each jumped into our cars to leave. As he got into his I realized his car was full of his crew, maybe five more guys, and they were off. I was tripping out. He knew he was walking into a hostile situation and made the other guys stay in the car. Through it all he maintained his quiet, humble demeanor. He’s still like that today.

These photos were shot in the Cal PolyArt & Design photo studio in 2004. Thanks for the honor Chuck. Go get’em. The Central Coast is full of surprises