UFC’s Chuck Liddell does hot yoga in Clovis ahead of fight. Could he handle the heat?
Whoever thought yoga is only for women or wussies would’ve been quite surprised by who attended a yoga session Wednesday afternoon in Clovis.
Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, a famous mix-martial arts fighter and a former UFC light heavyweight champ, participated in a hot yoga workout at Blue Moon Yoga.
In town to visit his sports management team Zinkin Entertainment Co., Liddell elected to do yoga as part of his training and recovery for the day. Liddell ended up at Blue Moon Yoga on a friend’s recommendation.
Liddell, 48, is preparing for a fight against Tito Ortiz in a pay-per-view event later this year.
Rather than conduct his usual striking and grappling workouts, Liddell immersed himself in an array of balance postures and stretches with a group of other students, who, yes, were mostly female.
It all took place in a heated room set at 105 degrees and 45 percent humidity.
“He was a champ,” said Christine Brown, who is an instructor at Blue Moon Yoga but attended Wednesday’s session as a fellow student. “He did all of the poses. He didn’t sit out once.”
Hot yoga, by the way, is often considered more difficult than the more common vinyasa yoga.
And it’s become quite popular with local pros, with players from both the Fresno Grizzlies and Fresno FC Foxes attending Blue Moon Yoga for regular sessions.
“Working out in the heat allows you to get into your postures deeper and increase flexibility,” Brown said. “There’s also the sweat factor, which allows you to release more toxins.”
Liddell lasted the entire hour of class, while working out in the back row.
Though Brown was aware who Liddell was, many others in the class were not.
It wasn’t until after the session when the MMA fighter started taking photos with the studio owner and teachers that students began realizing they’d just worked out with someone famous.
“One guy there was in super disbelief,” Brown said. “He kept asking ‘Is this really Chuck? Is this really Chuck?’ “
Yes, “the Iceman” apparently approves of hot yoga.
This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 12:19 AM.