Las Vegas Weekly

August 25, 2009 · 7:32 AM

Sneak Peek: UFC fighter Chuck Liddell rehearses for DWTS

By Robin Leach

Chuck Liddell prepares to compete on ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: Harper Smith/ABC TV

Hometown mixed martial arts superstar Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell has been the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now it’s time for his feet to do the talking instead of his fists! As fast as he raced the ring, now he’s planning to devour the dance floor.

Vegas DeLuxe has photos of the UFC fighter’s opening day rehearsals for Season 9 of Dancing With the Stars, which premieres with the highly anticipated two-hour episode on Sept. 21 on ABC.

Flamingo headliner Donny Osmond, who has been partnered with Season 4 runner-up Kym Johnson (then with Joey Fatone), also will compete on Season 9, along with regular Las Vegas visitor Kelly Osborne with pro partner Louis Van Amsel.

Chuck has been partnered with Russian-born Anna Trebunskaya, who is married to pro dancer cast mate Jonathan Roberts. Anna danced with Jerry Rice in Season 2 and Steve Guttenberg in Season 6.

In this first photo gallery, Chuck is already hard at work with six-hour rehearsal days. He won his first UFC fight in 1998 and went on to become the light heavyweight champion. In July, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is tied for the most wins by a UFC fighter, with 16, and also holds the most knockout wins with 10. In 2008, Chuck penned his autobiography, Iceman: My Fighting Life, a New York Times bestseller.

The all-new cast of celebrities, the most ever with 16, will battle in three back-to-back double eliminations through the weekly Monday and Tuesday night challenges, which Vegas DeLuxe will follow diligently. The next morning, we’ll have photos each week of Chuck, Donny and Kelly.

We plan to feature Donny and Kelly’s first rehearsal photos on Thursday, so be sure to click back!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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