Liddell finishes 11th out of 16 competitors after his week four elimination.

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“I want to win,” Liddell, who’s sitting out until mid-2010 while deciding on retiring, today told UFC.com. “I don’t like losing in anything, so I’ll work as hard as they’ll let me.”

“Dancing With The Stars” premieres on Monday, September 21st at 8pm on ABC.

Dan Cramer has been released by the UFC following a Saturday loss to Matthew Riddle at UFC 101. The UFC.com profiles for Cramer, Thales Leites, George Roop and Danillo Villefort, have all been taken down, fueling speculation that Leites, Roop, and Villefort may have also been cut following their UFC 101 fights.

Pictured: Anderson Silva

UFC President Dana White announced the latest inductees via Twitter on Monday evening.

The pair are set to be inducted at 6:30pm PT on Friday on the eve of UFC 100 at the UFC Fan Expo at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Liddell, MMA’s most-popular and well-known fighter, inconspicuously made his MMA debut at UFC 17 in May 1998, defeating Noe Hernandez via unanimous decision to kick off a streak that saw him win 12 of his first 13 fights over the likes of  Jeff Monson, Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort and Renato Sobral. After picking up a victory over Alistair Overeem between losses to Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson, Liddell won back-to-back fights over Tito Ortiz and Vernon White before winning the 205-pound title with a first-round knockout of Couture in April 2005.

“The Iceman” would go on to defend the title four-straight times against Jeremy Horn, Couture, Sobral, and Ortiz before relinquishing it to Quinton Jackson in May 2007 after suffering a first-round knockout. After losing the belt, Liddell would win just once more inside the Octagon, defeating Wanderlei Silva in late-2007 in one of the most thrilling fights in recent history, while suffering losses Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Though Liddell has not yet officially retired, the UFC President White has made no secret of his wish for the UFC star to hang up his gloves after compiling a 21-7 career mark and having an extended reign as the top light heavyweight in the world. Liddell recently stated that he wouldn’t return until after April 2010 at the earliest should he opt to continue his fighting career.

Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., who died on March 11, 2009 as a result of a tragic car crash, becomes the first posthumous inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. He co-founded what would become the sport’s biggest apparel company, TapouT, in 1997 with Dan Caldwell (”Punkass”) by selling MMA apparel out of the trunk of a car. TapouT quickly grew alongside the UFC into a multi-million dollar company that has become synonymous with the sport, with its growth exploding in recent years, jumping from $22.5 million in 2007 to a predicted $225 million in 2009. Mask and Punkass, along with a third partner “Skyscrape,” were featured on a TapouT reality show on Versus, which followed the trio and they scouted up-and-coming fighters.

Liddell and Lewis will join Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, and Mark Coleman as members of the UFC Hall of Fame.

[Pictured: Chuck Liddell]

“[I'm planning on sitting out] for at least a year or so, just to let my head rest. I haven’t personally made a decision one way or the other. Hopefully my brain can heal over time. The shot last fight is something that normally wouldn’t hurt me. I think I need at least some time off from getting hit. I’m going to take time off sparring then. I’ll train still. Still gonna roll. I’ll probably do a little more jiu-jitsu than normal because I like it. It’s fun.”

While Liddell’s retirement decision can wait, the UFC must soon find a headliner for UFC 103, which currently boasts Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann and Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg as its top bouts.

• Former EliteXC lightweight champ KJ Noons will return to MMA in 2009, likely with Strikeforce.
• Dana White is featured on the cover of the first-ever UFC magazine.
• Former UFC fighter Lee Murray, who was accused of a record $92 million robbery in 2006 in the UK, was released from a Moroccan prison on Wednesday only to be re-arrested on Thursday to be tried under Moroccan law at the request of British authorities.
• According to rumors, Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans are likely to headline UFC 107 on December 19 in Las Vegas. Main events aren’t yet rumored for Fight Night 19 (September 16 – Oklahoma City),  UFC 105 (November 14 – Manchester, England), UFC 106 (November 21 – Las Vegas), or The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale (December 5 – Las Vegas).
• A possible headliner for one of the upcoming events is Chuck Liddell, with rumors swirling in recent days that the former UFC light heavyweight champ won’t retire and will instead return for at least one more bout, with Rich Franklin mentioned as a possible opponent.
• WEC and PFC lightweight veteran Poppies Martinez has signed  with Strikeforce and will make his debut at the promotion’s August 15 event featuring Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg.
• Perhaps in an attempt to dismiss rumors fueled by Diego Sanchez’s recent interview that he could pull out of his August 8 lightweight bout with Kenny Florian, BJ Penn’s latest video blog is brief, simply showing the UFC lightweight champ stepping on a scale and weight in at slim 166.8 pounds ahead of the 155-pound bout.
• In a recent interview with Knuckled Up, WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone, who has just one fight remaining on his current contract, says that a move to the UFC is possible and that he wants to fight Cole Miller.
• With his broken hand now healed, Houston Alexander is working on his ground game with veteran Jeremy Horn in preparation for a fall UFC return.
• Following the recent demise of Setanta, the UFC’s new television partner in the UK could be ESPN.
• Early UFC fighters Mikey Burnett and Pat Miletich could rematch at a to-be-announced Strikeforce event in Oklahoma.
• Weigh-ins for UFC 100 will take place at 7pm ET on Friday July 10 and will air live on MMAFrenzy.com.
• Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Choi Mu Bae and Clay French vs. Eiji Mitsuoka have been added to the card for Sengoku Ninth Battle, which takes place on August 2 in Saitama, Japan.
• Hopes to have MMA regulated in New York before year-end have been dashed after the 2009 legislative session ended earlier this week before a decision was made on the bill.
• Aleksander Emelianenko will take on Blagoi Invanov, the 2008 Combat Sambo champion who defeated his brother Fedor en-route to the title, at a September 29 event in South Korea.
• In an appearance on HDNet’s “Inside MMA,” Cyrille Diabate, who appeared as the Team US striking coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, says he expects to make his UFC debut this year.
• Lyoto Machida, Randy Couture, and Fedor Emelianenko are some of the fighters who could be featured in EA’s mixed martial arts video game.
• The UFC will return to Germany in early-2010, with an event scheduled for April in Oberhausen.
• PRIDE veteran Ricardo Arona will resume his career on September 12 in Brazil.
• The UFC awarded TUF 9 coaches Dan Hendersona and Michael Bisping new Land Rovers.
• Wanderlei Silva, who lost a close decision to Rich Franklin earlier this month at UFC 99, wants to fight twice more before the end of 2009.

[Pictured: Chuck Liddell]

As a guest on “Inside the Octagon” hosted by TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah, White also confirmed that light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will defend his title on October 24 in Los Angeles against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and maintained that he’d prefer Chuck Liddell retire, though the most surprising news was the announcement that Belfort may again be competing inside the Octagon.

Currently under contract with Affliction and scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago on August 1 at Affliction: Trilogy, Belfort has won four-straight fights since 2007, defeating Ivan Serati and James Zikic at light heavyweight before moving to middleweight in July 2008 with a second-round knockout of Terry Martin. In January, Belfort dispatched of veteran Matt Lindland via knockout in just 37-seconds.

Belfort won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2004 with a first-round cut TKO of Randy Couture, but lost the belt to Couture in a rematch later that year via third-round doctor’s stoppage. “The Phenom” left the UFC following a split-decision loss to Tito Ortiz, then suffered another loss to Alistair Overeem in PRIDE. Belfort went 2-2 with another loss to Overeem and a defeat to Dan Henderson before his recent four-fight win streak. He holds previous notable wins over Marvin Eastman, Bobby Southworth, Heath Herring, Wanderlei Silva, and Gilbert Yvel.

According to White, Silva wishes to remain at 185-pounds following his UFC 101 light heavyweight bout against Forrest Griffin and should Belfort win his August bout he could be fast-tracked to a middleweight title shot.

[Pictured: Vitor Belfort]

UFC President Dana White has insisted, both immediately after the bout and in the month that has followed, that the 39-year-old former light heavyweight champion had fought for the last time. Meanwhile, Liddell’s trainer, John Hackleman, has gone on the record that “The Iceman” would fight at least one more time.

Liddell has finally broken his silence on the issue, discussing a potential retirement from fighting in an interview with MMA Madness. Though no definitive answer was offered, it provides a glimpse into Liddell’s mindset before he makes a decision on ending his career following losses in four of his last five bouts.

Here’s a snip from Liddell:

“I’m going to take some time off and figure out what I want to do, and see what else I think I can do. I’ll still be training guys and I’ll still be working out and training. I’m too emotional to make a rational decision. I want to wait and take my time. I’m not going to make that decision until I sit down and look at it after a little while.

“I need some time off anyway, and when everyone stops worrying about it, I’ll make my decision on my own. Right now, I couldn’t say that I’m not going to fight again.

“All I’ve been doing my whole life is training to compete. It’s a hard thing to give up for an athlete. It’s hard to stop competing after so many years. I’ll listen to [White] as a friend, but he’s not going to make me do anything. The last thing you want to do if you want me to do something is to tell me I have to do it.”