Former Ultimate Fighter Champ to play in American Century Championship

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will move from the octagon to the tee box as the first-ever mixed martial artist to compete in the American Century Championship. The pro-celebrity event will be held in mid-July at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

"You know why I love this game?" asks Liddell. "It's easier for me to get punched in the head, elbowed in face, kneed in my body and kicked in the leg than it is to hit a little ball straight twice in a row. Thanks to the American Century Championship, the country can see why I took the easy road and became a fighter instead of a golfer."

Liddell will square off against other celebrities, including Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, Brian Urlacher, Alonzo Mourning and others in the three-day, 54-hole Stableford competition July 17-19.

Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist (MMA) who predominately fought for the UFC. In 2005 Liddell won the UFC light heavyweight title and defended it four times over the next two years. In 2009, he retired with an overall MMA record of 21-7. He is credited, along with fellow UFC fighter Randy Couture, for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment.

The tournament will be televised live by NBC on Saturday and Sunday July 18 and 19 from 3-6 p.m. For additional details, visit www.tahoecelebritygolf.com.

For the fourth year in a row, the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) is the official charity of the American Century Championship. The tournament will help build awareness of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign, while raising funds for the LAF's cancer survivorship initiatives. Collaborating with the LAF on the 2009 tournament is a natural fit for American Century Investments, given the fact that more than 40 percent of the asset management firm's profits go to fund research for the prevention and cure of gene-based diseases such as cancer.