Chuck Liddell: 5 Defining Moments

He was the face of the franchise and for a time the biggest star in mixed martial arts. Anywhere the Ultimate Fighting Championship went, Chuck Liddell was not far behind. As one of the central figures in moving MMA towards mainstream acceptance, he appeared in movies, on television shows, in commercials and on magazine covers.

Liddell was a savage force and one of the fiercest strikers the sport has ever known. He still ranks second on the UFC’s all-time list in knockdowns (14), per FightMetric, and according to FightMatrix.com, he holds places in the top 10 in career victories (16), appearances (23) and title-fight wins (five). Liddell was the class of the light heavyweight division for the better part of decade, leaving a path of destruction that included various high-profile victims, from Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante and Vitor Belfort to Alistair Overeem and Renato Sobral (twice). “The Iceman” produced two separate seven-fight winning streaks inside the Octagon, his sustained excellence rivaled by few.

Beloved to this day by a legion of loyal fans, some of whom still sport his trademark Mohawk, Liddell’s 29-fight career resulted in its share of defining moments. Here are five of them:

1. Natural High

Liddell fought Randy Couture on three different occasions. Their first meeting at UFC 43 on June 6, 2003 resulted in his being upset in a third-round technical knockout, as Couture gradually wore down “The Iceman” with clinches, takedowns and ground-and-pound. They squared off again a little less than two years later at UFC 52, where Liddell knocked out Couture 2:06 into the first round to capture the light heavyweight championship. A successful title defense against Jeremy Horn, the only man to ever submit Liddell, set up a trilogy bout with Couture. The two legends met for the third and final time in the UFC 57 main event on Feb. 4, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Liddell again proved too much for “The Natural,” as he delivered another scintillating knockout, this time in the second round. The event resulted in a record $3.3 million gate and more than 400,000 pay-per-views. More importantly, the Liddell-Couture rivalry helped drive the sport’s popularity to unforeseen heights.

2. Friends No More

They were once friends and training partners, but by the time Liddell and Tito Ortiz arrived at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004, their relationship was far beyond strained. Animosity was still rising between the two. After a competitive first round, Liddell turned his hands loose and the results were devastating for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” Ortiz later claimed he had been temporarily blinded by a thumb to the eye, but Liddell backed him to the fence and unleashed an endless stream of lefts and rights. Enough of the punches found their mark. Ortiz could do nothing but cover up and eventually crumbled under the barrage, giving Liddell the TKO 38 seconds into round two. More than bragging rights were at stake in their UFC 66 rematch a little more than two years later at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. There, Liddell put the light heavyweight title on the line, along with his six-fight winning streak. Ortiz pushed it to a third round, but the punching power of “The Iceman” and his ability to stonewall takedowns were again the deciding factors. The event generated a $5.397 million gate and more than a million pay-per-view buys, the Liddell-Ortiz feud proving lucrative for both the organization and the fighters themselves.

3. Clash of the Titans

Fans had carried on the debate for years. Those loyal to the UFC thought Liddell to be superior. Those carrying the Pride Fighting Championships flag backed Wanderlei Silva. The two living legends finally collided at UFC 79 on Dec. 29, 2007, and though they both were past their primes, their fight largely lived up to expectations. Liddell and Silva went at it for 15 minutes in the co-main event, as they served as the appetizer for the Georges St. Pierre-Matt Hughes headliner at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. “The Iceman” outlanded the Brazilian in the first and third rounds while weathering a knockdown in the second. The 15-minute battle resulted in $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses for both men and quenched the thirst of MMA observers everywhere. It was also the final victory of Liddell’s career, a fitting capstone for a true all-time great.

4. Proving Grounds

Not long after Liddell put down roots in the MMA world, it became clear he was cut from a different cloth. On Aug. 23, 1998, in just his second professional fight, the Californian ventured south of the equator to confront Chute Boxe star Jose Land-Jons at International Vale Tudo Championship 6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Bareknuckle vale tudo was alive and well at the time, and Landi-Jons stepped into the ring with a 13-2 record. Liddell went the distance with “Pele” in a single 30-minute round. He escaped full mount in the opening stages, survived being knocked down by a head kick and chipped away at the Brazilian with takedowns and ground-and-pound. Liddell pulled out all the stops, as he even resorted to head butting Landi-Jons through the protective netting that encircled the ring. Liddell got the best of “Pele” in a hostile setting, as “The Iceman” was awarded a unanimous decision. It was the longest fight of Liddell’s career.

5. Beginning of the End

Father Time catches up to all fighters, no matter how great. Liddell walked into his UFC 71 rematch with Quinton Jackson -- “Rampage” had defeated him in Pride in 2003 -- on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak that included four successful light heavyweight title defenses. All did not go according to plan for “The Iceman.” Jackson floored Liddell with a rolling right hook and mopped up what was left with follow-up punches 1:53 into round two. After 770 days, his reign atop the 205-pound division was over. Liddell lost four of his next five fights to Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua and Rich Franklin -- the last three by violent knockout -- and retired at the age of 41 on Dec. 29, 2010.