Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II

Randy Couture pulled off an upset by defeating Chuck Liddell with a third-round stoppage in their UFC 43 bout from 2003. The rematch between the two champions was set up two years later following rival coaching positions on the inaugural season of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Although some felt that Couture could again pull off the upset and grind Liddell out, The Iceman won the Light Heavyweight Championship in one of the best performances of his career.

“I’m going to be Light Heavyweight Champion,” Liddell said during the pre-fight lead-ins, to which Couture responded, “this fight’s going to end the same way it did last time.” Liddell, the challenger, entered the cage first. Rogan: “Phenomenal athlete, phenomenal competitor hell-bent on revenge.” Couture entered next. Rogan: “[Couture is] single-handedly redefining the age limits that we associate with combat sports and athletics.”

After a competitive stand-up affair for the first two minutes in which both fighters landed solid punches, Liddell caught Couture with an inadvertent eye poke, which prompted a halt to the action. A few seconds after the action resumed, Liddell caught Couture with a right hand to the chin while backpedaling against the cage. After he knocked Couture down, Liddell finished him off with punches at the 2:06 mark. The knockout of Couture marked the beginning of Liddell’s dominant light heavyweight title reign, which lasted from 2005 to 2007 and included knockout victories over Couture (in their third meeting), Jeremy Horn, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Tito Ortiz.