5 times that UFC knockout artists got a taste of their own medicine
The old saying goes something like, "If you live by the sword, you die by the sword." Those words can certainly ring true in the world of the UFC.
Over the years, we’ve seen countless examples in the UFC of known knockout artists being given a taste of their own medicine, often suffering even more brutal KO’s than the ones they’d dished out themselves.
Naturally, the UFC is a largely cyclical business, meaning that knockout artists building their names off the back of previous ones often end up being victims in their own right somewhere down the line. However, to see a renowned knockout artist suffering a bad KO is still jarring and often wildly entertaining, too.
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Here are five times that UFC knockout artists got a taste of their own medicine.
#5. Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans – UFC 88
As one of the most renowned knockout artists in UFC history, perhaps no other fighter made his name off the back of violent stoppages more than Chuck Liddell.
‘The Iceman’ held the UFC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007. During his tenure with the UFC, his list of knockout victims read like a who’s who of great 205lbers at the time. Liddell finished off Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, Renato Sobral, Alistair Overeem and Jeremy Horn, all in brutal fashion.
However, by 2008, his chin had begun to degrade to the point where he could no longer eat punches from his foes before countering with a heavier shot. That led to his title defeat at the hands of Quinton Jackson, as well as another loss to Keith Jardine. However, the best example of ‘The Iceman’ being given a taste of his own medicine came at UFC 88 against Rashad Evans.
Few UFC fans were giving Evans a chance. After all, ‘Suga’ had not fought in over a year prior to his clash with Liddell. He’d also never really shown knockout power, especially against an opponent of the caliber of ‘The Iceman’. However, when the fight began, it quickly became clear that Evans was substantially faster than Liddell, which allowed him to land the cleaner strikes.
And when ‘The Iceman’ threw a looping left, Evans countered over the top with a brutal right hand, snapping him out of consciousness immediately.
#OnThisDay in 2008: Chuck Liddell was on the end of THIS knockout! 😱
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It was a truly brutal knockout that still ranks amongst the best in UFC history. Afterwards, Liddell was never quite the same again.