During his prime at light heavyweight, fans would have to look far and wide to search out a more devastating finisher than Chuck Liddell.
Within the midst of his memorable year-long title run at 205lbs, veteran fan-favorite Chuck Liddell had rattled off a number of stunning knockout wins to kickstart his reign atop the division.
During that run specifically, Liddell would twice finish iconic star Randy Couture with a pair of impressive knockout wins.
And together with his continued climb, Liddell was met with a former foe whom he had already finished with one other brutal finish.
Chuck Liddell stopped Renato Sobral in only 95 seconds
Rematching a previous rival in the shape of Brazilian star Renato Sobral, Liddell had initially met with ‘Babalu’ back at UFC 40, landing a high-kick knockout win to earn his first of three title fights with the above-mentioned Couture. But 4 years later, the duo would meet again on this present day in 2006.
Needing less time to stop the charge of Rio de Janeiro native Sobral this time around, inside just 95 seconds, Liddell had landed his third defense of the sunshine heavyweight crown.
In typical Liddell fashion, the Huntington Beach native would swarm on the Octagon fence with a litany of hooks, sending Sobral reeling to the canvas.
And after some precise ground strikes, Liddell would force a stoppage within the motion to retain his light heavyweight crown.
Following his win, Liddell — who had previously been guaranteed a high-profile meeting with one other Brazilian icon, saw the bout slip from his grasp.
Chuck Liddell didn’t fight Wanderlei Silva after UFC 62 win
The primary fighter under the UFC banner to compete for the now-defunct Pride FC, Liddell was guaranteed a shot at then-middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva — who had made sizable waves for the Japanese promotion
Promised a shot at ‘The Axe Murderer’, Liddell missed out on the bout until their 2007 matchup, with Silva eventually suffering a knockout loss to Mirko Cro Cop of their Pride FC Grand Prix semi-final bracket lower than a month after Liddell’s win over Sobral.
Eventually settling their differences at UFC 79 the next yr, Liddell would hand Silva a unanimous decision loss in his Octagon debut, but unfortunately, he had already lost his light heavyweight title to Rampage Jackson.