UFC's 10 Most Dramatic Fight Finishes
5. Rashad Evans Vs. Chuck Liddell
Never has a fight felt more like that scene in 'Old Yeller' than the night Rashad Evans met Chuck Liddell. If you know anything about said scene, you'll know the level of gut-wrenching drama I'm talking about here.
Liddell had reached a stage in his storied career where his natural habitat had started to become that of being scraped off the canvas, much to his career-long admirers' dismay.
Yet age waits for no man and when Evans took on Liddell at UFC 88 in 2008, Liddell's loyalists hoped that their man's recent victory over Wanderlei Silva could reignite his fire rather than be a false dawn before he faced yet another dangerous opponent.
Yeah, about that…
Evans showed no mercy against The Iceman and dictated proceedings early on. As the bombs started to land, Liddell clearly looked out of his depth and - despite surviving the first round, he was caught by an Evans right hook in the second that single handedly set the former Heavyweight Champion down a losing path. One he would never again stray from.
The shot rendered Liddell lifeless and the audible exasperation from the crowd highlighted how devastating it was to see their former hero broken in front of them.
With his steel-chin shattered, UFC's Old Yeller never recovered and put his career with the promotion out of its misery in 2010.