Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Fighters of the 2000s

8. Chuck Liddell

The face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship for much of the 2000s finishes eighth here. A very good striker for his day with huge power in his right hand, Liddell used his wrestling to keep fights standing, and was one of the early pioneers of expertly returning to his feet after being taken down. He had his first pro fight in 1998, but was only getting better by the early 2000s, rattling off eight straight victories to begin the decade. To be fair, I think the decision against the much smaller Murilo Bustamante at UFC 33 was a robbery—watch it and make up your own mind. However, there were plenty of clear, impressive wins in that period; dominating future heavyweight contender Jeff Monson for all three rounds, knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman in just 78 seconds, a classic battle against Guy Mezger in Pride, in which Liddell was beaten up early but came back to knock his foe out early in the second, a decision over the highly skilled and forgotten Amar Suloev, a decision over Vitor Belfort, even if it was closer than the commentators made it seem, and of course, a fantastic first-round head kick knockout of Renato Sobral that was replayed endlessly on UFC broadcasts back then. Liddell was then shockingly defeated for the interim light heavyweight crown by previous entry Randy Couture, who mixed in takedowns with outstriking Liddell for short periods on the feet before stopping him in the third.

UFC President Dana White, a close friend and former manager of Liddell, then hatched a plan to have his buddy enter the 2003 Pride Grand Prix so he could show the UFC's superiority over Pride. Alas, it didn't go as expected. After knocking out a very young Alistair Overeem in the first round, Liddell was then beaten down and stopped in Round 2 by Quinton Jackson, a big upset at the time. Liddell recovered with a seven-fight winning streak that was the finest of his career, knocking out nemesis Tito Ortiz in the second round with a blistering barrage of punches, gaining revenge over Couture with a second-round knockout to win the UFC light heavyweight championship, and then defending it four times, including knockouts in rematches with Ortiz and Sobral, as well as the rubber match against Couture. Alas, things didn't go well for Liddell the rest of the decade. In May 2007, despite inexplicably being a big favorite against Jackson for their rematch, he was knocked out in less than two minutes. After losing a decision to Keith Jardine of all people, Liddell recovered with a close decision over the even more faded Wanderlei Silva. Liddell was then knocked out early in the second by Rashad Evans and against Silva's protege Mauricio Rua in the first, whom we discussed one entry earlier on this list. While Liddell ended the decade losing four of five, he was the most popular fighter in the sport during its middle.

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