15 Years Later, Rashad Evans Reminiscences About His Chuck Liddell KO at UFC 88: “He Kept Hitting Me..”

Chuck Liddell was one of the most feared fighters during his time in the UFC. He was a two-time heavyweight champion known for his famous overhand right. But the heavyweight winner of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 2’, and fellow UFC Hall of Famer, Rashad Evans, once humbled him.

Rashad Evans was the shortest heavyweight among all the competitors from TUF season 2. However, that did not stop him from winning his first few UFC bouts and amassing a 5-fight winning streak. He also won the light heavyweight title, but the fans will always remember the moment by heart when ‘Suga’ for the big right hand that knocked out Chuck Liddell in the second round of their fight at UFC 88.

Rashad Evans recalls Chuck Liddell’s right arm

‘Suga’ recently made an appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s podcast and recalled his fight with the former two-time heavyweight champion. He mentioned that Liddell had a great right hand. Evans said, “I remember in that fight he [Chuck Liddell] kept hitting me with his right hand.” 

He mentioned that he was finding it difficult to understand what kind of Punch ‘The Iceman’ was going to hit him with. Evans continued, “His right hand is crazy because usually, I can tell what punch you’re gonna throw or likely to throw just based on how your shoulder opens up when you’re getting ready to swing, right? So I couldn’t really tell what Chuck was throwing because it all kinda looked the same.” 

‘Suga’ used the ‘throw on throw’ method

Even though Evans couldn’t figure out Liddell’s punches, he decided to throw a punch whenever the former champion would decide to throw a punch of his own. He said, “I knew his right hand was coming, so I was like, ‘Okay, whenever he throws, I’mma throw’ and it’s called throw on throw.” 

Following the “throw on throw” method, Rashad Evans got a positive outcome as he became ecstatic about it. He said, “I caught him with the right hand and I was like ‘Woahhhh!’ It was crazy.” That knockout win is still one of the most memorable finishes in the history of the promotion.

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Fans recently saw Chuck Liddell training with the middleweight champion, Alex Pereira, for his fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 287. While Rashad Evans’ knockout may have taken place almost fifteen years ago, he is still an active MMA fighter at the age of 43. In fact, he came out of retirement to fight in Eagle FC.

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