New light heavyweight champion of the UFC

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson did it again

LAS VEGAS, May 26 – Chuck Liddell’s right hand had extracted revenge for him on many occasions, leading him on a reign of terror at 205 pounds that saw him win seven fights in a row, all by KO or TKO. But tonight, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the streak came to an end at the hands of the last man to beat him, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who earned the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a stunning first round TKO.

And it all started with a right hand to the jaw.

“That’s how I saw it in my head,” said Jackson, who stopped Liddell in the second round of their PRIDE bout in Japan on November 9, 2003.

“I made a mistake and got caught,” said the 37-year old Liddell.

The tension was thick early on as camera flashes were seen throughout the arena. The action didn’t match the atmosphere in the opening minute though, bringing a look of disdain and a wave in from Jackson to engage. Liddell obliged, but after Jackson absorbed a left hook from ‘The Iceman’, he came back immediately with a right hook that dropped Liddell to the canvas hard. ‘Rampage’ immediately pounced on the soon to be ex-champion, and after four unanswered blows, referee John McCarthy halted the bout at the 1:53 mark, and a new king was crowned at 205 pounds.

With the win, Jackson improves to 27-6. Liddell falls to 20-4.

Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson (II) video