Chuck Liddell will always be remembered for his legendary run in the UFC.
However, ‘The Iceman’ bounced around promotions during his first 16 MMA fights.
Chuck Liddell had three scraps with Pride before fully committing to the UFC in 2004.
The first of them came against 28-10-2 (1NC) veteran Guy Mezger, who famously told his opponents to give up mid-fight to avoid hurting them.
Watch Chuck Liddell obliterate opponent in Pride debut
In May 2001, Chuck Liddell squared off against Guy Mezger at Pride 14: Clash of the Titans.
The two men shared a nip-and-tuck first round that almost ended with a massive knockout.
Mezger dropped Liddell with an overhand right before swarming to finish the future UFC champion.
The man who delivered Dana White’s favorite moment in UFC history survived to see a second round.
Liddell turned the tables soon after, tagging Mezger with punches and backing him up against the ropes.
Ultimately, he closed the show by detonating a monstrous punch on his opponent’s jaw.
An unconscious Mezger’s legs collapsed under him, leaving ‘The Sandman’ a mangled mess on the floor.
Chuck Liddell names his favorite KO
Earlier this month, Chuck Liddell revealed the favorite knockout from his Hall of Fame career.
At UFC 43, Liddell was badly beaten by Randy Couture. Therefore, when his opportunity for revenge finally came at UFC 52, almost two years later, he was determined to make sure his hand was raised.
That’s exactly what happened after he brutally KO’d ‘The Natural’ at UFC 52 in April 2005.
“I was lucky to have a lot of great moments in my career, but I think if you put a gun to my head, it would have to be knocking out Randy,” Liddell said when asked to name his best-ever KO.
“It was straight after the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, obviously, he had beaten me before, so there was a lot of emotion going into that fight.
“I was always trying to prove I was the best, I always thought, you know, ‘I’m the best in the world’, I felt like I could beat anybody.
“I think you have to have that kind of mentality if you want to succeed in this sport. Otherwise, you won’t get anywhere at all.
“Anyway, I got to knock him out in the first round, clean punch, I mean, I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the fight, and I finally got to get my hands on the title I’d been after for so long.”
The punch was so brutal that Couture insists Liddell is the heaviest hitter he ever faced.