The 10 Best MMA fighters from the 2000s

7. Chuck Liddell

A no-doubt UFC Hall of Famer, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is largely responsible for helping bring MMA to the mainstream of American sports. His highlight finishes combined with his fan-friendly style helped propel the UFC to new heights.

Liddell began his rise in the UFC by earning early wins over Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, and Renato Sobral with a first-round head kick. He would go on to lose in the interim light heavyweight title bout against Randy Couture at UFC 43 but would get another chance to prove himself as a last-second entry into the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix.

At the time, Pride was making waves as arguably the biggest and most popular MMA promotion in the world. UFC president Dana White entered Liddell into the tournament in hopes of proving that the UFC belonged amongst the top promotions in the sport.

It was a short stay for Liddell, who did manage to earn a vicious knockout over Alistair Overeem in the Quarterfinals. But, he would go on to lose to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, another eventual UFC legend.

This would prove to be a real turning point in Liddell’s career, as he went on to go on a legendary run with seven straight wins in the light heavyweight division. This included knocking out Couture for the title at UFC 52, before earning four successful defenses against Couture, Sobral, Jeremy Horn, and Tito Ortiz.

In 2007, he also won arguably one of the all-time great fights in UFC history against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79.

Liddell would also go on to become quite the pop culture icon, getting featured in shows such as Entourage and Hawaii Five-0. He was arguably the first true superstar that the UFC ever had and he’s a big reason why MMA is so popular today.