To check out post-fight audio from UFC 88, click here. 

Rashad Evans exploded onto the MMA scene by winning the heavyweight competition on the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series on Spike TV.

There was no doubt he was a skilled wrestler and had a lot of talent, but some dismissed him as a "lay-and-pray fighter" that was content to use his immense grappling abilities to squeek out close decisions rather than going for the finish.

But Evans, who trains with Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, N.M., has proven that he is much more than just a talented wrestler and has upped his MMA skills with each outing.

It all culminated with his showdown against former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in the main event at UFC 88 on Saturday night at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on pay-per-view.

Evans (17-0-1) showed the one-punch KO power that makes stars in the MMA world with his stunning second-round KO over Liddell (21-6).

Evans was patient, waiting for an opening as he chose to fight in Liddell's territory rather than looking for the takedown.

Both fighters were cautious in the opening round, feinting and looking for openings.

Evans found his opening in the second round. Liddell went for a right uppercut, but Evans launched an overhand right at the same time. Evans' overhand right got there first and landed flush on Liddell's jaw. Liddell collapsed face-first into the canvas. He was out cold as he hit the deck and referee Herb Dean didn't even bother with a count, ending it at 1:51 of the second round.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (26-3) of Cincinnati, Ohio, was back at 205 pounds for the first time in three years and he turned in a workmanlike effort to chop down TUF 3 star Matt Hamill (6-2) before taking him out with a left kick to the liver in the third round.

Hamill chose to stand and trade with Franklin rather than utilizing his world-class wrestling skills and he paid the price as Franklin picked him apart with an assortment of leg kicks and strikes.

Both fighters were cut on their right eyebrows, and the fight was stopped a couple of times, so the ringside doctor could take a look at the nasty gash on Franklin's eye. But the fight was allowed to continue.

Hamill managed to take down Franklin once in the first round, but Franklin was able to get in an armbar attempt and scramble back to his feet. Franklin put on a striking clinic for the remainder of the bout, targeting Hamill's legs.

Hamill hit the deck when Franklin landed a left kick to the liver in the third round. Hamill was writhing on the ground in pain when referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it 39 seconds into the third round.

After back-to-back losses in title fights against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson (23-7) of Temecula survived a tough challenge from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dynamo Rousimar Palhares (17-2) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take a three-round unanimous decision in a middleweight bout.

Henderson used his sprawl-and-brawl tactics to dictate the pace and keep the fight standing for much of the bout. Henderson made Palhares pay every time he shot in for a takedown with his powerful counter rights.

Henderson found himself in a precarious position at the end of the first round, but Palhares ran out of time. Palhares had his best moment of the fight when he picked up Henderson and slammed him to the canvas a minute into the second round. Palhares went for a leg lock, but the two-time U.S. Olympian was able to escape.

Palhares was unable to get the fight to the ground in the third round as Henderson continued to control the action. Henderson won by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Former King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt (30-8-2) of Denver, Colo., didn't let this one go to the scorecards, taking out Martin Kampmann (13-2) of Las Vegas with a devastating first-round TKO in a middleweight scrap.

Marquardt lost his previous fight to Thales Leites due to some questionable point deductions, but this time he took it out of the judges' hands.

Marquardt dropped Kampmann for a flash knockdown early on with a right head kick. Kampmann was trying to recover when he ate a knee in the Thai clinch. Kampmann did his best to survive Marquardt's onslaught, but Marquardt swarmed him with a series of short punches and uppercuts.

Kampmann finally went down under a barrage of punches and referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it at 1:22 of the opening round.

South Korean sensation Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1) squeeked out a three-round split decision over TUF 7 competitor Matt Brown (10-7) of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the opening bout of the pay-per-view telecast.

Brown, who dropped down to 170 pounds after competing at 185, spent much of the first round with Kim on his back, fighting off submission attempts. Kim came very close to ending the fight with a standing rear-naked choke, but Brown showed tremendous grit to fight his way out of the choke.

Brown came back strong in the second round, determined to impose his will on Kim by dominating the standup with knees in the Thai clinch and kicks that kept the Judo black belt off balance. Brown had great takedown defense and utilized some effective ground-and-pound as well.

Kim got two takedowns in the third round and sliced open Brown with some well-placed elbows to get a slight edge. Two of the judges sided with Kim by scores of 29-28, while the third judge had Brown winning, 29-28. The crowd sided with Brown and booed the decision.

UNDERCARD

Light-heavyweight Tim Boetsch (8-2) of Sunbury, Pa., made quick work of Michael Patt (15-3) of Dayton, Ohio, stopping the UFC newcomer with a barrage of 17 unanswered punches at 2:03 of the first round.

Boetsch leveled Patt with a right hand to the jaw before unleashing the series of punches that led referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.

Middleweight Jason MacDonald (22-10) of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, survived a deep guillotine choke at the end of the first round and came back to submit Jason Lambert (23-9) of Long Beach with a rear-naked choke at 1:20 of the second round.

Welterweight Ryo Chonan (15-8) of Yamagata City, Japan, pulled out a three-round split decision over Roan Carneiro (12-8) of Atlanta, Ga.

Lightweight Kurt Pellegrino (18-4) of New York City, N.Y., won a three-round unanimous decision over Thiago Tavares (17-3) of Florianopolis, Brazil.

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