But Saturday night turned out to be the 28-year-old Jackson's night. Jackson, who handed Liddell his most recent prior defeat, made it two in a row. Jackson ran right over the 37-year-old former champ and captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight title with a ferocious TKO at 1:53 of the first round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Jackson won his fifth consecutive fight and ended Liddell's seven-match win streak.

"I was really shocked that the fight went so quick," said Jackson, who became the first black UFC champ since Canadian Carlos Newton held the welterweight title in 2001. "I thought the fight was going to be another war."

Jackson looked calm and collected from the outset, taking a slow stroll out to the octagon. Once the match started, Jackson (27-6) established his presence at center octagon, keeping Liddell backpedaling toward the fence.

The two had just exchanged their first punches of the evening when Jackson reared back for his first huge right hand of the night. He hit a home run, a brutal shot caught Liddell flush on the jaw and floored him. Jackson pounced on a dazed Liddell (20-4) and hit him with four big rights before referee John McCarthy called off the fight.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's reward for winning the rematch with Chuck Liddell: the UFC light-heavyweight title. (K.M. Cannon / Associated Press)

"I was doing my thing," said the charismatic Jackson. "The right hand landed right on the jaw, right where I planned for it to go, and it was des-ti-ny."

For his part, Liddell did not make any excuses for his performance, the first time in six career rematches he didn't come out a winner.

"I went out and I got caught," said Liddell, whose record dropped to 20-4. "It happens. I enjoy fighting, I was having fun, it didn't go my way. He did a good job of getting on my and finishing me and not letting me recover. ... I was very healthy, had a great training camp, I was in great shape."

Liddell, who will be on a 45-day Nevada State Athletic Commission-mandated medical suspension after the TKO, said that he was unaffected by the unprecedented hype that went into the show.

"That stuff doesn't bother me," said Lidell. "Quinton did a good job tonight. We'll see you next time."

At first glance, it would appear that the one-sided loss by the company's biggest star is a blow to UFC's momentum. Far from it. Jackson, after toiling in Japan for years, was just made into a superstar in his home country with one big right.

Prior to the fight, Jackson said the UFC title belt "wasn't worth a damn." He stuck by his assertion after winning, but added qualifiers. "I still don't care," he said. "It's bringing me money though. I want to get me a Bentley, I've seen what Chuck's driving around. I saw him in Porsches and Ferraris and private jets. I'm happy I'm the champ."

By taking out the man many considered The Baddest Man on the Planet in front of a giant television audience, Jackson just ensured the rematch with Liddell will likely be the biggest money match in UFC history. But there are forks in the road.

For one, the company announced at the end of the show that Jackson's next fight will be against PRIDE welterweight and middleweight (PRIDE's middleweight division tops out at 205 pounds, same as UFC light-heavyweight) champion Dan Henderson, for a fight UFC president Dana White said would take place sometime in the fall. White also hinted that a long-talked about matchup with Wanderlei Silva could be next on Liddell's agenda.

"We just finished the purchase of PRIDE a couple days ago," said White. "We're still figuring things out. We want Rampage and Henderson, champion vs. champion, to fight this fall, but it is going to take some time to put together."

"(I'll fight) anyone," said Jackson. "I don't care who I fight as long as I get my cheddar. Muy bien."

White announced a crowd of 14,728 at the MGM Grand paying a gate of $4.3 million, the second-biggest gate in UFC history behind last December's UFC 66 (Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz), which drew $5.1 million.

"They hyped up De La Hoya and Mayweather like the Super Bowl, and the fight sucked," said White. "The reason why (mixed martial arts) is what it is, is because these guys actually go out and fight."

Dave Doyle is an editor for FOXSports.com.