vs. Jardine On July 11, 2007, Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumored bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to fight in the main event at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine. In the main event of UFC 76, Liddell came out landing his signature right hand to the head of Jardine, rocking him backwards, but Jardine stayed in the fight. After a dominant first round for Liddell, Jardine started to land low leg kicks continuously, while Liddell was unable to time his strikes against the unorthodox southpaw. Liddell lost a close split decision, making it the first time he had suffered consecutive losses in his career. Liddell stated he wanted a rematch and claimed he had never taken Jardine seriously. Liddell vs. Silva On October 23, 2007, White announced that a matchup between Liddell and Wanderlei Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision, out-landing Silva with harder, more efficient punches and getting two takedowns later in the fight. Both fighters were awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. This fight was voted 2007's Fight of the Year at the first annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards and ultimately was Liddell's final victory in MMA. Liddell vs. Evans On February 1, 2008, Maurício "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell, however on March 4 it was announced on UFC.com that Rua was receiving surgery on his knee and had been forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler "Suga" Rashad Evans would replace Maurício Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight. On September 6, 2008, Liddell faced Rashad Evans at UFC 88. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round after Evans connected with an overhand right. The loss led to renewed criticism of Liddell over-relying on the same coaches and training partners. Shortly after his knockout loss to Evans, long-time trainer John Hackleman confirmed that Liddell was participating in training sessions with American Top Team to "round out his skills", although he remained officially associated with Hackleman and The Pit fight team. Liddell vs. Shogun On January 17, 2009, Dana White confirmed during the UFC 93