LAS VEGAS, February 4 – Chuck Liddell won the battle and the war.

Before a sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday night, ‘The Iceman’ retained his UFC light heavyweight crown with a second round TKO of Randy Couture, giving him the final 2-1 edge in the trilogy between the light heavyweight greats. After the bout, Couture, 42, the only fighter in UFC history to win the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, announced his retirement, leaving barely a dry eye in the house.

“I’m retiring tonight,” said Couture. “This is it for me. I feel blessed to have been able to come in here and compete.”

As for the fight itself, after a pair of unforgettable openings (Couture to AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ and Liddell to DMX’s ‘Intro’) that put the crowd on their feet and kept them there, the two future hall of famers circled each other warily, looking for openings as the crowd alternately cheered for their favorite fighter. Each brief exchange brought a roar, but neither was willing to commit to a sustained attack. Liddell was the more active of the two though as Couture looked to counter the strikes of ‘The Iceman’. Couture continued to stalk behind a high guard, and his sporadic strikes seemed to take Liddell out of his rhythm. Liddell quickly recovered though, rocking Couture briefly with a right to the head. But as Liddell moved in for the kill, Couture, his nose now bloodied, was able to recover and take the champion to the mat for the remainder of the round.

Couture refused to deviate from his fight plan in the second round, as he followed Liddell around the Octagon while throwing in the occasional counter to Liddell’s heavier shots. But soon, Couture’s luck ran out, and as he shot in with a left hand, Liddell landed the same short right hand that ended the pair’s second fight, and Couture again crashed limply to the mat. Liddell’s follow-up shots on the fallen Couture were exclamation marks on the victory, and referee John McCarthy called a stop to the bout at 1:28 of the second stanza.

“We knew Randy was gonna try to make me over commit,” said Liddell. “But you stand in front of me for that long, eventually one will get through.”

Couture won the first bout between the two, stopping Liddell in three rounds in 2003. Liddell knocked Couture out in a single round last April to even the score, with Liddell breaking the tie tonight.