Rashad Evans (Pictures)’s steady climb up the light heavyweight ranks continues on, as he and seasoned opponent Chuck Liddell (Pictures) made their bout official Friday at the weigh-ins for Saturday's UFC 88 “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

The 28-year-old Evans (11-0-1), who prevailed during season two of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a heavyweight, claimed his main event slot by coming in at 205 pounds.

His bout with former light heavyweight king Liddell will mark his stiffest competition to date –- the Michigan State wrestler previously drew with Tito Ortiz (Pictures) at UFC 73 in July 2007, then edged out Michael Bisping (Pictures) with a split decision at UFC 78 last November.

“I get to go out and leave it all out there and have some fun,” said Evans, who told reporters Thursday that he’s soaking in the experience of facing a legend in the game.

Liddell (21-5), who weighed in at 204 pounds, once reached the summit of the mountain Evans now scales. Liddell locked in seven straight victories from 2004-2007, including two knockout victories over fellow champ Randy Couture (Pictures) during his four title defenses. The San Luis Obispo native was stopped in his tracks by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 71 in May 2007.

Liddell, 38, rebounded from a surprising loss to Keith Jardine (Pictures) at UFC 76 with a gripping unanimous decision victory over former Pride rival Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) at UFC 79 last December.

Evans and Liddell were originally scheduled to face off at UFC 85 “Bedlam” on June 7 in London, England, till the senior fighter withdrew with a torn hamstring.

“There’s no way. There’s no way to look past a guy like that. He’s great fighter and it’s going to be a great fight. I look forward to coming after him,” said Liddell. “I want my title back. Don’t get me wrong, but I got to take care of this stuff first and we’ll deal with that later.”

In the co-main event, Matt Hamill (Pictures) (4-1), a breakout character on season three of “The Ultimate Fighter” and the sport’s most visible deaf competitor, received a hearty round of applause as he tipped the scales at 205 pounds.

Hamill’s opponent, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (Pictures) (23-3), trudges back to the 205-pound division where he made his name after two brutal losses to unstoppable 185-pound titleholder Anderson Silva (Pictures). Franklin, who has trained with Hamill and considers him a friend, weighed in at 204.5 pounds.

A welterweight bout between judo stylists Karo Parisyan (Pictures) (18-5) and Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures) (10-2) was scrapped Friday morning, after Parisyan withdrew with a last-minute back injury.

UFC 88 "Liddell vs. Evans" weigh-in results:
Chuck Liddell (Pictures) (204) vs. Rashad Evans (Pictures) (205)
Rich Franklin (Pictures) (204.5) vs. Matt Hamill (Pictures) (205)
Dan Henderson (Pictures) (185) vs. Rousimar Palhares (Pictures) (184.5)
Martin Kampmann (Pictures) (184.5) vs. Nathan Marquardt (Pictures) (185)
Thiago Tavares (Pictures) (155) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures) (156)
Tim Boetsch (Pictures) (205) vs. Michael Patt (Pictures) (205)
Dong Hyun Kim (Pictures) (170) vs. Matt Brown (Pictures) (170)
Jason Lambert (Pictures) (185) vs. Jason MacDonald (Pictures) (185)
Roan Carneiro (Pictures) (170) vs. Ryo Chonan (Pictures) (170)