Ryu VS Liu Kang | Who Would ACTUALLY Win?

Throughout the years, I’ve compared countless fighters, many of whom rely on more than just physical strength to achieve victory. But what happens when two legendary martial artists, devoted entirely to perfecting their combat abilities, face off? Ryu from Street Fighter and Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat seem destined for such a clash. Born from decades of competition between two iconic fighting game franchises, their rivalry represents the very spirit of martial arts: constant growth, adaptation, and the pursuit of mastery. After countless hours playing, reading, and watching material from both series, I aim to answer one question: who would win between gaming’s greatest martial arts legends, the Champion of Earthrealm or the Eternal Wanderer? ----------------------------- Street Fighter is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by the other five main games in the series, various spin-offs and crossovers, and numerous appearances in other media. Its best-selling 1991 release, Street Fighter II, established many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre. Street Fighter is one of the highest-grossing video game franchises of all time and one of Capcom's flagship series, with total sales of 60 million units worldwide as of July 2026. It is also one of the highest-grossing media franchises and is the longest-running fighting game franchise. Ryu is the protagonist of the video game series Street Fighter by Capcom. He was introduced in the original Street Fighter (1987) alongside his friend and rival Ken Masters. Later games show Ryu's training and dedication to being the strongest fighter he can be, befriending new fighters. Unable to control his dark nature, Ryu develops two alter egos throughout the series: Evil Ryu, a version with his evil intent awakened, and Kage, a separate entity who is the physical embodiment of that evil intent. Mastering the dark nature is Ryu's main objective to become stronger. He has appeared as a playable character in several crossover game franchises, including Marvel vs. Capcom, SNK vs. Capcom, Project X Zone, and Super Smash Bros. He is featured in manga and anime adaptations, as well as the 1994 live-action film and the 2026 live-action film. Ryu was created by Takashi Nishiyama, who was inspired by the South Korean-born martial artist Mas Oyama. For his second appearance, Ryu's design changed from a young fighter to a skilled karate practitioner. However, because of issues in the making of Street Fighter II, he possessed a major weakness within the cast. For the next titles, Ryu's fighting style was modified, so he had different skills, with Evil Ryu and Kage possessing more diverse moves. Multiple Japanese and English actors have voiced him. While his appearance remained mostly intact, Street Fighter 6 gave Ryu a major redesign in reference to his master Gouken. A pop culture icon, Ryu has become one of the most iconic video game characters ever, inspiring several other fighters through his alter egos while his friendship and rivalry with Ken were praised for how different they developed despite being nearly the same in their introductions. Mortal Kombat is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original Mortal Kombat arcade game spawned a franchise consisting of action-adventure games, a comic book series, a card game, film series, an animated TV series, and a live-action tour. Early games in the series were noted for their realistic digitized sprites and an extensive use of palette swapping to create new characters. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the Mortal Kombat development team was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment and re-established as NetherRealm Studios. Liu Kang is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he debuted in the original 1992 game as a Shaolin monk with special moves, which were intended to be the easiest for players to perform. Since his introduction, Liu Kang has appeared as playable in every main installment except Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002). He is also the protagonist of the action-adventure spin-off Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005). The character's storyline sees him win the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament in the first and second games, saving Earthrealm from being conquered by the opposing forces of Outworld. During both the original and rebooted timelines, Liu Kang receives a more villainous depiction by Raiden appearing as a reanimated corpse in the former and an undead revenant who rules Netherrealm in the latter. He returns to his heroic role in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), in which he becomes the god of fire.