Liu's rise to fame came in 2000 in the inaugural King of sanda tournament.
At the 2002 Sanshou World Cup in Macau, Liu faced Muslim Salihov in a competition and beat him on points to win the 80 kg division gold medal.
Salihov is a highly accomplished Russian Sanshou fighter who would later become a King of Sanda himself.
In December 2003, Liu scored a unanimous decision over Eduardo Fujihara to claim the IKF Sanshou World Championship.
In 2009, he made a comeback facing and defeating Japanese fighter Iga Koji.