Liu Kang 's first finishing move is the Fatality " Shaolin Uppercut " ; he perform a butterfly kick ( often mistaken for a cartwheel ) on his opponent , before hitting an uppercut that knock them into the air for several seconds . In Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Monks , there was two versions ; one where the victim explode to pieces upon impact and the original , in which the opponent is torn to pieces upon falling to the ground . In another signature Fatality , he morphs into a large dragon , chomping the upper body of his opponent . This Fatality was turned into an Animality in Mortal Kombat 3 and back into a normal Fatality in Mortal Kombat 4 . In the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of Mortal Kombat II , the dragon torches the opponent with fire instead . The series ' composer and coed @-@ designer John Vogel noted it to be his favorite Fatality due to how much Liu Kang 's appearance changes . Another famous Fatality of Liu Kang have him vanish and a Mortal Kombat arcade game machine drop down and crush his opponent . According to GameSpy 's MK2011 walkthrough , Liu Kang " inflict better damage " than Kung Lao " by jumping around like a lunatic and kicking the crap out of everything he see . "