User blog comment:Nkstjoa/Liu Kang vs. Ryu/@comment-16919137-20140629191321/@comment-5035900-20140911004159

I don't recall a single canon occurence of Ryu losing to Akuma. As far as I could see, they always fought to a standstill. Ken, some considering him Ryu's near-equal, has been KOed by Akuma before, but not once has Ryu (to my recollection, so do correct me if there's been any canon battle he did lose to Akuma).

And I don't recall Liu Kang backhanding Shao Kahn either. Not to say Liu Kang nearly lost either of his battles with him, but the Emperor certainly fared better against him than, say, Shang Tsung has. A guy with that many souls certainly had to have given Liu Kang a hell of a fight each time.

Liu Kang turning into a god isn't canon. That's just an arcade ending.