Brazilian Machida survives American Anders at home
BRAZILIAN mixed martial arts fighter Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida successfully defended home turf yesterday but not after having made to work and bloodied by American Erik “Ya Boi” Anders to hack out a split decision victory at “UFC Fight Night 125” at Belem, Brazil.
Exactly 11 years since making his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, Mr. Machida made it a winning anniversary that saw him banking much on his karate background to win over erstwhile undefeated Anders, 48-47, 47-48 and 49-46, in front of his hometown fans at the Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belem.
Mr. Machida dropped Mr. Anders early in the opening round with a solid leg kick.
The American spent much of the round on his back but he successfully limited the damage inflicted to him with steady leg defense.
In the second round, the action picked up with both fighters having their moments.
The Brazilian continued to unleash leg kicks and knees which Mr. Anders countered with jabs that staggered Mr. Machida for a moment.
The third saw Mr. Machida being opened up by a knee from his opponent. But despite blood flowing profusely from his eyebrow between his eyes, Mr. Machida was undeterred and stayed aggressive to survive.
In the last two rounds, the protagonists went at each other, trying to take the momentum and possibly the win.
When the smoke cleared though, Mr. Machida’s hands were raised as the winner, sending the Brazilian fans to a celebration.
The win stopped for Mr. Machida, 39, a three-fight losing streak just as he improved to 23-8.
Mr. Anders, 30, meanwhile, absorbed his first defeat in 11 fights.
“Happy to win in front of my city. This is my return here. It’s amazing,” said Mr. Machida after his win.
“There was a lot of movement and activity tonight. He was a tough fighter and but I’m happy to come out with the win,” he added as he spoke of Mr. Anders.
Mr. Machida then called out former middleweight champion Michael Bisping for a fight next time around.
SUCCESSFUL FLYWEIGHT DEBUT
Meanwhile, former UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko made it a successful debut in the flyweight division by making short work of Priscila Cachoeira by way of submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round. Showing solid ground and pound, Ms. Shevchenko (15-3) was just too much for her opponent who never really got her game going right from the start en route to going down.
In other fights at UFC Fight Night 125: Machida vs. Anders, in a catchweight fight at 161 lbs Michel Prazeres downed Desmond Green by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 and 30-27), heavyweight Timothy Johnson won by UD over Marcelo Golm (30-27, 29-28 and 28-28), bantamweight Douglas Silva de Andrade beat Marlon Vera by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 and 30-27), and middleweight Thiago Santos defeated Anthony Smith by TKO (body kick and punches) in the second round.
Next for the UFC is “UFC 221” on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia, that will be headlined by the clash for the interim middleweight title between Yoel Romero and former champion Luke Rockhold.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms.