Rockhold puts his hands on his head when he “learns” that Lyoto had been hurt. Photo: Reproduction
The UFC has been the scene of some famous April 1st pranks, like when Wanderlei Silva announced that it would replace the injured Alexander Gustafson against Gegard Mousasi last minute in 2013, but this year a fighter was not responsible for pulling a prank, but rather the victim. Unaware of the setup, or even his reaction was being filmed, the middleweight Luke Rockhold went crazy when he found out that Lyoto Machida he had been injured and the fight between them at UFC on FOX 15 had been cancelled. Fortunately for Rockhold, and the fans awaiting the duel, it was all just a joke for “April Fools’ Day”.
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The plot was set up by the former fighter's website B.J. Penn, which has a journalist covering the Rockhold preparation camp daily. Michael Mardones produced fake news in which he announced the injury and the cut of Lyoto Machida of the fight and ensured that Luke had access to the content. Afterwards, he just adjusted the camera and recorded the former Strikeforce champion's reaction.
"Oh my God. Oh my God! You got to be kidding me! Are you kidding me that this sh*t happened. Oh, my God, look at that sh*t!”, Rockhold said, while Michael warned him that the organization was having difficulty finding a replacement, even on the preliminary card of the night. “I’m going to send a message to Dana (White) right now!”, he threatened. However, soon after, the prank was revealed and Luke couldn't hide his relief upon learning about it, but not before throwing his cell phone at the person who made the joke.
Truly, Lyoto Machida e Luke Rockhold will face each other on April 11th, in Newark (USA), in the main fight of UFC on FOX 15. In the co-main fight of the night, the Brazilian Ronaldo Jacare face the Cuban Yoel romero. Although it has not yet been confirmed, it is very likely that the next challenger for the middleweight belt will emerge from one of these two fights.
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