L. Rockhold (photo) submitted Machida in the main fight of UFC on FOX 15. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The night of UFC on FOX 15 at the Prudential Center, in Newark (USA), even started well for Brazil, with the triumphs of Diego Brandao e Ronaldo Jacare. But in the main fight of the night, the Brazilian Lyoto Machida ended up dominated by Luke Rockhold and suffered his second defeat in three fights, with a second-round submission.
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With the triumph over Lyoto, Rockhold got very close to a chance at the middleweight belt, competing against Ronaldo Jacare in a fierce dispute for the position of next challenger to the winner of Vitor belfort e Chris Weidman. Knowing this, the athlete from American kickboxing Academy (AKA) took the opportunity to challenge the current champion to a duel in New York, rival's home and designated as Ultimate's stop in the month of December.
“Did you hear my entrance music? I'm the best around here! I did my part. Weidman, have you done your part? I think we are on the same path: Madison Square Garden (Gymnasium in New York), we are going to make history there”, said Rockhold, in an interview with commentator Joe Rogan, still in the octagon.
Furthermore, Luke also analyzed the fight and said that he noticed that he had a chance to win based on the way Lyoto reacted after the end of the first round. “I had to take my time, I managed to get a little tangled up with him and ended up with a good finish. You saw that when he went to the corner… I saw that something wasn't right there. So, I tried to come back quickly and end the fight”, he revealed.
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The fight
After a tense start to the fight, Lyoto managed to connect the first blows of the fight, always counterattacking, just like his style. However, shortly afterwards, the Brazilian ended up with his back on the ground and was choked by the North American in the ground and pound. Until the end of the first half, Machida was unable to avoid his rival's game and took a real delay between Rockhold's transitions seeking the submission and hard blows to the head.
At the beginning of the second round, Lyoto showed clearly that he had not fully recovered from the punishment in the first round. Staggering and with little pressure, the Brazilian did not threaten Rockhold, who took the fight to the ground again without difficulty and with almost three minutes to work on the position. With Machida offering almost no resistance, the American only needed a few seconds to take his back and lock in a rear naked choke that put an end to the fight.
This was the fourth consecutive victory by knockout or submission for Luke Rockhold, which leaves him in second place in terms of Ultimate – behind only the bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey . In his career, Rockhold reached 13 victories and only two defeats, the last of which was against Vitor belfort in his Ultimate debut. Lyoto, on the other hand, now has 22 wins and six losses.
Check out the UFC on FOX 15 results below:
MAIN CARD
Luke Rockhold finished Lyoto Machida with a rear naked choke in R2;
Ronaldo Jacare submitted Chris Camozzi with an armbar in R1;
Max Holloway finished Cub swanson with a guillotine in R3;
paige vanzant defeated Felice Herrigo by unanimous decision of the judges.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Beneil Dariush derrotou Jim Miller by unanimous decision of the judges;
Ovince St Preux beat Pat Cummins by TKO in R1;
Gian Villante won Corey anderson by TKO in R3;
aljamain sterling submitted Takey Mizugaki with a triangle choke in R3;
Tim means submitted Georges Sullivan with a hand triangle in R3;
Diego Brandao beat Jimy Hettes via TKO (medical stoppage);
Chris Dempsey beat Eddie Gordon via split decision.
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