Last night (Sat., April 18, 2015), Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold dueled at UFC on FOX 15 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In a violent performance, Rockhold smashed his opponent before locking up a submission. Find out how below!
To watch full fight video highlights of Lyoto Machida vs. Luke Rockhold from UFC on FOX 15 last night click here.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweights Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold clashed last night (April 18, 2015) at UFC on FOX 15 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Machida had more than proven himself an elite middleweight prior to this fight and was looking to earn a second title shot in his new division. To earn another showdown with Chris Weidman, he'd have to take out on of the most talented athletes in the division.
Meanwhile, Rockhold had been destroying most of his opponents as well. If Rockhold managed to defeat Machida in similar fashion to cap off his win streak, the Californian would be more than deserving of a title shot.
After a couple quick exchanges that seemed to favor Machida, a right hook from Rockhold knocked Machida to his knees. Rockhold jumped on a guillotine, which allowed him to reverse Machida and land in top position.
Once Rockhold got on top, his brilliant jiu-jitsu and size advantage allowed him to control his opponent masterfully. Whenever Machida got too aggressive with his attempts to scramble, Rockhold would score with some nice punches and elbows. Rockhold then finished the round from back control, nearly locking in a rear naked choke and landing a nasty elbow at the bell.
An excellent start for the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA)-trained fighter.
Machida was clearly feeling the effects of the last couple minutes of the opening frame when the second round started. He wasn't moving well at all, which allowed Rockhold to tee off on him with some hard body kicks. Then, the two collided a bit, and Rockhold's superior strength threw Machida down to the mat.
The Californian wasted no time, as he jumped at Machida and landed in a crucifix position. Before long, Rockhold was in full back mount with Machida flattened out, and the end was imminent. Rockhold slipped in a rear naked choke -- actually, it looked almost like Machida allowed the choke to sink in -- and finished the fight.
This was a near flawless performance for Rockhold. He was just a bit over-eager to exchange with Machida early on, which caused him to absorb a couple punches. Outside of that, Machida was barely able to accomplish anything offensive, as Rockhold never let go of the momentum after pulling it to his advantage.
Rockhold's jiu-jitsu is simply fantastic. After reversing Machida with the guillotine, his top control was impeccable, as he slowly advanced position while prevent his opponent's attempt to stand and delivering elbows strikes. Eventually, it all came together in a rear naked choke.
After this dominant win, Rockhold undoubtedly deserves a title shot. Regardless of whether Weidman defends his title or Belfort pulls off the upset, the winner should face off with Rockhold in Madison Square Garden.
Machida had a decent first minute that was surely inspired some hope for "Dragon" fans, but after that it all fell apart. Both times he fell to the mat, it seemed that Machida simply bounced off him or was pushed to the ground. Either way, it was likely due to Rockhold's massive size advantage.
After such a brutal loss, it's tough to see where Machida goes from here. The former champion now has losses to the current strap-hanger and the apparent number one contender, meaning it will be difficult to work his way back into the title picture.
His situation at light heavyweight isn't much different.
At this point, there are really only two options. Machida can either look to get back in there immediately and put quickly put some wins together (see Cerrone, Donald) or Machida can accept that his time as a title challenger is over and look for some big money fights.
It will be interesting to see where Machida goes from here.
At UFC on FOX 15, Luke Rockhold smashed his opponent en route to a submission win. Will the Californian become a UFC champion?
For complete UFC on FOX 15: "Machida vs. Rockhold" results and play-by-play click HERE!
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