Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida has denied claims from Yoel Romero that he was put into a coma following their fight back in 2015, with the Brazilian suffering a devastating third round knockout loss in the it main event clash in Florida.
Machida, a former undisputed light heavyweight champion and perennial middleweight contender, headlining UFC Fight Night Hollywood against former title challenger, Romero in their high-stakes fight 10 years ago, and after a third round exchange, was knocked unconscious with a slew of ground elbow strikes by the Cuban.
However, earlier this week, Romero — who is currently signed to the GFL, claimed Machida had been comatose following the event due to “brutal damage” suffered against him — a claim which the Brazilian has staunchly denied this week.
Lyoto Machida denies Yoel Romero put him in a coma back in 2015
“I heard about [Romero’s comments] but I didn’t watch [the video], but that’s not true at all,” Lyoto Machida said during an interview with MMA Fighting. “What happened was, I broke my nose in that fight and had surgery. But there was no coma or anything like that. That never happened.”
Lyoto Machida denies being put in coma after Yoel Romero loss
I heard about [Romero’s comments] but I didn’t watch [the video], but that’s not true at all. … "It makes no sense that a fighter would get in a coma and then fight like 20 times after that."
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guicruzzz) pic.twitter.com/ZVvJJLsgRV
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 5, 2025
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“It makes no sense that a fighter would get in a coma and then fight like 20 times after that,” Lyoto Machida laughed. “I had nose surgery because I broke my nose. I had to stay in Miami for a week — because I lived in Los Angeles and couldn’t fly with the nasal packing. That’s basically what happened. It’s normal stuff for us that fight, right?”
Most recently competing against Fabien Edwards — the younger brother of former undisputed welterweight champion, Leon Edwards at Bellator 281 three years ago, Machida slumped to his fourth straight defeat with a brutal opening round knockout loss to the Birmingham native.
Winning the undisputed light heavyweight championship back in 2009 with a knockout win over then-champion, Rashad Evans, Machida would defend the title successfully later that same annum in a contentious decision win over Brazilian counterpart and fellow ex-champion, Shogun Rua.