Despite getting his face bloodied throughout 25 minutes of action last night (Sat., Feb. 3, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 125 live on FOX Sports 1 from inside Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belem, Brazil, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida captured a split-decision win over formerly undefeated middleweight contender Eryk Anders.
Machida would find some success early by dropping Anders with a sweeping leg kick. “The Dragon” was back to his usual tricks as he eluded danger on the Octagon warning track and controlled the action. That was until Anders landed a solid straight left in the second round that sent the former champion back into the cage.
Anders would add to his efforts by landing a nasty inside knee in Round 3. It left a cut on the bridge of Machida’s nose, which ultimately spilled blood into the eye and mouth of “The Dragon.” Still, Machida was able to mix in some timely counter shots whenever Anders pressed his offense. He was taken down by Anders a few times, but quickly returned to his feet where he was able to score points with precision punching and piercing body kicks.
It was a back-and-forth affair that had a few momentum changes, but it was Machida who did enough through the course of five rounds to walk away with the split-decision win.
Check out the full fight video highlights above courtesy of UFC.
With this performance, Machida gets back into the win column after dropping his last three Octagon appearances. Machida called out former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping after the victory and may end up getting his wish. It would be a nice retirement matchup for “The Count,” and another chance for Machida to prove he’s still a contender at 185 pounds.
For complete UFC Fight Night 125 results and coverage click here.