Lyoto Machida | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Six Biggest Takeaways From UFC 224

Last night’s (Sat., May 12, 2018) UFC 224 from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ended up being an entertaining night of fights full of violent knockouts and gutsy performances. The Brazilian crowd was treated to many a victory by their countrymen and women, and Amanda Nunes retained her bantamweight title with a […]

The post Six Biggest Takeaways From UFC 224 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Last night’s (Sat., May 12, 2018) UFC 224 from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ended up being an entertaining night of fights full of violent knockouts and gutsy performances.

The Brazilian crowd was treated to many a victory by their countrymen and women, and Amanda Nunes retained her bantamweight title with a brutal fifth-round stoppage of Raquel Pennington.

A former welterweight continued his ascent up the middleweight ladder with a narrow victory and Mackenzie Dern also shut up all the naysayers who chided her for coming in seven pounds overweight (kind of).

Overall, UFC 224 made for a great night of fights. Let’s take a look at what we’re left with the morning after with the five biggest takeaways from the event.

Photo Credit: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports

6. Raquel Pennington Needs New Cornermen

Pennington did her best and hung in there for over four rounds against Nunes, who otherwise dominated the challenger and bloodied up her face.

Despite the damage Pennington accrued as well as her telling her cornermen that she was done, it was the referee who ultimately saved Pennington from more needless damage, ubt not before she absorbed a ton of just that.

It’s the corner’s job to know when to protect a fighter from themselves, as fighters usually will opt to fight on. Pennington actually told her corner that she was done, yet they still sent her out just to get turned into a bloody mess in the fifth round.

”Rocky” really needs to find better cornermen, because the incident could have put her livelihood in peril.

The post Six Biggest Takeaways From UFC 224 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC 224 Bonuses: Lyoto Machida Banks $50K For Epic ‘Retirement Kick’

UFC 224 emanated tonight (Saturday, May 12, 2018) from the Juenesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, headlined by a women’s bantamweight defense by champ Amanda Nunes opposite contender Raquel Pennington. The Fight of the Night, though, would go to co-headliners Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Kelvin Gastelum. The Brazilian grappling savant took Gastelum down in […]

The post UFC 224 Bonuses: Lyoto Machida Banks $50K For Epic ‘Retirement Kick’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The Fight of the Night, though, would go to co-headliners Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Kelvin Gastelum. The Brazilian grappling savant took Gastelum down in the first and pursued the finish. But he wore himself out in the attempt, and the lighter, younger Gastelum put it on him over the final ten minutes. While Souza had his moments, landing hard shots down the stretch, he was obviously fatigued. The Arizona native sat him down with a left cross in the second round and seemed to have him on the ropes from then on. In the end, Gastelum emerged victorious with a split decision victory. But both men earned an extra $50,000 for their Fight of the Night efforts.

In the opener of the main card, Lyoto Machida added another brilliant knockout to his highlight reel, blasting Vitor Belfort into unconsciousness with a scintillating front kick to the jaw in the second round. The kick was reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s UFC 126 knockout of Belfort. On the post-fight show, Machida dubbed the move the “Retirement Kick”, since he sent Randy Couture packing with a similar highlight. “The Dragon” pocketed an extra $50,000 for his efforts.

The final Performance of the Night bonus went to Alexey Oleynik, who pulled off the second Ezekiel choke finish in UFC history. He also owns the first. This one, too, was from the bottom, just like his submission of Viktor Pesta. This time he dragged Junior Albini down on top of him, latched onto the neck, and squeezed until the tap came. Despite being in half guard on top, Albini was forced to tap, giving the Ezekiel choke specialist another feather in his cap and an extra $50,000.

Keep it locked to LowKickMMA for all your UFC 224 post-fight news, notes, and analysis.

The post UFC 224 Bonuses: Lyoto Machida Banks $50K For Epic ‘Retirement Kick’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Lyoto Machida Eyeing Title Contention After UFC 224

Lyoto Machida believes he can once again be in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title picture. Machida is set to share the Octagon with Vitor Belfort this Saturday night (May 12). This bout is set to take place on the main card of UFC 224. Belf…

The post Lyoto Machida Eyeing Title Contention After UFC 224 appeared first on MMA News.

Vitor Belfort Walks Back On Post-UFC 224 Retirement Talk

Vitor Belfort’s last fight may be at UFC 224 this weekend, but he says he’ll be far from retired:

The post Vitor Belfort Walks Back On Post-UFC 224 Retirement Talk appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Vitor Belfort is an absolute legend when it comes to MMA, and now that he’s on the cusp of his last fight, “The Phenom” wants to make something clear.

The former light heavyweight champion’s career has now spanned three decades, and he’s fought at the most elite level since debuting in the 1990s.

It was only natural that talk of retirement emerged following his recent losing streak, and although Belfort concedes this will be his last fight, he’s far from retired from the fight game (via MMA Junkie):

“I’m not retiring because when you retire, you’re still getting paid. I’m not getting paid, so I’m not retiring.”

“But this is my last fight. That’s important because people say, ‘OK, what’s the legacy you’re leaving?’ Legacy is not what I did for myself. It’s what I’m doing for the next generation. So I think I’m leaving one of the biggest legacies in the sport, for sure, worldwide. And I’m not retiring because I’m not getting paid after I finish (fighting), so I’m looking for jobs. I’m looking for opportunities.”

Whether he means coaching or opening his own gym, Belfort remained quiet on just exactly what he means by not retiring. The Brazilian legend kept it pretty vague when discussing his future capacity in the sport.

“But this is my last fight, for sure, and I’m very content with what I accomplished in this sport. But I still believe I can contribute so much with the sport, and I love what the UFC is doing, creating the (UFC Performance Institute) and creating all that. But we have so much left to do.”

Belfort will take on fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro next month. What do you see Belfort doing once he’s completely retired from fighting?

The post Vitor Belfort Walks Back On Post-UFC 224 Retirement Talk appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Lyoto Machida Reveals His Lofty UFC Goal For 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has a certain goal in mind for 2018. That goal is to fight quite often and ultimately get in a position where he can be challenging for a UFC title belt. He competed inside the Octagon for the first time in over two years in October but lost […]

The post Lyoto Machida Reveals His Lofty UFC Goal For 2018 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has a certain goal in mind for 2018.

That goal is to fight quite often and ultimately get in a position where he can be challenging for a UFC title belt.

He competed inside the Octagon for the first time in over two years in October but lost to Derek Brunson by first-round TKO in Brazil. If you recall, Machida was suspended for 18 months due to an anti-doping violation.

Machida did declare his usage of a product containing the banned substance 7-keto-dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which is a steroid. Machida also confirmed the use of the product and said he did not know it contained a prohibited drug.

Once his sample was tested, it came back with an elevated 7?-hydroxy-DHEA to DHEA ratio during a sample collection in April 2016. He then picked up a victory over Eryk Anders in a middleweight bout in the main event of UFC Belem.

Now, Machida is expected to face Vitor Belfort at the UFC 224 pay-per-view. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, he opened up on his plans.

“My focus is to add another win to my record, and to go up the rankings,” Machida recently told MMAjunkie. “I want to do four fights this year. Considering the breaks I plan to take, and how much time I’ll have, I think it would be a good number of bouts. My goal is to earn my way to another (title shot).”

“Vitor has had an important role in the UFC,” Machida said. “He is part of the group of athletes that left their name engraved in the history of the sport, and that made Brazilians fall in love with MMA. When I came to Rio early in the career, he opened the doors of his home to me. I respect him a lot as a professional and as a person. Of course, this feeling will not change my desire to emerge victorious. As I said, I always try to leave everything that doesn’t belong in the octagon outside.

“Inside, we will be two professionals giving our best to put on a show for the fans, and to win. This fight will be a classic of the sport.”

UFC 224 is set to take place on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The post Lyoto Machida Reveals His Lofty UFC Goal For 2018 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Shogun Rua Believes He’s On The Verge Of Another UFC Title Shot

Earlier this week word arrived that former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua was returning to action against recent title contender Volkan Oezdemir at May’s UFC Chile. The Brazilian MMA legend has been out of action since his rousing TKO win over Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night 106 last March, but Rua is quietly […]

The post Shogun Rua Believes He’s On The Verge Of Another UFC Title Shot appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Earlier this week word arrived that former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua was returning to action against recent title contender Volkan Oezdemir at May’s UFC Chile.

The Brazilian MMA legend has been out of action since his rousing TKO win over Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night 106 last March, but Rua is quietly maintaining a three-fight win streak in the contender-deficient UFC light heavyweight class.

If he can get past Oezdemir, the No. 7-ranked Rua would potentially be on the cusp of title contention again, but he’s aware “No Time” is anything but an easy match-up.

Rua recently told MMA Fighting his respect for Oezdemir and added that he simply likes the challenge the Swiss slugger, who rose up the UFC ranks very quickly with two consecutive knockouts in 2017, brings to the cage:

”I think Volkan is a great fighter, the No. 2 in the ranking, but I like challenges. It’s going to be a big challenge for me, and I think it’s an interesting fight for the fans.

”In a short time in the UFC, he was a phenom, easily beating Manuwa and Misha, who are good fighters, and that earned him a shot at the belt,” Rua said. “He has evolved a lot since he joined the UFC. I know he’s a really tough guy.”

Yet even though Oezdemir bulldozed his way into a title bout against champion Daniel Cormier at January’s UFC 220, his rapid rise came to a halt just as quickly when “DC” ground him en route to a dominant stoppage victory in Boston. So Rua acknowledged that while his go-to skill is his dangerous Muay Thai, the longtime legend admitted he would be willing to ground the fight if he needed to:

”Muay thai is my background, but I fight MMA,” Rua said. “If I need to take him down to go on an easier path, I will do that. I know that Volkan has a good striking, but he also has a good wrestling, a good takedown defense, and sometimes you wear yourself out trying to take someone down. I will work hard on my muay thai, jiu-jitsu and wrestling, and I hope I can impose my strategy and come out victorious.”

Despite this gameplan, Rua knows Oezdemir is a big test, one where if he finds himself on the victorious side would possibly propel him to another title shot – a shot he fully insists he would have earned:

”This is a tough fight, but I know that, if I win, I will be one step closer to having another chance to fight for the belt,” Rua said. “I face every fight as a dream, and defeating Volkan is my dream now. That might earn me a chance for the belt. My focus is 100 percent on him, and I know that I will be closer to the belt with a win.

”Everybody knows my career, knows that I was a champion in PRIDE and in the UFC. I’ve been fighting the world’s best fighters since 2005, so if I win this fight I will deserve to fight for the belt — for my history, being a former champion, and for fighting someone like Oezdemir, the No. 2 in the ranking.”

Rua has a clear goal in mind, and it’s one that would no doubt put him amongst the best light heavyweights in UFC history were he to regain the title he lost to arguably the best 205-pound champ Jon Jones in 2011.

He said it’s not quite time to fully focus on that, because while it is his ultimate goal he can only focus on the task in front of him in Oezdemir:

”I don’t think about that yet. If I have a chance to fight for the belt I will definitely envision that moment, but right now I can only envision my victory over Oezdemir. It would obviously be a big dream to reconquer the UFC belt.”

The post Shogun Rua Believes He’s On The Verge Of Another UFC Title Shot appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.