Normally when a fighter competes in his hometown, there is a term commonly referred to in the fight game as “the hometown advantage.” Well, someone forgot to tell UFC light heavyweight and Belem, Brazil, native Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida about this saying before his UFC 163 bout with Phil Davis on Saturday night. And if they did tell him, rest assured, Machida would tell you that old fighting adage is for the birds. In front of his hometown faithful, inside a packed HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Machida dominated the former two-time National Champion from Penn State from pillar to post for the majority of the fight, only to suffer a perplexing unanimous decision loss as the scorecards were read. Round one was all Machida as he peppered Davis with counter jabs and body kicks from the outset. Davis circled to the left, showing some improved striking, but nothing to write home about. Midway through the first frame, Machida scored a slick straight left that drilled Davis on the chin and had him retreating. Machida followed up with a thudding flying knee to the body, as Davis recouped to the center of the Octagon. It took the former All-American almost four minutes into the round to attempt his first takedown, but when he did it was successful. As the first round came to a close, Davis was in Machida’s half-guard scoring powerful ground and pound. Round two was more of the same from Machida, as Davis opened with flashy front kicks and uncharacteristic combination punching. It looked good, but the attempts were more or less futile. Davis shot on Machida and the Brazilian sprawled with precision. The Dragon spent the majority of the round peppering his opponent with well-timed counter punching and textbook defense – something that has become a trademark of the former UFC light heavyweight champion
BAD MMA Trending Cloud
UFC • Bellator • Conor Mcgregor • PFL • Jon Jones • Daniel Cormier • Dustin Poirier • Khabib Nurmagomedov • Dana White • Francis Ngannou • Jorge Masvidal • Nate Diaz • Anderson Silva • WSOF • Max Holloway • Ronda Rousey • Amanda Nunes • Michael Bisping • Donald Cerrone • Michael Chandler • Tony Ferguson • Kamaru Usman • Alex Pereira • islam makhachev • Henry Cejudo • Alexander Volkanovski • Jake Paul • Demetrious Johnson • Charles Oliveira • Jose Aldo • One Championship • Aljamain Sterling • sean o'malley • Derrick Lewis • Stipe Miocic • sean strickland • Tyron Woodley • Georges St Pierre • Robert Whittaker • Holly Holm
- MMA News (113587)
- Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach non-call complicated by ‘technical issue,’ officials say
- Tony Ferguson reflects on UFC departure: ‘It was the hardest f*cking thing I had to do’
- Video: Should Manel Kape get next UFC flyweight title shot vs. Alexandre Pantoja?
- Aljamain Sterling breaks down the potential Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev fight
- The Thrill and Agony: UFC Fight Night 253 winner and loser reactions
- Dominick Cruz pinpoints Magomed Ankalaev’s keys to UFC 313 title win vs. Alex Pereira
- Danny Silva pitches Nate Landwehr as first head he wants to collect after UFC Fight Night 253
- MMA Junkie Radio #3545: UFC Fight Night 253 review, Danny Sabatello interview, more
- Raul Rosas Jr. set to return at UFC on ESPN 64 to face Vince Morales
- Leon Edwards claims he offered to step in for Belal Muhammad rematch at UFC 315