Stunner In UFC: Rockhold Slays “The Dragon”

Going into the UFC on FOX main event, the thinking was that Lyoto Machida would provide a stern test for the top ranked middleweight contender.  Instead, Luke Rockhold put on a clinic against the former light-heavyweight champion and finished him in brutal fashion with a second round rear-naked choke.

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The first round began tentatively as Machida seemed to find his range faster than Rockhold.  “The Dragon” connected on several punches that appeared to land cleanly on Rockhold’s chin, however they appeared to do little damage.  Things shifted dramatically when Rockhold seemingly caught Machida on a slip coming in and ended up on top of the former champion.  The rest of the round was a one-sided demolition as Rockhold was able to maintain top position and land punishing strikes at will.  Most surprisingly was the ease with which Rockhold was able to control the veteran Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt in Machida.  The former champion did his best to try to scramble but was stuffed by Rockhold at every turn.  As the first round began to wind down it appeared that the fight would be stopped as Rockhold began to land several unblocked shots from the back mount before the bell sounded.

Rockhold became only the third person to stop Machida in competition.

Most tellingly was the amount of time that Machida took to return to his feet and to his corner.  Visibly still injured, Machida entered the second round unsteadily and with unfocused eyes.  The former champion threw lethargic single punches that were evaded easily before he fell back to the mat from what did not even appear to be a clean hit.  From there the fight appeared to have been long decided as Rockhold landed more shots on Machida before securing another back-mount and get the rear-naked choke to finish the fight.

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With the victory, Rockhold moves to five consecutive finishes in his last several UFC appearances, second only to women’s champion Ronda Rousey.  In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan he petitioned for the winner of the upcoming Weidman-Belfort title bout, specifically stating he expected to face current UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.

The victory puts Rockhold in a unique position as he was ranked fourth in the UFC rankings in the middleweight division before defeating the second ranked Machida.  While his victory was by far the most impressive of the night, he was also not the only contender to be victorious.  Number one ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeated Chris Camozzi by first round submission in the co-main event of the evening.  Camozzi took the fight on one weeks notice after an injury removed number six ranked Yoel Romero from the card.  Had he won as dominantly over Romero, Jacare would arguably be the best pick for the next shot at the title.

The situation now leaves a lot to be determined by the title bout with champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort.  The next contender will likely be decided by whoever wins the championship bout.  Should Weidman win, a match-up with Rockhold makes the most sense as he is the bigger draw and has won the more high profile match-ups recently.  Should Belfort win, it is more likely that Jacare fights next for the title as Belfort previously demolished Rockhold with spinning back-kick knockout that was regarded the knockout of the year.

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That is not to say that these predictions are set in stone.  Depending on the damage that the fighters receive next month, Rockhold may face Jacare in a rematch to decide who gets the next title shot as the champion recovers.  It is also possible that either Rockhold and Jacare may not be available due to an injury sustained in training and the other fights for the title first.  While all parties involved will be watching next months title fight closely, the future will not be decided until it takes place.

In other action, Paige VanZant defeated eighth ranked Felice Herrig in the first main card bout of the night.  VanZant, 21, had previously only had one fight in the UFC and was unable to compete on last seasons female straw-weight season of The Ultimate Fighter due to the fact that she was under 21 at the time of filming and the presence of alcohol that would be in the house.  With the win, VanZant likely moves into the top ten once the rankings are updated.