Machida Beats Evans at UFC 98, Rampage Next?
Who will be The Dragon's next UFC opponent?
May 27, 2009
Lyoto Machida stopped reigning Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans in round two with a knockout 3:57 in.
Machida kept Evans at a solid distance of 3-4 feet for the duration of the match, as a few sharp kicks including an early one to the face made Evans gun shy.
“The Dragon” finished Evans off with a flurry that started with a pinpoint kick-straight right combination to send Evans sprawling to the mat. Machida waded in and threw a couple of vicious close-range combinations as Evans stood in and got whaled on before Machida finished him off with a straight left to the chin that made Evans’ head twist backward and bounce off the mat.
“Karate is back,” proclaimed Machida, and his win might very well revolutionize the training and career paths of tons of young prospective MMA fighters.
Evans was never able to get untracked in the striking game because of the distance factor and Machida’s counter-striking was on target as usual.
“Now…I want to keep this belt…for a long time,” said Machida after the bout in not-so-bad English, which he has worked hard to improve over the years.
“This is the beginning of your era,” said commentator Rogan.
“The Dragon is the champion, thank you!” said Machida, who earlier crumpled to the mat in joy after winning his long-sought-after title belt.
Rampage Jackson vs. Machida at UFC 104?
Next up for Machida will most likely be a matchup with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in one that he should again be the favorite in. Machida moved to 15-0 with his winning result against Evans, who fell to 18-1-1, and wrestling the belt from a fighter as elusive and efficient as Machida will prove to be a monumental task.
But Jackson is one of the few fighters with the chin and athletic ability to stand up to The Dragon should they meet down the road.
Jackson has sounded confident about the fight with Machida that should happen in the future on his Twitter page, poking fun at Machida's practice of "urine recycling" while also sounding confident that he has what it takes to defeat Machida in a fight for the light heavyweight title.
Rampage Jackson does have one of the biggest and best chins in the business so perhaps he would not be deterred from wading in and eating a few of Machida's kicks for the opportunity to land some knockout blows on The Dragon. It should be an exciting fight nonetheless for the title.
