Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida called for a retirement bout with Michael Bisping after he secured a split decision win over unbeaten middleweight, Eryk Anders, in the main event of UFC Belem on Saturday night.
The Belem native went into the hometown bout as the underdog given the rapid ascent of former college footballer, Anders, who had recorded two wins in as many tests under the UFC banner ahead of his main event bow.
The superior footwork and distance control of ‘The Dragon’ likely won him the fight, despite Anders causing him plenty of panic with his power over the 25 minutes.
Lyoto Machida earned a decision victory over Eryk Anders in the UFC Belem main event
The Brazilian showed his experience to overcome a rising star of the middleweight division
In his post-fight interview, Machida put his name in the hat to face former middleweight champion Michael Bisping in the Brit’s retirement bout.
‘Michael Bisping, I’m here for you man,’ he shouted in the centre of the Octagon.
The majority of the first round played out with Anders on his back as Machida landed kicks to his thighs.
The unbeaten former linebacker regained some momentum in the second as he began to find range with his signature left hand.
He opened up a cut on Machida’s head with a knee at the beginning of the third round and landed two big left hands as the Brazilian picked away at him from distance.
Although Machida came out firing with a body kick in the fourth, Anders gained comfort as the round wore on and dropped the hometown hero with a stinging overhand left.
After having his hand raised, Machida then called out Michael Bisping for a retirement fight
Machida quickly got to his feet, but did little to make an impact on the penultimate stanza as he defended himself against the fence.
Machida chipped away from range throughout the fifth, with Anders briefly forcing the action to the ground before the duo exchanged with little success for the final 20 seconds.
Valentina Shevchenko underlined why she is considered the biggest threat to Nicco Montano’s flyweight title with a stunning debut win in the bracket over unbeaten newcomer Priscila Cachoeira.
A former bantamweight title contender, ‘Bullet’ — who is primarily known for striking as a multiple Muay Thai world champion — showcased her grappling ability as she took the Brazilian down with ease in the first round.
Valentina Shevchenko (top) celebrates her victory over Priscila Cachoeira
In her flyweight debut the former bantamweight totally outclassed her opponent
Cachoeira was overwhelmed on the ground as Shevchenko rained down elbows. After stumbling back to her corner after seeing out the first, the Brazilian was immediately taken down in the second round.
Once again, Shevchenko transitioned to a dominant position and displayed relentless ground and pound before threatening with an arm lock.
After a final attempt to finish the fight with grounded strikes, Shevchenko latched onto a rear-naked choke and submitted Cachoeira with just over 30 seconds left on the clock.
Shevchenko showed why she is the main threat to Nicco Montano’s flyweight title
‘If everyone wants to see me fight for the title, I do too — Nicco, let’s do it,’
Desmond Green’s decision to fight Michel Prazeres despite the Brazilian missing the lightweight threshold by five pounds failed to pay off, as Prazeres scored a unanimous decision win.
Green cited a 17-pound differential between the fighters on Twitter ahead of the fight, and Prazeres’ strength certainly worked to his advantage as he controlled the fight from top position during the second and third rounds.
Prazeres threatened with submissions on multiple occasions during the fight and appeared to be on the verge of submitting Green in the second round with a north-south choke before the American escaped.
Michael Prazeres came in over the weight limit but secured a decision win
Prazares gave up 20 per cent of his purse to Green for missing weight ahead of the fight.
Tim Johnson upset the applecart when he handed previously undefeated Brazilian Marcelo Golm his first defeat. Johnson used his size advantage to bully Golm in the clinch and score valuable punches and knees on the inside.
The American piled the pressure on over the three rounds, which appeared to frustrate the 25-year-old as he struggled to catch Johnson with a clean sot.
Douglas Andrade put on a striking clinic on route to a bantamweight win over Marlon Vera. Vera was on the backfoot for the majority of the 15 minutes and failed to make a lasting impression on the fight due to the Brazilian’s dynamic arsenal.
Thiago Santos equaled countryman Anderson Silva’s record of eight knockouts in the middleweight division in his main card curtain-jerker against Anthony Smith.
Santos caught Smith with a body kick in the second round and finished the fights with strikes as ‘Lionheart’ attempted a single leg takedown.
Thiago Santos equalled Anderson Silva’s record of eight middleweight knockouts
The Brazilian thrilled the home crowd who were on their feet for the first fight of the night