Lyoto Machida Stopped The Crimson Tide With A Decision Win Over Eryk Anders At UFC Belem

It’s been a hard road for former UFC champ Lyoto Machida these past few years. Two stoppage losses to top middleweight contenders Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero were followed by a two-year suspension for 7-Keto-DHEA, a substance Machida didn’t realize was illegal due to its absence from the Portuguese version of the USADA banned substance list. His return in October 2017 ended with a first-round knockout to Derek Brunson, and had a lot of people wondering whether Machida’s days in the UFC were numbered.

Across from the 40-year-old Machida was 30-year old Eryk Anders. Anders is a rising star in the UFC, a former Alabama Crimson Tide player whose two fights with the promotion have resulted in impressive wins. Even with his fast ride to the top of a UFC card, Anders was still a heavy favorite coming into his fight with Machida off his knockout power, something Machida has seemed susceptible to in his past few fights.

In the end, it took a bit of a gift decision for Machida to overcome Anders, with the judges rendering a split decision 48-47 Machida, 48-47 Anders, and 49-46 Machida. Anders was the aggressor through the majority of the fight while Machida used his patented karate stance to keep him at a distance while firing off endless kicks. Anders was undoubtedly the more dangerous fighter in the cage and managed to split Machida’s head open with a big knee, but in the end, the judges awarded Lyoto the win off his active kick game. A cynic might suggest a hometown advantage for the Brazilian in Belem came into play.

Round one saw Machida controlling the fight, attacking Anders’ legs with a steady stream of leg kicks. But in round two Anders responded with some big left-hand counters, looking dangerous and catching Machida in two exchanges that made the Brazilian look concerned. A big knee from Anders in round three left Machida bleeding all over the place and unable to do much but throw ineffectual kicks from the outside.

Machida had a slight surge back in round four, shifting from leg kicks to resounding body kicks, but by the end of the round, Anders was once again chasing Lyoto around the cage. Round five featured more action, with Machida throwing some spinning back kicks and Anders leaping for punches. Neither managed to get the best of the other, leading us to the scorecards and the aforementioned iffy split decision.

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