WATCH FOR THE HOOK! Derek Brunson finishes Lyoto Machida early in round one! #UFCSP https://t.co/JEiQckDhsG
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 29, 2017
Lyoto Machida is 39 years old. He just spent 18 months away from the sport after suffering two brutal losses in a row, and then sat on the sidelines after being suspended for violating the UFC’s anti-doping violation. A charge that he still is fighting as incorrect. Would his return to the Octagon be successful against a younger, hard-hitting Derek Brunson? Could The Dragon have one more run in him? Should he even be in the cage?
Probably not.
It’s hard to even really gauge how rusty Machida was against Brunson. The fight played out for the first few minutes like any Machida fight, lots of feeling out and baiting until a Machida Blitz was to come, but Brunson met Machida’s incoming bombs with a devastating left hand of his own that sent Machida stumbling back, only to be completely knocked out with follow-up punches.
Brunson now has two knockouts in a row, and lost a controversial decision to Anderson Silva. He has a claim to the muddied middleweight throne, but we’re going to have to figure out what happens with the belt when Bisping defends against GSP, and interim champ Robert Whittaker takes on the winner of that fight.
Until then, Brunson is in limbo, but he can rest easy knowing he slayed The Dragon.
