UFC President Dana White said that the light heavyweight to look most impressive in his victory at UFC on FOX would receive the next title shot.
After a very uneventful first round, Lyoto Machida made a case for his number one contendership with a slick knockout win over Ryan Bader.
Best described as a “feeling out round,” the first frame brought Saturday’s UFC on FOX show, which had been on fire following excellent fights between Mike Swick and DaMarques Johnson and Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner, to a screeching halt. Machida was biding his time in search of an opportunity to put Bader to sleep, while a hesitant Bader was unable to find many opportunities to charge in.
In round two, Bader thought he found that opportunity and pushed forward, but he walked right into a crushing counter punch from Machida. As Bader fell to the mat, Machida followed up with two shots and then walked away, certain he had put the standout wrestler to sleep.
Machida will now wait to see whether Mauricio “Shogun” Rua or Brandon Vera can score a more impressive victory in the night’s main-event.
Official Decision: Lyoto Machida b. Ryan Bader via KO (punches) at 1:32 of Round Two
