Lyoto Machida was bloodied in the second round, took some hard shots in the third and at times was very clearly the older, smaller and less explosive man. But “The Dragon” wouldn’t be turned back in his home area.
Machida edged out a victory over Eryk Anders by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) in the main event of UFC Belem on Saturday night in Brazil. Afterward, Machida called out Michael Bisping to be his next opponent.
In the first round, Machida was his usual tactical self, attacking Anders’ legs and putting money in the bank with those low kicks with an eye toward later in the fight.