NEW YORK – On Friday night, two MMA legends finally exchanged blows inside the cage. A matchup years in the making, Lyoto Machida and Chael Sonnen finally crossed paths, with the former walking away as the victor.
The light heavyweight fight was the co-main event of Bellator 222 at Madison Square Garden. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The instant the opening bell sounded, Sonnen came out aggressive, stalking Machida (26-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). Backpedaling in his vintage fighting stance, Machida landed several loud body kicks on Sonnen. The two clinched against the cage for a short time before breaking.
A cracking head kick had Sonnen (30-17-1 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) wiping his nose, taking a deep breath and going back on the attack. Machida then landed his best shot of the fight, knocking Sonnen head over heels with a beautiful jumping knee. Somehow, Sonnen survived the shot and the abundance of follow-ups.
“The Dragon” didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal in the second round. Seconds into the round, Machida landed another walloping knee. Unlike the knee in the first round, however, Sonnen could not weather the subsequent storm.
Declaring Machida the winner, referee Todd Anderson stepped in and waived off the bout at 0:22 of Round 2.
Afterward, Sonnen announced his retirement, placing his gloves in the center of the cage.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 222 results include:
- Lyoto Machida def. Chael Sonnen via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 2, 0:22
- Dillon Danis def. Max Humphrey via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:28
- Juan Archuleta def. Eduardo Dantas via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:59
- Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrion Caldwell via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) – to win bantamweight title
- Taylor Turner def. Heather Hardy via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53
- Adam Borics def. Aaron Pico via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 3:55
- Valerie Loureda def. Larkyn Dasch via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lindsey VanZandt def. Rena Kubota via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:04
- Haim Gozali def. Gustavo Wurlitzer via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:02
- Mike Kimbel def. Sebastian Ruiz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Robson Gracie Jr. def. Oscar Vera via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:15
- Marcus Surin def. Nekruz Mirkhojaev via split decision (30-27, 27-29, 29-27)
- Phil Hawes def. Michael Wilcox via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
- John Beneduce def. Kenny Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of Bellator 222, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
