In sort of an unforgettable fight that was overshadowed by an exciting main event, Lyoto Machida defeated Dan Henderson to earn another shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship. Machida faced Henderson in the co-main event of UFC 157. UFC 157 took place Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and aired live on pay per view.
On paper a fight between Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson could have easily headlined any event. However, after fifteen minutes of fighting it may have been a good thing that Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche received top billing at UFC 157.
The two fighters often found themselves at a stalemate as Machida looked to counter strike and Henderson looked to load up for the overhand right. Many hoped for more exchanges during the fight, but sometimes strategy makes fights end up a little less than exciting. In this case way less.
At the end of the night Machida was awarded a thin split decision victory in a fight that could have gone either way.
Despite the judges decision, Dan Henderson felt different. "I won the fight, but not officially," Henderson said during the post-fight interview. "I hit him whenever he wanted to fight. He ran away most of the time. I thought I won."
With the victory, Machida moves to 19-3 overall and Henderson drops to 29-9. The win at UFC 157 was Machida's second victory in a row following a submission loss to light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. Machida will now wait to see who is champion following an upcoming fight between champ Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.
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