UFC Fight Night 70 took center stage at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday night and broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Though the end result featured a card drastically altered after numerous visa issues and injuries forced a last minute revision, the main event went on as planned with Lyoto Machida making the second fastest turnaround of his career, following a loss to Luke Rockhold, against Cuban Olympic Silver Medalist Yoel Romero.
Yoel Romero def. Lyoto Machida via technical knockout – elbows (Round 3, 1:38)
In the main event, Yoel Romero in the biggest test yet of his MMA career, put on easily the best performance of his career against, his biggest test in MMA yet, in former champion Lyoto Machida. The fight made for an interesting matchup stylistically with both men feeling the other out in the early moments before Machida wold begin to work on the legs of Romero with his patented karate style. Machida would do a good job staying on the outside, using crisp footwork and his awkward style to out strike Romero, but would get caught with a straight right hand that sent him back into the cage near the end of the round.
Machida again would come out in round two utilizing his leg kicks to attack the movement of Romero, but it was the Cuban who began to find success in his counter punching – landing two big counter lefts that stunned the former champ and shifted the momentum in Romero’s favor.
Possibly sensing something in Machida, Romero would come out the aggressor in round three landing another straight right in the early moments that again snapped back the head of Machida. Romero would subsequently showcase his Olympic calibre wrestling landing an easy takedown and following it up with a series of vicious elbows to finish the former champion. At age 37, Machida just doesn’t seem to be able to hang with the bigger, younger fighters anymore. Couple that with two bad knockouts in his last two fights and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Machida. Romero now moves to 6-0 in the UFC and with Rockhold confirmed for the title shot, just maybe we’ll get to see him fight Jacare Souza after all.
Lorenz Larkin def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via technical knockout – strikes (Round 2, 3:07)
In the co-main event, Lorenz Larkin, in his second fight at welterweight, looked to put together his first winning streak under the UFC banner after a Knockout of the Night in his last fight against John Howard. Opposite Larkin, the durable Santiago Ponzinibbio who came into the fight having won nine of his last ten. Both men came out looking to be the aggressor, but it would be Larkin who would gain the striking advantage, employing the power in his hands and feet to keep a stalking Ponzinibbio at bay for the majority of the round.
Round two would only build in action as both men stood in the pocket and exchanged wildly. Ponzinibbio would find a bit more success getting inside on Larkin, but would get careless getting caught in a wild exchange of punches by a straight left and right hook of Larkin’s that sent the Argentinian to the canvas. Demonstrating his toughness Ponzinibbio survived, albeit only briefly as he would make it back to his feet only to incur further punishment before referee Herb Dean had seen enough saving a and stopped the fight. Larkin has looked better than ever after dropping to 170 lb in the UFC, and should see himself move into the welterweight rankings with the win and should also see a step up in competition in his next fight.
Antonia Carlos Junior def. Eddie Gordon via submission – rear naked choke (Round 3, 4:37)
Both men would come out in round one engaging in the pocket, but it would be Carlos Jr. who would get the better of the striking advantage on the feet, opening up a cut with a standing elbow early on, before landing a takedown and controlling Gordon on the mat. Gordon would scramble back to his feet, and attempt to turn the fight into a grappling match, but Carlos Jr. would counter, again taking “Truck” down and finishing the round on top.
In the second round Carlos Jr. would use his reach advantage to pick Gordon apart from the outside for most of the standing exchange. Gordon would again resort to trying to turn the fight into a grappling match, but to no avail as the multiple time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion would easily thwart Gordon’s takedowns, turning the tide and taking Gordon down, following it up with big ground and pound before transitioning to a heel hook at the bell.
Gordon, knowing he was down 2-0 going into the round three, came out throwing big overhand rights, before pushing Carlos Jr. up against the cage again reverting to his grappling. However, Carlos Jr. would reverse position, landing a takedown, and taking Gordon’s back before the BJJ specialist sunk in a deep rear-naked choke forcing the tap from Gordon an securing the third latest finish in middleweight history. With the win Carlos Jr. has now picked up wins in three different weight classes in the UFC, which will make it interesting to see where he chooses to fight at next.
Thiago Santos def. Steve Bosse via Knockout – head kick (Round 1, 0:29)
After two false starts and a brief retirement Steve Bosse finally made his debut in the UFC competing in his first fight since 2013. It would be a short-lived dream, however, as just 29 seconds in Thiago Santos, recognizing that Bosse was dropping his guard, landed a devastating walk off head kick that echoed, with a thud, throughout the arena, and sent a stiffened Bosse to the mat.
It was a nightmare debut for the former hockey player after an injury and the Rampage debacle delayed his first two fights, and may have been too steep of a step up in competition having never faced anything close to UFC calibre fighters prior to Santos. For Santos, the win will surely increase his stock in the lightweight division with the violent finish easily contending for Knockout of the Year.
Hakran Dias def. Levan Makashvili via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
After an exciting start to the prelims, Hakran Dias and Levan Makashvili kicked off the main card without much fanfare. Both men started the first round hesitant to engage with Makashvili gaining the brief striking advantage utilizing good leg kicks to distance Dias. Dias would land a takedown towards the end of the round, but rather than advance, chose to hold his position for the remainder of the round.
Opposite the first round, both men came out over aggressive in the second round, with Makashvili able to duck a Dias overhand right and land a takedown almost securing a Kimora, before Dias would catch him in a deep triangle that looked to have Levan in trouble. Makashvili would escape ending up on top, but allowed Dias back to his feet. Dias again would land a late takedown nearing the end of the round, holding Makashvili down for the remainder of the round.
The third round would see t turn into a grappling match with neither men trying to land anything significant, save for a late takedown by Makashvili which may have won him the round but wouldn’t be enough to win the fight, losing an exhausting split decision to Dias.
