UFC Fight Night 125 Post-Mortem: Hometown Hero

Lyoto Machida on Saturday stepped into the Octagon in his hometown of Belem, Brazil, and did so while in the midst of the first three-fight losing streak of his 15-year career. Stoppage losses to Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson preceded Machida’s UFC Fight Night 125 main event opposite Eryk Anders at Guilherme Paraense Arena.

“The Dragon” chopped down Anders with a leg kick in the first round and seemed content to attack the unbeaten prospect’s legs while keeping him glued to the mat in the butt scoot position. Anders eventually returned to his feet but not before significant time had been bled off the clock. From there, Machida employed his familiar counter-based strategy from…