UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero (UFC Fight Night 70) was live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida on June 27, 2015.
The card was originally supposed to be The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 Finale, but visa issues took both the bantamweight and lightweight finals off of the card as well as many other fights. The main event went untouched and the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida took on the #6 ranked Yoel Romero in a pivotal 5-round middleweight match-up.
Just like at every event, UFC Fight Night 70 saw many fighters take a big step forward in their career, whereas others were on the opposite end and had to take a step back for the time being. With that being said, take a look at our biggest winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 70 below.
Winners
Yoel Romero
At UFC Fight Night 70, Yoel Romero had his toughest test to date as he took on a former champion in Lyoto Machida. Romero started off slowly, but turned it on late. Romero was able to pick up an impressive TKO victory at 1:38 of Round 3. This marked Romero’s sixth straight win and stayed undefeated in the UFC in doing so. The 38-year-old will likely be in a number one contender fight in his next fight out. Romero made a big statement in his performance, but his speech afterwards, although still unclear, left many upset. Regardless of everything, Romero prove that he is a legitimate threat within the middleweight division.
Lorenz Larkin
At UFC Fight Night 70, Lorenz Larkin stepped in the octagon at the welterweight division for the second time. Larkin took on Santiago Ponzinibbio and looked to put on yet another impressive performance. In what was a very exciting fight, Larkin did just that. Larkin’s striking looked fast and crisp just like it did in the John Howard fight and was able to pick up the TKO victory at 3:07 of Round 2. The move down to the welterweight division was clearly the right move for Larkin and he will likely get a ranked opponent his next time out.
Losers
Lyoto Machida
At UFC Fight Night 70, Lyoto Machida was looking to bounce back off of his most decisivie loss to date against Luke Rockhold. It was a short turnaround for ‘The Dragon’ as he took on Yoel Romero a little more than two months removed from his last fight. Machida looked good early, but started to get hit with big punches on the feet and when it got to the ground it was over immediately. Machida lost the fight via TKO at 1:38 of Round 3. This was only the second time in his career that Machida lost back-to-back fights and it is the 37-year-old’s roughest stretch of his career as he is 1-3 in his last four.
Eddie Gordon
At UFC Fight Night 70, Eddie Gordon was looking to pick up his first win since winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter 19’ middleweight tournament. Gordon was looking to do so against Antônio Carlos Júnior. Gordon offered next to nothing for the entire fight and lost a lopsided fight that ended via rear-naked choke at 4:37 of Round 3. The Serra-Longo Fight Team middleweight has been very disappointing since coming off of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 19’ and has lost three straight fights. The 31-year-old’s UFC future is very much in doubt after yet another bad outing.
