The co-main event of UFC 163 was a light heavyweight battle between the elusive karate-ka, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, and submission-savvy wrestler “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis. The winner of this bout would no doubt have to be put into the title shot conversation, especially with an impressive victory.
UFC 163: Lyoto Machida loses to Phil Davis in controversial unanimous decision
The start of the first round saw both men starting slow, exchanging kicks, with Machida mixing in the jab. “The Dragon” catches Davis with a high kick after “Mr. Wonderful” slaps his leg in a range-finding effort. Lyoto pushes forward with a series of combinations, only to be taken down by the former NCAA All-American. Davis finishes the round on top, throwing in some light ground’n’pound after letting go of a head and arm choke attempt. Tough round to call.
The second round has Davis showing more confidence in his striking, circling left and pumping out jabs and leg kicks to establish range. Machida, though, was working with his trademark footwork, evading “Mr. Wonderful” and leading him on a chase while landing the occasional leg kick. Phil scores with the overhand right, but is frustratingly tentative now, allowing Machida to chip away at him from distance. Still, another close round.
Round 3 has Machida scoring with knee before getting a standing backtake on Davis. “Mr. Wonderful” shrugs him off, and takes a kick from “The Dragon” in the process. Machida throwss Davis off from a clinch attempt like a boss. Machida with the hard left, before showing his takedown defence skills off by stuffing a series of attempts from Davis. Machida takes this round 10-9, but in shocker, does not take the fight.
Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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