Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson didn’t provide the fireworks that fans wanted, but in the end it was Machida’s night. Henderson spent a lot of the fight trying to chase Machida down and land the H-Bomb, but Machida used his usual timing and counterfighting to land shots on Hendo as he advanced. In the end, it was a tough fight to judge due to the lack of action, but the judges awarded Machida the split decision victory. The scores were 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.
Both men opened the fight with some kicks. Hendo kept going to an inside leg kick to load up the right, but Machida circled away. Machida landed a glancing punch on the way in, and a solid kick to the body. Henderson chased Machida a bit but couldn’t catch him. Hendo connected with a right that backed Machida off. Henderson got a body lock by Machida shook him off. Machida got a trip takedown late in the clinch and landed a big elbow.
Machida fired off a big head kick to open round two but it was blocked by Henderson. Machida landed a solid kick to the body as Henderson advanced. Machida landed a front kick and narrowly avoided the H-Bomb. Machida advanced with a couple of strikes and Hendo just missed again. Machida landed a big knee up the middle as Hendo looked for a takedown. Henderson went back to the inside leg kick, but it was his only effective weapon though the first nine minutes. Hendo landed a nice left hook and was the one of the offensive over the rest of the round.
Hendo advanced early in the last stanza, but punched air. Machida responded with a solid body kick. Henderson got a takedown. He was stuck in Machida’s guard and couldn’t get much offense going though. Machida finally got back up with 1:45 left in the round. The two men then spent a minute staring at each other before Machida decided to engage. Machida landed a big front kick to the face, and a head kick. Hendo missed with one more H-Bomb before the bell.