Lyoto Machida Finishes Chael Sonnen Via Second-Round TKO!
Bellator 222 is happening (Friday, June 14, 2019) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
The co-main event of the evening brings the Light Heavyweight collision of two veterans. The ex-UFC 205-pound champ Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida meets legendary trash-talker and the former Gladiator Challenge king Chael “The American Gangster” Sonnen.
The third man inside the Octagon is Todd Anderson. The war is underway!
Round 1
Sonnen rushes towards Machida, forces him to eat knees in the opening minute of the bout. Machida breaks free, few hard body kicks, but Sonnen keeps coming.
Sonnen throws Lyoto, jumps on his back, now Machida looks for the opportunity to break free.
Wow, spectacular movement by Machida!! He lands two hard body shots and a flying knee, now Sonnen goes down, he is rocked!!!
Machida rains brutal barrage of hammer-fists off the top, and now he adds elbows. Lyoto postures up, Chael is in big trouble. Machida opens up with a left-right, what a match! Sonnen made to get up, 30 seconds until the end of the round.
Sonnen survives this round, but he seems wobbled as he walks towards his corner. 10-9 Machida.
Round 2
Wow, what a brutal flying knee by Lyoto!!! Sonnen made a big mistake, and now Machida attacks with ground strikes! It seems Sonnen cannot recover, the referee stops the fight! Victory for Lyoto Machida!
Final Result: Lyoto Machida def. Chael Sonnen at 0:22 of R2 via TKO (Flying Knee and Punches)
Check out the highlights below:
We all knew @ChaelSonnen's walkout was going to be electric. ⚡️
The American Gangster is ready to throw down against @LyotoMachidaFW at @TheGarden!#Bellator222 pic.twitter.com/oCDU2sPNkX
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 15, 2019
🐉 @LyotoMachidaFW with the TKO win tonight at #Bellator222.
What's next for "The Dragon"? pic.twitter.com/qwty24XpDu
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 15, 2019
The Flying Knee did the trick for @lyotomachidafw 💪#Bellator222 pic.twitter.com/UJEocCqWnT
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 15, 2019
Lyoto Machida improves the score to 26-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA, Chael Sonnen drops to 31-17-1 MMA, 2-3 BMMA.