UFC 129 Results: Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida: Is the "Machida Era" Back?

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Bleacher Report's Carl Padget:

After Lyoto Machida knocked out Rashad Evans in devastating fashion to win the UFC light heavyweight title, Joe Rogan famously declared the beginning of “The Machida Era”. After a sketchy first defence and subsequent loss of his title to Shogun Rua, and then a disappointing loss to Rampage Jackson, that declaration seemed just a little bit silly.

The spectacular way in which he finished Randy Couture at UFC 129 has got me starting to believe the hype again though. Couture, like Greg Jackson, is famous for game planning his way to victories, and after back to back losses, it appeared that Machida was not quite the enigma he used to be, and therefore able to be planned for.

But no one could quite plan for what Machida had in store for Couture, not even Captain America himself. Now I’m not saying that a knockout over a 47-year-old man is enough to catapult anybody into a No. 1 contender’s position, but Machida looked back to his best and like he still belongs at the very top of his division.

After being knocked out by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, he clearly looked hesitant against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (who has obvious knockout power), and we all wondered if he would ever be the same. How a fighter deals with his first knockout loss is an oft talked about topic, and can change a fighter’s entire future career.

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