Rashad Evans

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida stopped Rashad Evans at 3:57 of the second round to win the light heavyweight title at UFC 98 on Saturday night. Machida landed a barrage of punches that sent Evans reeling up against the cage and finished him off with a left hand that folded Evans backwards onto the canvas. "I've tried all my life to become a champion and I am very, very happy," a jubilant Machida said. "Now I'm going to keep this belt for a long time."

The light heavyweight title has now changed hands four times in the last five title bouts. In the co-main event earlier, Matt Hughes won a unanimous decision against Matt Serra in a matchup of former welterweight champions. Serra took the advantage early on, flooring Hughes with strikes in the first round. Hughes was able to fight back utilizing his superior wrestling ability and controlled the final two rounds with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28.

The two embraced after the fight and seemed to put the bad blood behind them. The fighters developed a heated rivalry while coaching opposing teams on The Ultimate Fighter reality show and were scheduled to meet at UFC 79 in December 2007 when Serra pulled out of the bout due to injury. When asked what his plans for the future were, Hughes said," I'm still motivated to compete so we'll see what happens. I'd like to fight in my home area." Brock Larson, Tim Hague, Kyle Bradley, Krzysztof Soszynski, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and George Roop won preliminary fights.

Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida's first UFC light-heavyweight title defense will be against former champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. No target date but UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Jackson will receive the first shot at Machida's belt. If the rumors are true that Jackson and Machida will serve as coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 10," the two will meet in December. Jackson originally earned the title shot with his UFC 92 win over Wanderlei Silva last December. However, injuries prevented Jackson from facing Rashad Evans at UFC 98, leaving Machida to step in to fulfill his title aspirations.

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida, a karate specialist, used his kicks to gain the advantage and then landed a series a punches that knocked Rashad Evans down three times in the second round to win the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 98 in Las Vegas. The final blow was a devastating left hook that flattened Evans. His 205-pound body collapsed faster than the last few grains of a sand in a timer.

I tried all my life to be a champion, and I'm very, very happy," Machida said. "And now, I'm going to keep this belt for a long time. And to everyone, if you have a dream in your life, go ahead, it's possible. Machida's unorthodox style kept Evans (18-1-1) at bay the entire fight. Machida (15-0) landed big left kicks in the first and second rounds, helping to keep Evans at bay. Machida connected on a left leg kick to the body, followed by a left hand that dropped Evans to the ground toward the end of the first round. Machida pounced on Evans and landed a few shots before the champion got back to his feet.