Lyoto Machida denies Yoel Romero comatosed him after 2015 fight: ‘That never happened’
Former undisputed light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida has denied claims from Yoel Romero that he was put into a coma following their fight back in 2015, with the Brazilian suffering a devastating third round knockout loss in the it main event clash in Florida.
Machida, a former undisputed light heavyweight champion and perennial middleweight contender, headlining UFC Fight Night Hollywood against former title challenger, Romero in their high-stakes fight 10 years ago, and after a third round exchange, was knocked unconscious with a slew of ground elbow strikes by the Cuban.
However, earlier this week, Romero — who is currently signed to the GFL, claimed Machida had been comatose following the event due to “brutal damage” suffered against him — a claim which the Brazilian has staunchly denied this week.
Lyoto Machida denies Yoel Romero put him in a coma back in 2015
“I heard about [Romero’s comments] but I didn’t watch [the video], but that’s not true at all,” Lyoto Machida said during an interview with MMA Fighting. “What happened was, I broke my nose in that fight and had surgery. But there was no coma or anything like that. That never happened.”
“It makes no sense that a fighter would get in a coma and then fight like 20 times after that,” Lyoto Machida laughed. “I had nose surgery because I broke my nose. I had to stay in Miami for a week — because I lived in Los Angeles and couldn’t fly with the nasal packing. That’s basically what happened. It’s normal stuff for us that fight, right?”
Most recently competing against Fabien Edwards — the younger brother of former undisputed welterweight champion, Leon Edwards at Bellator 281 three years ago, Machida slumped to his fourth straight defeat with a brutal opening round knockout loss to the Birmingham native.
Winning the undisputed light heavyweight championship back in 2009 with a knockout win over then-champion, Rashad Evans, Machida would defend the title successfully later that same annum in a contentious decision win over Brazilian counterpart and fellow ex-champion, Shogun Rua.
