NEWARK -- Chris Weidman has the UFC middleweight belt, but Luke Rockhold accomplished something the champ could not just nine months ago: Finish Lyoto Machida.
Rockhold (14-2) turned in an outstanding effort against Machida on Saturday, submitting the former light heavyweight champion at 2:31 of the second round via rear-naked choke. The middleweight fight headlined the UFC event inside Prudential Center.
It marks just the third time Machida (22-6) has been finished in his 12-year career.
Rockhold is expected to face the winner of a title fight between Weidman (12-0) and Vitor Belfort (24-10) at UFC 187 on May 23, although UFC president Dana White would not confirm that matchup after Saturday's fight. White said it will come down to Rockhold and Ronaldo Souza, who won a fight in the co-main event Saturday and beat a fighter on short notice who he already beat in 2013.
"Luke looked unbelievable tonight," White said. "Beating Machida like that is a big deal. And people are probably going to say, 'Jacare fought Chris Camozzi,' -- let me tell you what, Chris Camozzi stepped up on seven days' notice. I agree with Chris Camozzi he's not the same fighter he was two years ago. We're in a position right now where we've got two guys who look unbelievable who could fight for the title next and that's a good problem to have."
Added Rockhold: "I believe Weidman will go out and handle his business and it looks like we'll be able to march into New York. We'll have an old-fashioned Shake Shack vs. In-N-Out Burger."
The UFC has expressed interest in hosting a pay-per-view event in New York in December, should the sport be placed under the athletic commission's jurisdiction later this year. A bill to do so is currently awaiting a vote in the New York State Assembly.
Rockhold was nearly perfect in the two-round performance against Machida. He knocked the Brazilian off-balance with a counter right hand in the first and didn't relinquish top control until late in the round. He hit Machida with several hard elbows from the top and a swarm of punches from the back, once Machida had turtled up away from the fence.
That one sequence seemed to take much of the fight out of Machida, as he offered little resistance in the following frame.
"I landed a clean elbow at the end of the first round and saw him wobble to his corner," Rockhold said. "I knew I had him from there."
A couple straight lefts landed for Rockhold early in the second round and it was clear Machida was hurt, as he staggered around the perimeter of the Octagon. Another left hand grazed Machida near the center of the cage and Rockhold basically tossed him back to the floor and went back to landing punches from the top.
Eventually Machida gave up his back and allowed Rockhold to sink the choke in. It is Rockhold's third submission win in a row, all of which have occurred no later than the second round.
Machida landed one hard left-hand counter during an early exchange, but he was mostly defensive otherwise. Immediate cageside stats showed Rockhold out-landing Machida in total strikes 55 to 19.
In a five-round title fight against Machida in July, Weidman went the distance in what was his second title defense. The 30-year-old champion entered that fight off back-to-back stoppages over longtime middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
Rockhold suffered a first-round loss to Belfort at a UFC on FX event in May 2013.
Souza again proves too much for Camozzi
Ronaldo Souza beat his own record at submitting Chris Camozzi. So, that was something.
A potentially big night for the Brazilian middleweight took a major hit one week ago, when highly ranked Yoel Romero was forced to withdraw from their bout due to a knee injury.
Camozzi agreed to step into Romero's place. Camozzi (21-10) entered with a 0-1 record against "Jacare," having lost via submission to him, in a May 2013 fight that lasted 3:37.
Souza (22-3) made it look just as easy the second time around, submitting Camozzi via armbar 2:33 into the first round. Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the bout after a verbal tap by Camozzi.
The performance couldn't have been more efficient, as Souza popped Camozzi with a pair of right body kicks and a hard straight before converting on his first double leg attempt. He passed Camozzi's guard within one minute and transitioned into the armbar as Camozzi attempted to scramble to his feet.
"I was just very happy to have a fight," Souza said. "You never want to hear that a fight is off because of all the time you spent training and preparing. I was happy to hear I was going to have a fight, so I want to thank Chris.
"I want to get the shot at the title next. Luke already lost to Vitor. Nothing would change if they get the next shot at the title. It's my time. I'm coming off five victories. Jacare should have the next shot."
It is the former Strikeforce champion's eighth consecutive win and 16th by way of submission. Three of his five UFC fights have ended via submission in the first round. Camozzi, who was released by the UFC last year after an 0-4 skid, sees a two-fight winning streak end.
Holloway submits Swanson in Round 3
Max Holloway earned his sixth consecutive win and added a huge feather to his cap, submitting Cub Swanson via guillotine choke in the third round.
Holloway (13-3) expertly dictated range against the smaller Swanson on the feet and jumped on a late opportunity to finish the fight. Referee Gasper Oliver saved Swanson at the 3:58 mark.
"I hit him with a left hand and I hurt him, but he didn't show it," Holloway said. "I jumped on him and he had his head straight forward, so I got a couple good strikes in and got the guillotine."
Long considered one of the better strikers in the featherweight division, Swanson (21-7) wasn't completely ineffective -- but he struggled to close distance and find any kind of rhythm. Holloway kept him at the end of punches throughout and diversified his attack, landing kicks and knees to the body in addition to punches to the head.
In the second round, Swanson grew visibly flummoxed. He began to flail at Holloway as he came forward, opening himself up to right hand counters. Swelling under Swanson's left eye gave way to a cut near the end of the round.
A pair of body kicks hurt Swanson in the final frame and he briefly went to his back to recover. After rolling into a turtled position, Swanson fell into a deep arm-triangle choke. He was able to escape as Holloway re-adjusted and worked back to his feet with two minutes remaining, but failed to land anything and got caught with the guillotine.
It is the fifth submission loss of Swanson's career.
Holloway, 23, has already collected eight wins in the UFC. He is 8-3 overall, with losses to Conor McGregor, Dennis Bermudez and Dustin Poirier. Swanson, who built a six-fight winning streak from 2012 to 2014, falls to 0-2 in his last two appearances.
"I want to beat the guys who beat me and I want that win back over Conor McGregor. He keeps saying the only reason he didn't finish me is because he had a hurt knee. It's disrespectful. So, let's test that. I'd love to fight him again, but I'll fight anyone, any time, any place."
VanZant proves too much for Herrig
A heavy spotlight and a seasoned opponent -- neither turned out to be too much for the 21-year-old Paige VanZant.
VanZant (5-1) scored the biggest win of her career in convincing fashion, out-classing Felice Herrig in a unanimous decision win. All three judges scored the strawweight fight for VanZant: 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.
It was just the second UFC appearance for VanZant and first on a main card. She out-pointed Kailin Curran in her promotional debut in November.
"I was the underdog, I was supposed to lose," VanZant said. "It's a huge victory for me and I'm still in shock. I had God in my corner and an amazing camp. I'm nowhere near peaked and I've got a lot of work to do. I'm here for the fun of it and I'm so thankful. I can't believe I made it through that fight. It only goes up from here."
Fighting out of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, VanZant dominated Herrig (10-6) nearly every scramble, constantly working into top position where she scored with right hands and elbows. Each round was fought at a frenetic pace, which appeared to take a major toll on the 30-year-old Herrig.
Early in the first round, Herrig threatened with a rear-naked choke after she took VanZant's back after fending off a takedown. As VanZant escaped the position, Herrig switched to an armbar which appeared tight, but VanZant slammed Herrig after working to her feet and broke the hold.
In the standup, VanZant consistently worked into the clinch, where she peppered Herrig with knees to the midsection. Any time Herrig managed to wrestle her to the ground, she quickly worked a reversal to get back on top. Late in the second round, Herrig attacked with an armbar off her back, but VanZant gave the referee a thumbs up and eventually worked free.
Herrig had one final shot late in the third round, as she took VanZant's back again during a scramble. She looked too exhausted and beat up to take full advantage, however, and ended up on her back and again forced to defend punches.
Immediate cageside stats showed VanZant out-landing Herrig in total strikes, 199 to 44.
Dariush smothers Miller for decision victory
Beneil Dariush took full advantage of his size and grappling prowess, cruising to a unanimous decision over veteran Jim Miller.
Dariush (11-1) escaped a handful of submission attempts in what was otherwise a dominant performance. He took Miller down in each of the three rounds and nearly secured a rear-naked choke in the second round. All three judges scored the lightweight contest for Dariush, 29-28.
Dariush accepted the fight on short notice, stepping in for an injured Paul Felder.
"That was my second fight in 33 days," Dariush said. "I didn't think fighting this quickly would affect my performance, but I did feel a little bit sloppy. I honestly thought I would get finished. I felt sloppy in my standup and my timing wasn't as good as I thought. I'm glad I got the win, but again, I felt sloppy and I have a lot more to show."
The first round was definitely the most competitive, as Miller (24-6) used a kimura attempt to reverse a takedown by Dariush. He transitioned smoothly into an armbar that had Dariush in some trouble, but the California-based lightweight managed to escape and spent about two minutes of the round in top position.
In the second and third, however, Dariush's grappling ability was on full display. He took Miller's back with three minutes to work in the second round and nearly snuck his right arm under the chin for a choke. It was the same story in the third, as Dariush moved to full mount and then, again, to Miller's back.
Miller made a crucial error in the middle frame, as he scrambled up from a takedown but put himself immediately on his back again in an unsuccessful guillotine choke. The 31-year-old was mostly ineffective from that mistake on.
"The game plan was to go after him," Miller said. "I figured I would have an advantage on the feet. We had a fast-paced first round and I could feel it take its toll on me, unfortunately. No excuses. He fought a great fight and took it to me."
Fighting out Kings MMA, Dariush improved to 5-1 in the UFC. Miller, who hadn't fought since a second-round TKO loss to Donald Cerrone in July, suffers consecutive losses for the first time in his career.
Saint Preux knocks out Cummins
Ovince Saint Preux scored his ninth career knockout, finishing Patrick Cummins via TKO in the closing seconds of the first round.
The finish came moments after Saint Preux (18-6) connected with a left uppercut to Cummins' chin. The light heavyweight went down from the punch and Saint Preux followed him to the ground with hammerfists until referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in at the 4:54 mark.
Saint Preux surrendered several takedowns during the fight, but rose to his feet immediately after each of them. He took some risks that led to him being taken down, including a spinning back-kick to the midsection midway through the round -- but Cummins never came close to keeping him on his back.
"I knew the No. 1 thing coming into this fight was to stop his takedowns and throws that uppercut," Saint Preux said. "I knew one of those were going to catch him and drop him. Pretty much all of my combinations had something to do with an uppercut."
In the final minute of the frame, Saint Preux shot on a desperate-looking double leg, despite his success on the feet. Cummins (7-2) easily sprawled on the shot and landed several punches in the process, but Saint Preux reset and landed the left uppercut shortly after.
Saint Preux has now won back-to-back knockouts in the first round. He needed just 34 seconds to finish former 205-pound champion Mauricio Rua in November. He has won seven of his last eight contests.
Cummins sees a three-fight win streak snapped.
"I made my UFC debut here [in Newark in 2013] and it didn't go how I planned," Saint Preux said. "So coming back here, I just wanted to give [the crowd] a good show. I definitely want to be on the Nashville, Tennessee, card [on Aug. 8]. Ovince Saint Preux versus anybody!"