Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida told Combate.com after the fight that he believed in the late KO until the last bell and praised Chris Weidman for his resilience. The champ had the advantage in the first three rounds and was able to handle the late flurry of "The Dragon" to retain the UFC middleweight title.
"It's hard to talk without watching the tape but I think that I tried to go after and bring it to the fight. This was very important. I believed until the last second that I could knock him out, that I could win. But it wasn't this time, right? He surprised me a little, he came too aggressive. I can tell that he wasn't able to put me in danger. My first round was of studying, to understand how was he coming and read it. But it's ok, it's part of the game. I have to go home and see where I went wrong, think about and come back stronger. Maybe a little detail. It was a hard fight."
It was the second title defence for Weidman, who has been champion since his KO win against Anderson Silva at UFC 162 one year ago. He would then beat "The Spider" again last December at UFC 168 and retained his belt. According to Dana White, Vitor Belfort is the next in line, "if the guy can get his business handled," eluding to the Phenom's issue with NSAC following a failed drug test in Nevada last February.