UFC 98: Lyoto Machida Knocks Out Evans, Hughes Edges Serra
UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida took place on May 23, 2009, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lyoto Machida knocked out Rashad Evans to capture the light heavyweight championship, while Matt Hughes edged Matt Serra in their long-awaited welterweight rivalry bout. Eleven fights filled a card that also delivered a major lightweight win for Frankie Edgar and five first-round preliminary finishes.
Video context: UFC Brasil revisits Machida’s title-winning knockout of Evans at UFC 98 in this retrospective highlight.
Machida wins the championship with a second-round knockout
The main event matched two unbeaten light heavyweights. Evans was making his first defense after taking the belt from Forrest Griffin at UFC 92. Machida arrived with a distinctive karate-based approach and the momentum of his first-round knockout of Thiago Silva at UFC 94.
Machida controlled the distance and made it difficult for Evans to establish his offense. His movement encouraged the champion to hesitate, while his entries gave him opportunities to land cleanly and withdraw. A late first-round knockdown showed that the challenger’s measured style could still produce immediate danger.
In the second round, Machida hurt Evans again and pursued the finish. Evans regained his feet, but Machida continued with punches near the fence and landed the left hand that ended the contest. The official time was 3:57 of round two. The championship changed hands by knockout, not by a decision.
Machida improved to 15–0 and recorded his seventh straight UFC victory. His performance turned discussions of an elusive contender into talk of a new champion whose style demanded a different answer from the division. The finishing sequence also demonstrated that careful range management could lead directly to an emphatic stoppage.
Hughes edges Serra after years of anticipation
The co-main event brought together two former welterweight champions whose rivalry had grown during their time as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. Their meeting was a non-title bout, but the personal history and the accomplishments of both men made it one of the evening’s central attractions.
Serra put Hughes in trouble early, with a clash of heads contributing to the opening-round drama. Hughes recovered and used his wrestling and positional control to work his way back into the contest. Serra remained competitive through the final round, ensuring that the result would come down to close scorecards rather than a runaway performance.
All three judges scored it 29–28 for Hughes. The unanimous decision ended the anticipated matchup after fifteen minutes, and the two rivals acknowledged each other afterward. It was Hughes who won; Serra did not secure a second-round submission.
Edgar’s breakthrough and the remaining main card
Frankie Edgar opened the pay-per-view card with a unanimous decision over former lightweight champion Sean Sherk. His boxing, footwork and scrambling helped him win every round on each judge’s card. The result elevated Edgar’s position in the lightweight division by adding an established former champion to his list of victories.
Chael Sonnen used his wrestling to take a unanimous decision over Dan Miller, recovering from his previous UFC loss to Demian Maia. Drew McFedries needed only 37 seconds to stop Xavier Foupa-Pokam with punches. Those middleweight contests offered a clear contrast between sustained ground control and an immediate striking finish.
Five preliminary finishes before the headline bouts
Brock Larson submitted Mike Pyle with an arm-triangle choke, and debuting heavyweight Tim Hague survived Pat Barry’s early striking to win with a guillotine. Kyle Bradley stopped Phillipe Nover, while Krzysztof Soszynski followed his UFC 97 submission win with a knockout of Andre Gusmao.
Yoshiyuki Yoshida also won by guillotine, submitting Brandon Wolff in the first round. George Roop and Dave Kaplan supplied the preliminary card’s only decision, with Roop winning a split verdict after three rounds. Together, these six bouts gave the event substantial action before its championship conclusion.
Complete UFC 98 results
Main card
- Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans — KO (punches), round 2, 3:57; won the UFC light heavyweight title.
- Matt Hughes def. Matt Serra — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Drew McFedries def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam — TKO (punches), round 1, 0:37.
- Chael Sonnen def. Dan Miller — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Frankie Edgar def. Sean Sherk — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
Preliminary card
- Brock Larson def. Mike Pyle — submission (arm-triangle choke), round 1, 3:06.
- Tim Hague def. Pat Barry — submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 1:42.
- Kyle Bradley def. Phillipe Nover — TKO (punches), round 1, 1:03.
- Krzysztof Soszynski def. Andre Gusmao — KO (punches), round 1, 3:17.
- Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Brandon Wolff — submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 2:24.
- George Roop def. Dave Kaplan — split decision, round 3, 5:00.
A new champion and a resolved rivalry
UFC 98’s defining moment was Machida’s title-winning knockout. Hughes and Serra added a closely contested meeting between former champions, while Edgar’s victory pointed toward another emerging contender. The full card shows why the event deserves more than a two-fight summary: its decisions, submissions and quick finishes affected several divisions at once.
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UFC 98, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, UFC Results
