Last night (Jan. 21) Chinzo Machida competed at Bellator 170 inside The Forum in Inglewood, California. Machida went head-to-head with Jamar Ocampo. Machida was able to rally in the final round and knocked Ocampo out with a thunderous right hand shot.
While Machida is glad to pick up the victory, he knows there is room for refinement (via MMAJunkie.com):
“I think I need to improve a little bit, the takedown defense and the ground work for sure. But at the same time, I’m proud of me because I fought almost three rounds. I’m so happy, but at the same time, I know I have to work a little bit more on the takedown and on the ground, as well.”
Chinzo’s younger brother Lyoto Machida is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title holder. The Bellator featherweight said his brother gave him some advice after the fight.
“(Lyoto) was happy, but he said that even on the stand-up technique, I was too anxious to finish the fight. So I have to keep more calm and get a good timing and a good distance. Because sometimes I took a good shot (to him), but I wanted to finish the fight at the moment, and the guy took me down.”
One benefit Machida has is an honest corner. Instead of telling their fighter what he wants to hear, Machida’s coaches and teammates told him he was losing the fight heading into the final frame. Machida believes he knows why he was down on points before scoring the knockout.
“My corner told me I was losing, because at the end of the first round, and at the end of the second round, my opponent was on top and I was on the bottom. I think I was losing the fight, so for that reason, to the end I was looking for the knockout.”
