Lyoto Machida denied rumors of being in a coma after his 2015 fight against Yoel Romero, clarifying that he only suffered a broken nose and underwent surgery, but was never in critical condition.
Lyoto Machida has dismissed rumors about being in a coma after his knockout loss to Yoel Romero in June 2015 at UFC Fight Night 70.
The “Soldier of God” recently claimed on his Overdogs Espanol podcast that the former UFC light heavyweight champ was in a coma due to “brutal damage” during their middleweight main event in Hollywood, Florida. But Machida told MMA Fighting that Romero’s version isn’t accurate.
Yes, Machida did suffer damage from those nasty elbows in the third round. However, he insists he was never in critical condition.
“I heard about [Romero’s comments] but didn’t watch [the video],” Machida said. “That’s not true at all.” He explained he broke his nose and had surgery, but no coma. Nada like that ever happened.
That defeat to Romero dropped Machida to 1-3 in his last four fights. The Cuban fighter claimed Machida “wasn’t the same” after facing him. Post-surgery, Machida lost to Derek Brunson but bounced back with wins, including epic knockouts over Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen.
“It makes no sense,” Machida laughed, “that a fighter would get in a coma and then fight like 20 times after that.” He clarified it was just nose surgery, and he stayed in Miami for a week since flying wasn’t an option with nasal packing. Just typical fighter stuff, right?
Machida, holding a 26-12 record as a pro MMA fighter, hasn’t stepped into the cage since losing to Fabian Edwards in May 2022. Now, he’s gearing up to be a team manager for the Sao Paulo team alongside coach Andre Pederneiras in the 2025 Global Fight League season.