Lyoto Machida’s reward for perseverance was three extra shots while he slept

One of MMA’s inside jokes over the years has been to mention the “Machida Era” when cautioning overzealous enthusiasts about false prophets. Joe Rogan uttered those words after Lyoto Machida — who’s second only to Easter Island in the category of “enigmas” — ran his record to 15-0 when he knocked out Rashad Evans to win the light heavyweight title eight years ago. It’s haunted him ever since, as Machida began to slip pretty quickly thereafter