UFC on Fox 4 took place tonight live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. While Mauricio “Shogun” Rua dropped Brandon Vera in a gutsy four round performance, the co-main event stole the show as Lyoto Machida dropped Ryan Bader in spectacular fashion. The knockout was enough to convince UFC President Dana White to give the promised title shot to “The Dragon.”

In other action, Joe Lauzon defeated Jamie Varner in an absolute war and  Mike Swick rebounded to crush Demarques Johnson.

“Shogun” Victorious Over Vera

Brandon Vera was a big underdog in this fight but he fought gallantly against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua but just came up short as Rua overwhelmed him late. Vera and Rua engaged in a back and forth battle that left both exhausted by the third round. In the fourth round, Rua connected on a vicious shot that stunned Vera before putting him away with a 1-2 combo and strikes on the ground.

Machida Impresses Against Bader, Gains Title Shot

Lyoto Machida took to Octagon tonight in the same way a Spanish bullfighter takes to stage. Every time Bader charged Machida slipped and stung the Arizona State product with hard shots. Eventually, Machida baited Bader into charging recklessly by using hand fakes. As Bader advanced Machida made space with his left and then floored Bader with a nasty short right.

The punch made Machida the front-runner to face off for the light heavyweight title. Which UFC President Dana White confirmed the title shot after the Rua fight. Machida will now face winner of UFC 151′s bout between Dan Henderson and the champion Jon Jones.

Lauzon Defeats Varner in a “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” Candidate

Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner went to war for three rounds tonight in front of the Staples Center crowd. Lauzon had to weather a nasty storm from Varner early but he overwhelmed Varner late to win the fight. It seemed as though every time Joe Rogan harped on Varner’s conditioning Varner got more aggressive. Varner tried to go his takedowns in the third and his last one ended up being the coup de grâce for him. Lauzon used a double-overhook sweep to force a scramble, and as Lauzon went to take Varner’s back the Massachusetts native swung into a beautiful triangle that forced Varner to tap after a great showing.

Swick Devestates Johnson

Mike Swick made his first appearance in the Octagon after a two-year layoff due to health concerns. “Quick” managed to bounce back from a hard-fought first round that his opponent, Demarques Johnson, took over with solid ground-and-pound mixed with submission attempts after a shaky start. In the second round, Swick caught a legkick and turned it into a push single leg takedown. Swick immediately followed up with a powerful punch that knocked Johnson out cold.

The win was the first for Swick since a 2009 “Knockout of the Night” against Ben Saunders, Swick will be the front-runner to win that award again tonight.

Full Results

Main Card (Fox)

• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua def. Brandon Vera via TKO (punches) at 4:09 of Round 4
• Lyoto Machida def. Ryan Bader via KO (punch) at 1:32 of Round 2
• Joe Lauzon def. Jamie Varner via submission (triangle choke) at  2:44 of Round 3
• Mike Swick def. Demarques Johnson via knockout (punch) at 1:20 of Round 2

Preliminary Card (FUEL TV)

• Nam Phan def. Cole Miller via split decision (29-28,28-29,29-28)
• Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado ruled a no decision (unintentional foul)
• Rani Yahya def. Josh Grispi via submission (north-south choke) at 3:15 of Round 1
• Phil De Fries def. Oli Thompson via submission (face crank) at 4:16 of Round 1
• Manny Gamburyan def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Jon Moraga def. Ulysses Gomez via KO (strikes) at 3:46 of Round 1