Brunson clobbers Machida in 1st round of UFC Sao Paulo main event

Derek Brunson brutally rendered Lyoto Machida's comeback a brief affair.

The hard-hitting middleweight spoiled Machida's return from an 18-month USADA-sanctioned suspension by clubbing him into oblivion with a barrage of left hands in the first round of UFC Fight Night 119's main event in Sao Paulo on Saturday.

The victory marked Brunson's second straight and sixth overall by first-round knockout in the Octagon, spawning a callout of former divisional champion and fellow Strikeforce alum Luke Rockhold postfight - with a little prodding from Daniel Cormier.

Tasked with an elusive, albeit deadly, counter-striker in Machida, the 33-year-old Brunson maintained his composure while his foe remained fleet of foot in the early going. But when Machida looked to close the distance between them, Brunson made him pay for it in brutal fashion, cracking him with a pair of wild lefts before following him to the canvas with more leather that put Machida in a temporary coma exactly halfway through the opening frame.

Machida, a former light heavyweight champion, suffered his third consecutive defeat by stoppage in his first fight in 28 months. He last got his hand raised with a first-round knockout of CB Dollaway in December 2014 and has now dropped four of seven since moving down to 185 pounds four years ago.