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[_DCdoctr_]

Lyoto Machida interested in another fight before title shot

After beating Dan Henderson (29-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC) via split decision, Lyoto Machida (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) said he’s healthy and could fight in three months.

But the ex-champ is in no rush to meet the winner of an upcoming title bout between champ Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, which takes place in April at UFC 159.

“Let’s see what happens in that fight and the timeline that they come up with and if nobody gets injured,” Machida on Monday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMA Radio, UFC Radio - MMAjunkie Radio). “A lot of things can happen, but depending on the timing, I could even do another fight at a catch weight or something else to not lose the rhythm.”

Machida, who lost his No. 1 contender spot when he turned down a fight with Jones at UFC 152, dodged Henderson’s winging punches during their fight, which served as the co-main event of UFC 157 this past Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The bout did not go over well with fans, who loudly booed the tactical affair and Machida.

“The Dragon” had actively campaigned for a title shot prior to the event. He also restated a wish to try his hand at middleweight.

Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White confirmed the Henderson fight was a title eliminator, and didn’t change his mind afterward despite the chilly reception. But Machida’s enthusiasm for a rematch with Jones, who choked him unconscious at UFC 140, appears to have waned.

“It’s not just about the belt for me,” he said. “Of course, everyone wants to fight for the belt, and I’d like to fight Jon Jones in a rematch, but I want to keep fighting. I want to keep challenging myself, so it’s really not just about one thing.”

Machida, who lost the light heavyweight title to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113, expected Henderson to be a crowd favorite in Anaheim, but admitted to being affected by shifting loyalties among fans.

“Sometimes, I do feel bad,” he said. “If you’re winning, the fans are with you. If you’re losing, they’re against you. I feel that in the U.S., especially, because it feels like in Brazil, they’re going to support you when you’re down and when you’re up.”

Henderson, who lost his spot in line when a knee injury forced him to withdraw from a fight with Jones at the ill-fated UFC 151, said Machida “did a great job of not fighting.”

Machida defended his performance as more “efficient” than Henderson, but wished the fight could have been five rounds instead of three.

“It would have been a lot better for my style of fighting,” he said. “If you look at the third round after we got back up, I was a lot more comfortable in the fight, and I felt that I could strike a lot more. Henderson was feeling the strikes. So if I had the extra two rounds, it would have been a different story.”

Meanwhile, he brushed off Henderson’s criticism.

“I think he was just frustrated after the fight,” Machida said. “But really, if I didn’t fight, then what happened to his face?”

Hmmm...




BP

[mmawolverine]

Whats the pt of 185 if he wont fight anderson if hes not truly eager to face jones then perhaps he senses the mortality of his career approaching. At this rate why not give bj a rematch but at 185
Lets face it the machida v hendo fight was a bad idea, dan and shogun should of had a rematch and gustafeson should have faced machida

[kalebarker]

Originally Posted by mmawolverine

Whats the pt of 185 if he wont fight anderson if hes not truly eager to face jones then perhaps he senses the mortality of his career approaching. At this rate why not give bj a rematch but at 185
Lets face it the machida v hendo fight was a bad idea, dan and shogun should of had a rematch and gustafeson should have faced machida

If shogun and machida won we would still be without a contender. I don't see how that scenario is any better. Goose has a safer fight than Machida.

[Sniggles]

Lil Nog vs Machida.

[YukonJordan]

I don't see how he's interested in another fight when he wasn't interested in his last fight...

[mmawolverine]

Originally Posted by kalebarker

If shogun and machida won we would still be without a contender. I don't see how that scenario is any better. Goose has a safer fight than Machida.

Yeah ur right im just bummed that henderson and shogun plummeted from contention and now machida gets to leapfrog another two worthy contenders in mousassi and gustefeson
This is all wrong, sniggles might not be serious but the machida lil nog idea isnt bad.

[Sniggles]

Originally Posted by mmawolverine

Yeah ur right im just bummed that henderson and shogun plummeted from contention and now machida gets to leapfrog another two worthy contenders in mousassi and gustefeson
This is all wrong, sniggles might not be serious but the machida lil nog idea isnt bad.

I was serious in that it should happen but won't happen.

Gus gets title shot while Machida gets his confidence back.

Shogun rubber match would be pretty cool.

If there's one thing the UFC has learned... it is to not book Machida in 3 round fights. He looks better in 5 round fights.

[hass]

Screw it. He's not going to beat Jones anyway...

[Bork_Lazer]

Where is all this confidence talk coming from? All Machida is saying is that in case the Champ gets injured or there is a long delay until his title shot for whatever reason he would prefer to fight again than simply wait around... I'm sure he would take the title shot if it happens soon after the Jones/Sonnen fight.

I really think Machida still poses the biggest threat to Jones. Let Glover fight the winner of Gus/Moussasi so we can figure out which one of those two is really the next big contender.

[CtGreat]

Originally Posted by mmawolverine

Whats the pt of 185 if he wont fight anderson if hes not truly eager to face jones then perhaps he senses the mortality of his career approaching. At this rate why not give bj a rematch but at 185
Lets face it the machida v hendo fight was a bad idea, dan and shogun should of had a rematch and gustafeson should have faced machida

Where in this article did he mention 185?


I would Love to see machida face Evans again. They both fought relatively recently and emerged uninjured. This rematch is long overdue and their schedules will sync up perfectly.