Connor continues his “What's Next” series, this time taking a look at UFC veteran Lyoto Machida
by Connor Hutton - @ConnorHutton94
UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman continued his undefeated record with a unanimous decision victory over Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida, but how does this latest setback effect the Brazilian’s place in the division?
Two dominant wins over middleweight contenders Mark Munoz and Gegard Mousasi were enough to land Machida a shot at gold, and following his failure to conquer the champion, fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort was gifted the next crack at Weidman at UFC 181.
After Machida it was clear to many that Belfort was next in line, but following ‘The Phenom’ is a long list of hungry and without a doubt worthy challengers for a title fight, notably Luke Rockhold, Ronald Souza, Tim Kennedy and Gegard Mousasi. So where exactly does Machida fit in?
With Souza (ranked 4th) set to fight Mousasi (ranked 7th) at UFC Fight Night 50 on September 5th, and Tim Kennedy (ranked 6th) matched up against Yoel Romero (ranked 11th) at UFC 178 on September 27th, it seems as though the road is clear for Lyoto to meet Luke Rockhold (ranked 5th).
Many people, including Machida thought his fight with Weidman could have and perhaps should have been a lot closer if he had applied pressure in the earlier rounds.
"It was a close fight, we both had our chances. Weidman did his strategy and won. I have a good chance at defeating Weidman, and I’m going after the title again. I think that, should I have started (pressing him) earlier, maybe in the second round, the results could have been different." he said.
Despite Rockhold’s fixation of revenge upon Vitor Belfort, it would prove more beneficial to face Machida, as a win would likely cement him as the firm no.1 contender, and reports suggest that Lyoto would be keen to take on Rockhold, also.
"Rockhold is the best option," he said. "He’s ranked at No. 5, so he’s the best option. But I don’t have anything against him, he’s a nice guy and we’re professionals.
"He’s a former Strikeforce champion, has a good record," he continued. "We could do a great show for the fans. It would be an exciting fight. The fans and the UFC would win with a fight like that, and I hope I’ll also win.”
A win over Rockhold and one more over the winner of either of the aforementioned bouts would most likely be enough to warrant Machida another shot at the middleweight title, however any such rematch is a long way off, and as history has proven, it’s very rare that things fall into place so perfectly when it comes to UFC match making.
Machida expects to return around October and if so would likely feature on the pay-per-view card scheduled for Oct. 25th in Brazil, however ‘The Dragon’ has made it clear that he is willing to travel anywhere once he is fit and ready.
“I can fight anywhere. England, Brazil, anywhere they want after (Oct. 20)," he said. "I will be ready, and my opponent better be ready because I want another chance (at the title)."
Whilst Machida’s near future hangs in the balance, two things are certain, firstly, any path to a title shot is treacherous due to the fact that most of the top contenders have beaten each other down the years and the difference in talent is so marginal, and secondly, Chris Weidman had better be ready because an easy fight is off the cards for quite sometime in this division stacked with ruthless competition.
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