Lyoto Machida mötte mellanviktsmästaren Chris Weidman vid sin senaste match, ett möte som Machida förlorade via ett enhälligt domslut. Härnäst kommer Lyoto att ta sig an C.B. Dollaway vid ”UFC: Fight night 58”, en motståndare som Machida tror sig kunna avsluta.
Detta hade Lyoto att säga, via ”MMAFighting”:
I was talking to my manager about possible fights, and he said all of those guys had fights scheduled, so there was a chance that I would have to fight Dollaway. He was the best option available based on the UFC ranking, so I kind of expected him to be my next opponent.
He’s a complete fighter. He has some flaws, of course, but he has a good stand up game, good takedowns and a good ground game. He’s a complete fighter, and that makes him dangerous. He hits hard, but I believe I can stop him.
I don’t think it will last five rounds. I believe I can finish this fight earlier. I’m not underestimating him, but I’ve learned a lot in my past fights. I have learned a lot in my fight against Chris Weidman, so it’s likely that I will finish this fight before the fifth round. I’m training hard on my grappling skills and my striking, so I want to finish him with a knockout or a submission.
Machida tror dock inte att en vinst ger honom ytterligare en chans på mellanviktsbältet:
I don’t think this fight can put me right into a title fight next, but it’s an important fight for me. I have to fight well, prove that I’m a top 3 fighter, and work on better opportunities for me to work my way back to the title again.
Innan förlusten vid titelmatchen mot Weidman hade Lyoto radat upp två raka segrar, då han avslutat Mark Munoz och tog hem ett enhälligt domslut mot Gegard Mousasi.
