He was once known as the best light heavyweight in the world, and the puzzle that simply could not be solved.
However, 37-year-old Lyoto Machida (22-7) has now found himself in a rut, and one that he may never come out of.
After Machida’s controversial loss to Phil Davis (13-3, 1NC) in his last light heavyweight bout, the former UFC champion decided it was time to move down to middleweight and chase the belt there.
After an incredible run at light heavyweight, the mixed martial arts world thought that ‘the Dragon’ would be a force to be reckoned with at middleweight, and Machida brought those dreams to life.
The Dragon’s first bout at middleweight ended with him brutally knocking out the newly retired Mark Muñoz (14-6) with a head-kick in the first round. He then went on to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over top MMA veteran Gegard Mousasi (37-5-2) in a bout that earned ‘fight of the night’ honours.
Machida finally got the middleweight title shot he was after, but fell short in a gruelling five-round war against champion Chris Weidman (13-0). Many thought that if Machida had fought a more aggressive fight, the outcome may have been different. However, he would have to climb back up the rankings to prove that point.
It didn’t take Machida too long to recover from the loss, knocking out CB Dollaway (15-7) in just over a minute with a vicious kick to the body.
The Dragon then went on to a potential number-one contenders bout against top middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold (14-2). Rockhold demolished Machida in the first round before going to submit him early in the second.
It was a big setback for Machida, and he insisted on a quick turnaround. He got what he wanted, and was set to take on sixth-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero (10-1).
Yesterday’s fight against Romero didn’t go as planned for Machida.
The Dragon looked comfortable enough for the first two rounds however once Romero got the fight to the floor, he threw some of the most violent elbows in UFC history and put Machida right to sleep.
Now Machida is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Rockhold, Romero and Jacare Souza (22-3, 1NC) are all in line for a shot at Chris Weidman’s belt, and Machida is coming off losses to two of them.
I highly doubt we will ever see Machida fight for another belt, but there are still exciting match-ups for the Dragon out there. Here’s a couple the UFC should consider.
Lyoto Machida versus Tim Kennedy
Tim Kennedy (18-5) is coming off a very controversial TKO loss to Yoel Romero, after claiming that Romero took too long to get up from his stool at the end of the second round.
Romero took much longer than he should have getting up for the third round, and had the referee called him on it he would have lost the bout via TKO.
Both Machida and Kennedy are top-10 ranked middleweights, and both will feel as though they have something to prove. This bout could be the headline of a very successful UFC Fight Night card.
Lyoto Machida versus Michael Bisping/Thales Leites winner
Michael Bisping (26-7) may be one of the best fighters in the world to never get a title shot, and Thales Leites (25-4) is undefeated in the UFC and coming off an eight-fight win streak, nine if he beats Bisping.
A win for either of these men would place them them in prime position for a big fight. That’s where Machida comes in.
A win over Machida would without a doubt mean the biggest win in both the careers of Bisping and Leites. It would set up both men for a number-one contenders bout and in the meantime give Machida another chance to prove he has still got it.
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