UFC
Lyoto Machida's camp fine with needing another fight before a title bout
Sep 5, 2012 - 5:20:14 PM

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Whatever the UFC wants is fine. I'm not tripping on that... Five weeks ago is the first time we heard his fight is supposed to be for a title shot. [Dana] announced Shogun [Rua] and [Brandon] Vera was going to get title shot, then people started giving him [expletive] about it. So Lyoto and Ryan [Bader] weren't really in the title shot. The only reason he did it was because people were giving him [expletive] about it. So for Lyoto to need another fight, that's fine."

-Lyoto Machida's manager Ed Soares talks to MMAJunkie.com about Machida needing another fight before a title bout after turning down a UFC 152 bout against Jon Jones.

Penick's Analysis: That's not a bad point. Machida is essentially in the same position he arguably should have been regardless of how the fight against Bader went last month, as a Jones rematch against any of the four competitors on that UFC on Fox card didn't seem that appealing on the surface. Machida can still get back into a title fight, and he may be the best fighter in the division outside of Jones, so eventually the fight could happen again. It's just not going to be next, and clearly they're alright with that.

[Lyoto Machida art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]