Lyoto Machida Believes Vitor Belfort Is Next For Middleweight Title Shot
Former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will look to continue his unbeaten run at middleweight, as he steps up to face the champion at UFC 175. Chris Weidman puts his belt on the line, and the July 5 date draws ever nearer. This will be Weidman’s second title defense, his first being the UFC 168 rematch with former champion Anderson Silva.
‘The All-American’ shocked the world as he surprised ‘The Spider’ with a knockout win at UFC 162, and the gruesome follow-up scrap left Silva inactive with a broken leg. There was, however, still doubt in the minds of some fans, as Weidman’s legitimacy constantly came under question. ‘The Dragon’ doesn’t see it that way, as he speaks with Fox Sports:
“There’s no doubt he’s the champion,” Machida said. “He’s the best there is in the weight class right now. He won those fights. You can’t take away those merits.I feel like I’m fighting more guys who are actually my weight,” Machida said. “I definitely feel faster in this weight class. I’m going up against guys the same size as me now. Before I was fighting guys much heavier.”
Machida came down to the 185-pound division after going 11-4 at light-heavyweight, a loss to Phil Davis ultimately led to the Brazilian’s decision to cut to middleweight. ”The Dragon’ looks a lot sharper and faster in his new weight class, and his destruction of Mark Munoz in his mw debut was a perfect example of how Machida has regained his killer instinct.
He did get a stroke of luck with the title fight at UFC 175, and he has fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort to thank for that. Having to pull ‘The Phenom’ from his title shot with Weidman at UFC 173, the promotion looked to Machida as a replacement following his decision win over Gegard Mousasi in February, and so it was that the fight was made official, but at 175 instead.
There has been some debate in the time since, as to whether Belfort should keep his high standing in the division. The shady situation involves TRT and failed drug tests, but ‘The Dragon’ believes that Belfort put in work last year, and had the following to say:
“Logically, he’s next in line, I believe so,” Machida said. “(Vitor) is next in line.”
The middleweight division continues to twist and turn in Anderson Silva’s absence, and will Weidman remain kingpin? There are some serious threats around at 185 right now, but will Belfort, Machida, Jacare, or anyone else take the belt from ‘The All-American’?
