Lyoto Machida made an impactful middleweight debut against Mark Munoz, but now the former UFC light heavyweight champion will take on a much stiffer task in his new division.
Gegard Mousasi.
Mousasi is also a former light heavyweight champion—in Strikeforce—and poses unique problems for Machida. The two will meet in Brazil on February 8.
The winner of this fight will put themselves in serious title contention. Mousasi is unbeaten in his last seven bouts, and Machida is coming off his destruction of Munoz. Mousasi is ranked No. 9 in the light heavyweight divison, while Machida is ranked No. 10 at 205 and No. 4 at 185.
This is an early look at one of the bigger bouts set for early 2014.