Lyoto Machida (17-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) may not have an opponent yet, but the man he was asked to replace at UFC 133 could very well be his next opponent.
According to Machida’s manager, Jorge Guimarães, he is already in talks about the matchup between Machida and young up-and-comer, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC).
“We already contacted them and we’ll be able to talk more about that soon. He [Davis] is the most concrete option in the division,” Guimarães said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports Brazil. “He’s be a huge opponent for Lyoto, who’s one of the biggest idols of the sport in Brazil and needs to fight again soon.”
Machida also discussed the possibility of fighting Davis.
“It’d be a clash of styles. Davis is a wrestler, who keeps a strong rhythm on all the rounds until the end. I would need to adjust some aspects in my training to fight him, but this technical change always were one of my best characteristics. I won’t have any problems,” said Machida.
Davis would be coming off of a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from a fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 133. Davis was last seen in the octagon pulling off a unanimous decision victory over Machida’s Blackhouse teammate, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, at UFC Fight Night 24.
Machida was last seen knocking out Randy Couture in jaw-dropping fashion at UFC 129. Machida was asked to replace Davis at UFC 133, but demanded “Anderson Silva money” to take his spot on short notice.
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