L. Machida (photo) faces C. Weidman on July 5th. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The Brazilian Lyoto Machida faces the North American Chris Weidman for the middleweight belt on July 5th, in Las Vegas (USA). But Lyoto only received his title shot due to his compatriot's withdrawal Vitor belfort of the dispute, which ended up leaving the fight after changes in the regulations on Testosterone Replacement Treatment (TRT). Aware of the situation, Machida declared that he sees Belfort as the next athlete to challenge for the title in the 84 kg category.
“Logically, he (Vitor) is next in line (for the belt),” Lyoto said, through an interpreter, on the website of the North American channel “FOX Sports”. In the interview, the Brazilian took the opportunity to dismiss the controversies about his opponent's legitimacy as champion, due to the way in which his two victories over Anderson Silva. “There is no doubt that he is the champion. He's the best there is in the division right now. He won those fights. You can’t take away his merits,” he added.
Finally, Lyoto, former light heavyweight champion and recently moved to the middleweight category, took the opportunity to comment that he feels much more comfortable in the new division, as he believes he will face opponents whose weight is closer to his own. “I feel like I'm fighting guys that are really my weight. I definitely feel faster in this weight class. I'm fighting guys the same size as me now. Before I was fighting much heavier guys,” he concluded.
On July 5, the Mandalay Bay, in Las Vegas (USA), hosts one of the most important events of 2014 on the Ultimate calendar. On that date, UFC 175 takes place, an event linked to the United States Independence holiday and which will be headlined by two title fights. In the main fight of the night, Lyoto Machida challenges the middleweight champion Chris Weidman. In the event's co-main bout, the bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey face Alexis Davis.
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