Lyoto Machida will drop down to the middleweight division to face Tim Kennedy at UFC: Fight For The Troops 3 on November 6th.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout during an appearance on FOX Sports 1 last night, bringing an end to speculation over who Machida would fight next.
It’s been known for some time that Machida was plotting a move down to 185lbs and he’d originally been rumored for a fight with Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and briefly even Nick Diaz before Kennedy (who himself had been suggested as an opponent for Belfort) was finally confirmed as his opponent.
Machida makes the move down to 185lbs after a controversial decision loss to Phil Davis earlier this month at UFC 163. Talk of moving to middleweight had proceeded that however, with Machida struggling to generate enough interest from fans in getting another 205lb title shot having been convincingly beaten by dominant champion Jon Jones last year.
Kennedy was a former two-time title contender himself during his run in the Strikeforce promotion, but fell short on both occasions against Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Luke Rockhold.
He made his UFC debut back in July, picking up a convincing win over Roger Gracie.
Kennedy is a natural choice for this ‘Fight For The Troop’s card given that he himself is an army ranger who’s served as a sniper on multiple occasions in both Iraq and Afghanistan earning numerous medals in the process.
Lyoto Machida Vs Tim Kennedy is a fairly strong headliner for a card like this and there should be a significant amount of interest from fans to see how Machida, a former light-heavyweight champion, fares in the middleweight division.
