If Dana White gets his way Brazilian stars Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort will fight each other in the Octagon next year.
It’s rare that White gets involved in talk of a fighter’s next opponent immediately after an event, but after watching Machida KO Mark Munoz with a head kick in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night 30’, it appears he just couldn’t resist.
“I think, and I’m just talking here as a fan, not as a promoter, I think a lot of people want to see him and Vitor Belfort,” White told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “That would be a fun fight.”
However, as much as he’d like to see it, White acknowledged that it might not happen right away. In fact there’s already a major roadblock in the way given that Belfort has the small matter of a fight with Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 32 next month to contend with first.
If Belfort did emerge victorious from that fight then it’s possible they could look to pair him up with Machida, but up until this point ‘The Phenom’ has been insistent that he won’t fight again at 185lbs unless it’s for a title shot.
Hopefully he’d be willing to change his mind for a high-profile fight like this though that could could potentially lead to a guaranteed shot at the belt.
Having said that though, if Belfort manages to defeat Henderson then that in itself would be an impressive achievement and could fuel fan’s interest in seeing him get a 185lb title fight right away.
As for other potential opponents for Machida, another high-flying Brazilian, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza could make for an interesting match-up in the mean time.
Michael Bisping would also be a good choice, though White said at last night’s presser that the British fighter could be out for at least six more months due to his current eye injury.
