Lyoto Machida

At 46 years old, Lyoto Machida has this physical status:

Lyoto Carvalho Machida, a Brazilian mixed martial artist who has recently signed with Bellator MMA and competes in the Middleweight division, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who was born on May 30, 1978.

He competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and a UFC Middleweight Championship challenger.

Early life

Lyoto was born in Salvador, Brazil, as the third son of the Japan Karate Association's top-ranked head, Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida (). When Yoshizo was 22 years old, he moved to Brazil, where he met and married Ana Claudia, a Brazilian descendent. Lyoto began training in karate at the age of 3 and gained his black belt at the age of 13. At the age of 8, he began training in sumo wrestling and then BJJ and boxing at sixteen. He has competed in a number of amateur karate tournaments, including the 2001 Pan American Karate tournament. He went from Thailand to study Muay Thai, to Japan to research grappling at the NJPW Dojo, then to the United States to continue his UFC career.

In the 115 kg division, he was the runner-up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships. He was a Brazilian champion twice as an adult and finished second in the South American Championship. Rafael Lovato Jr., an American fighter and jiu-jitsu black belt, was defeated at Los Angeles' Sub X. In addition to his sumo and karate accomplishments, he earned a degree in Physical Education. Chinzô, Lyoto's older brother, is also a Shotokan karate champion and MMA fighter who competes in Bellator MMA. Lyoto and Chinzô competed in a karate tournament final ten years ago, in which Lyoto gave Chinzô a cheek scar that now exists today. Kenzo Machida, a TV journalist for one of Brazil's most prominent television stations, and Take Machida are among his siblings.

Machida spent six months in 2003 at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Dojo, where he worked with future WWE Superstars Shinsuke Nakamura and Bryan Danielson.

Personal life

Fabyola's wife, Machida, has two sons named Taiyo () and Kaito ().

Chinzo, his elder brother, competed in mixed martial arts, most notably for the Bellator MMA tournament.

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Mixed martial arts career

Machida began his career in mixed martial arts under the leadership of legendary professional wrestler and MMA pioneer Antonio Inoki in Japan. In his professional debut on a card promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling in Tokyo, he defeated Kengo Watanabe by decision on May 2nd. He wrote in all caps during this period. As Naoya Ogawa and Kazuyuki Fujita had been in the past, Inoki described him as a symbolic "successor" figure for himself.

He defeated former UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar by a technical draw in the inaugural event promoted by Jungle Fight in Manaus, Brazil, in his second fight. This was Bonnar's first professional setback.

On December 31, 2003, he took part in Inoki's annual event Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye, where he fought former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin in a catchweight contest in which both men weighed in at 214 lbs (97 kg). Machida defeated Franklin by TKO in the second round at Kobe Wing Stadium in front of over 40,000 fans. He staggered Franklin with a counter left punch and knocked him unconscious with a front kick to the chest, then ending the game with punches that forced the referee to stop the game. This was Franklin's first professional setback.

Machida continued to compete for the K-1 promotion, defeating kickboxers Michael McDonald (by submission) and Sam Greco (by split decision) under MMA rules. When K-1 first began promoting Hero's, a line of fight cards featuring only MMA fights rather than cards mixed with kickboxing matches, Machida was transferred to the city. He took on former UFC Welterweight Champion B.J. In an openweight match in Saitama, Penn defeated Hero's 1 on March 26, 2005. Machida weighed in at 102.0 kg (224.41 lb), while Penn weighed in at 86.5 kg (191 lb). Machida took the unanimous decision.

Machida won by unanimous decision in his UFC debut on UFC 67's preliminary card against Sam Hoger. Griffin had been expected to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 70, but he became sick with a staph infection and was recalled by unbeaten David Heath, whom Machida defeated by unanimous vote. At UFC 76, he will next meet judo specialist and Pride Fighting Championship veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura. Machida won unanimously, and Nakamura would later test positive for marijuana.

Machida was defeated by Sokoudjou, a judo expert on his UFC debut, after losing by a narrow margin over Pride veterans Antônio Rogério Nogério and Ricardo Arona at UFC 79. At 4:20 of the second round, Machida choked Sokoudjou with an arm triangle choke.

Machida's next fight was at UFC 84 against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, in what was believed to be Ortiz's last UFC appearance after a dispute with UFC President Dana White. Although successfully defending against the former champion's takedowns, Machida left Ortiz frustrated with lateral movement and counterstriking. Machida knocked Ortiz down with a knee to the body in the third round's closing minutes. Ortiz nearly stuck in a triangle choke while Machida advanced to finish the fight before switching to an armbar attempt. Machida was able to win by unanimous decision, with all judges determining the contest 30–27 in his favour. Dana White revealed that Machida was the first time he ever gave a personal check of a fighter for beating Ortiz.

Machida met Brazilian challenger Thiago Silva in the co-main event of UFC 94. Silva had intended to meet at UFC 89, but a back injury forced Silva to cancel from the competition. Machida will win with a win, according to UFC President Dana White, who spoke at the pre-fight press conference, while Silva will need to beat Machida and win one more contest before receiving the same opportunity. During the first round, Machida was able to knock Silva twice before knocking him out and landing his first Knockout of the Night bonus award at 4:59.

Despite Machida's humiliatal of Thiago Silva, Dana White said he was not the top contender for a championship shot. Rather, a title match between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine will determine Machida's destiny. Jackson's victory will guarantee him a match against champion Rashad Evans, but a victory for Jardine will place Machida with a championship shot. Jackson won the fight by a unanimous vote, but the former champion was forced to leave the match due to bruised ligaments in his jaw. Machida will face Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Since recovering from injury, Jackson will keep his championship shot against the champion of the match.

On the main event of UFC 98, Machida then met Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans in another clash of undefeated combat. Machida was early knocked out in the first round and was eventually knocked out by a flurry of punches at 3:57 of the second round, becoming the tenth UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. For the second time, Knockout of the Night was given a $60,000 bonus as a result of his appearance.

Machida had intended to face Quinton Jackson in his first title defense, but Jackson decided to instead focus on The Ultimate Fighter's tenth season. Maurca Rua, the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix champion of the Pride Fighting Championships, was then ranked as Machida's first title challenger. Machida triumphed by unanimous decision, 48–47 from all three judges, with one saying that Machida "landed the most damaging strikes throughout the fight" and was the more "effective aggressor."

Nelson Hamilton was given Machida rounds 2, 3, 3 and 4. Machida's first three rounds were given to Cecil Peoples and Marcos Rosales. Despite this, a substantial number of the people attending booed the decision right after it was published, expressing their love for Rua. Rua had won a few sports websites and magazines, according to several writers. There were also MMA fighters on site who expressed support for the decision, including Antônio Rodrigo Nos Santos, Junior dos Santos, José Aldo, Rafael Cavalcante, and Anderson Silva. According to a FightMetric review of the fight, Rua had been more aggressive and had more blows to the head and legs than Machida, although CompuStrike said Rua had almost twice as many strikes as Machida did. Both FightMetric and CompuStrike have stated on their websites that they are not meant to be used to judge MMA matches, and that they are simply a way to track a fighter's activity.

Machida and Rua rematched seven months after their initial clash, despite the controversies surrounding the close decision on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Both fighters responded vehemently and scored big points in striking exchanges, with Machida scoring two takedowns in the round. Rua's solid defense on the ground, spinning to try a kneebar before returning to their feet. Rua swerved to avoid a left straight from Machida and instead struck a powerful counter overhand right to the temple, which knocked Machida down. Rua used the full mount and burst Machida out of the woods, making him the new Light Heavyweight Champion at 3:35 of round 1, with Machida suffering his first MMA defeat.

Machida faced Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in his first fight after losing the championship. Machida scored multiple leg kicks and some counter punches in the first round, but Rampage primarily landed from the clinch, utilizing stomps and punches to Machida's advantage. Rampage beat Machida in terms of counting blows such as stomps and elbows to the thigh, according to both Compustrike and Fightmetric results, although Machida gained more strikes during the standoff exchanges. Rampage is the busier overall fighter in the second round of Compustrike and Fightmetric measurements, and Rampage also scored a takedown. Rampage's cleanest and most significant blow of the second round was an uppercut. Machida scored a counter left that stunned Rampage and then followed it with a flurry of punches, kicks, and knees that backed Jackson into the cage in the third round. When Rampage attempted to revenge, Machida scored a takedown, eventually returning to full mount and attempting a submission. Rampage was declared the champion by a split decision at the conclusion of the match.

Rampage said in the post-fight interview that the best thing would be to give Machida an immediate rematch, since he felt he had lost the battle. Machida's five media outlets favored the contest over five others in the competition. However, since UFC President Dana White personally believes that Rampage won the fight, he denied the likelihood of a rematch. This caused a lot of debate, as White had earlier announced an immediate rematch to Rua despite a unanimous decision in favor of Machida in that war.

On April 30, 2011, Machida was due to meet UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 129. Machida had been under pressure to perform in his impending match against Couture, according to UFC President Dana White, "this is a must-win for him." At 1:02 of the second round, Machida defeated Couture via KO, winning his third Knockout of the Night bonus award. Machida's kick was praised for being similar to the Crane kick featured in the 1984 film The Karate Kid. Dana White said that Machida's performance against Couture brought him right back to the top of the competition, but that he wasn't yet qualified for a title shot. Joe Rogan rated it as the 4th Deadliest Head Knockout in 2015.

Machida was briefly linked to a rematch with Rashad Evans at UFC 133, rematching an injured Phil Davis. However, Dana White said that Machida needed "Anderson Silva" for starting the fight on short notice, and that the UFC had chosen Tito Ortiz for the match against Evans.

Machida had been in talks to fight Phil Davis, but the match didn't take place because Davis needed more time to recover from knee surgery. Rather, Machida brought an injured Rashad Evans to the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in December 2011, where he took on UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. After a first round that saw Machida thrashes Jones with a punch, Jones took Machida down and cut him with an elbow. Machida was knocked down with a straight left counter and then discovered unconscious in a standing guillotine and choked unconscious at 4:26 of the second round, losing the championship match by technical submission. Both men were recognized with Fight of the Night awards.

In the co-main event of UFC on Fox 4, Machida then met Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champion Ryan Bader on August 4, 2012. Machida beat Bader with a counter-right hand at the 1:32 mark of the second round, putting in a strong showing throughout the competition. As a result, Machida was supposed to get another title shot.

Machida's rematch with Jon Jones was set to take place at UFC 152, but Machida turned down the match due to the fact that he didn't have enough time to prepare, and Vitor Belfort replaced him. Machida had no longer had a good shot after losing to UFC 152, and the UFC later revealed it.

On the co-main event of UFC 157, Machida appeared in the Final Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Pride Middleweight Champion, Pride Welterweight Champion, and at the time the top contender Dan Henderson. The winner of the contest was supposed to get a title shot. Machida defeated Henderson by a split vote, but Alexander Gustafsson was awarded the title shot against Jon Jones.

Machida returned to Brazil to face Phil Davis at UFC 163. Davis was disqualified by a unanimous vote over Machida. Several MMA followers are outraged by this development. In a single sample, 13 of 13 media outlets rated Machida's fight in favor of Machida. Davis' score was based on ESPN's. Davis had takedowns near the end of rounds one and two, and he had a few punches on the ground, his only serious offense in the fight. Many UFC affiliate bloggers also rated Machida 30–27 in favour of Machida. Dana White, the UFC's president, announced shortly after the match that Machida had won all three rounds, and later told Yahoo! Machida won, "absolutely won" and "MMA judging sucks," according to the sports. Davis scored more total strikes, but Machida made the most notable strikes, according to a fightmetric review. ESPN released a similar report analyzing each fighter's performance in each category, as well as reporting the 29-28 victory scored by the three judges at ringside. Following the humiliation, Machida ranked higher than Davis in the official UFC rankings before his promotion to middleweight.

Machida will be cut to the middleweight division in November 21, 2013, according to Dana White on Fox Sports Live. On the main event of UFC: Fight for the Troops 3, he was supposed to meet Tim Kennedy on November 6, 2013. Machida was banned from the fight and was due to meet his colleague and training partner Mark Muoz on October 26, 2013, repping Muoz's original adversary Michael Bisping, who was forced out of the match due to an eye injury. At the 3:10 mark of the first round, Machida defeated Muzoz via head kick KO, earning him his fourth Knockout of the Night award. After knocking him down before the referee stopped the combat, Machida was praised for showing class and sportsmanship by not throwing any more punches to the grounded Muoz. After receiving offers from various clubs, he re-signed with the UFC, becoming a free agent after the fight.

Machida returned to Brazil and met former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi in the main event of UFC Fight Night 36 on February 15, 2014. Machida gained the fight by majority vote after five rounds, while still receiving his second Fight of the Night bonus award.

Machida was then expected to face UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort in a UFC 173 match. However, Machida will be replaced in the main event UFC 173 on May 24, 2014, after Belfort withdrew from the competition on February 28th. Weidman will need knee surgery, according to the magazine on March 24, 2014. The title match with Weidman was postponed and finally took place at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014. Machida lost the battle by a unanimous vote. Machida found his range in the fourth after Weidman had dominated much of the action throughout the first three rounds of his wrestling and relentless pressure. Machida had a string of hard hits in the round, including a left hook that stunned Weidman at the very end of the round. Machida will continue to have fun striking early in the fifth season. However, Weidman would land several hard shots of his own later in the round before finally clinching the round with a takedown and effectively taking Machida from top position for over a minute, although Machida's flurry of strikes in the closing seconds of the match. Despite losing on the scorecards, Machida received his third Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts.

Machida returned to face C. B. Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 58 on December 20, 2014. Machida won the first round via TKO after landing a body kick that killed Dollaway, finishing him with a barrage of punches that caused the referee to call the fight to a halt. Machida has also been selected for a Night of the Night bonus.

On April 18, 2015, Machida confronted Luke Rockhold at UFC on Fox 15. He lost the fight by submission in the second round after being dominated on the ground by Rockhold throughout the entire game.

At UFC Fight Night 70, Machida defeated Yoel Romero on June 27, 2015. Machida lost the third round after a close first two rounds.

On April 16, 2016, UFC on Fox 19 was supposed to host a rematch with Dan Henderson. During an out-of-commission sample collection the week before, Machida reported the usage of a banned drug, 7-Keto-DHEA. Machida said he was unaware that the drug was banned both in and out of sport. He was therefore banned from the contest, and Henderson was re-booked for another event at a later date. Machida was then banned for 18 months by USADA, and he was able to return on October 8, 2017.

In a grappling only benefit fundraiser called Submit Cancer, Machida faced former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields on August 13, 2016. Shields threwled the much larger Machida by inside the heel hook with only 30 seconds remaining in the game, with just 30 seconds remaining.

Machida defeated Derek Brunson in his first fight since being suspended, and he took on Brunson on October 28 at UFC Fight Night 119. In the first round, he was disqualified due to a knockout.

On February 3, 2018, Machida met Eryk Anders at UFC Fight Night 125. He took the fight by split decision, snapping his three-fight losing streak.

Machida defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 224 on May 12, 2018. In the second round, he secured the fight by knockout. He received the Performance of the Night award for his efforts during this win.

Machida had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA on June 22, 2018. Machida would make his promotional debut against former Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho in the co-headliner of Bellator 213. Carvalho lost weight on weigh-in day, weighing in at 186.5 pounds over the non-title Middleweight maximum of 186.0 pounds. Carvalho's purse was fined 20% of his money, but the brawl ensued as a Catchweight match. Machida came back from defeating Carvalho by a split decision.

Machida will face Chael Sonnen in a light heavyweight brawl at Bellator 222 on June 14, 2019 at Madison Square Garden, on April 4th. In the second round, he defeated him via TKO.

On September 28, 2019, Machida met Gegard Mousasi, the previous UFC competitor. He was disqualified in the fight by a split decision.

In a rematch against Phil Davis on September 11, 2020, Machida headlined Bellator 245. He lost by a split decision in the fight.

Machida will be competing in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix on February 9, 2021. In the quarterfinal round, he met Ryan Bader. This was a repeat of their August 2012 match that saw Machida triumph by a second round knockout. On April 9, 2021, a ten-year bout took place at Bellator 256. Machida had success with his kicks and stunned Bader, but Bader's wrestling and ground and pound would soon determine the contest by unanimous vote.

Machida defeated Fabian Edwards at Bellator 281. He was returning to Middleweight in the last fight of his prevailing contract. In the first round, he was disqualified due to a knockout.

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