Lyoto Machida

By FCF Staff

Although Lyoto Machida could secure another shot at the light-heavyweight belt this Saturday at UFC 163, the former champ says he’s still open to the possibility of moving to middleweight at some juncture.

In a recent interview with the Brazilian outlet Globo.com, Machida was asked about whether he might make the transition, now that his training partner Anderson Silva is no longer champion. Machida responded by saying (translation via Google):

“I am willing to do this test and transit in this category. I’m not such a great guy for the weight-heavyweight. So, I find no difficulty in fighting this category (average). I’m expecting a better position of my business, and after this fight, we better see what will happen to take a favorable decision.”

Machida will take on fellow contender Phil Davis at UFC 163, and although fighters like Daniel Cormier and Glover Teixeira could figure into the the title picture soon, “The Dragon” is also in the running. If he can record another impressive finish, as he did versus Ryan Bader last summer, Machida could be next in line depending on what happens in the coming months.

The 35 year-old vet also added this interesting statement about Silva, who recently signed on to rematch Chris Weidman at UFC 168.

“Anderson has won the belt and the rematch is more than fair for a guy who dominated for long. He might not want to fight for the belt, but the UFC asks. I believe that not only was Anderson’s will prevailed.”

Immediately following Silva’s lost to Weidman at UFC 162, the former champ said he wasn’t interested in fighting for the belt. Then, after a few days, it was announced that the rematch was a go and Silva relayed that he had changed his mind.

UFC 163 will take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the main card will be available via pay-per-view.