Lyoto Machida Believes Luke Rockhold’s Weakness Is Striking

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will attempt to lock up his second middleweight title shot when he squares off with surging contender Luke Rockhold in the main event of April 18s UFC Fight Night 15 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

After dropping a rousing five round decision to champ Chris Weidman in the main event of last July’s UFC 175, Machida got back into the win column by making extremely short work of the formerly rising CB Dollaway, knocking out “The Doberman” with a vicious first round body kick at last December’s UFC Fight Night 58 from Brazil.

It’s that lethal karate striking background that makes the 36-year-old Machida a threat to any fighter he steps into the cage with, so it’s hardly a surprise that “The Dragon” believes that his best chance of knocking off Rockhold lies in the stand-up game.

He appeared on AXS TV’s Inside MMA last night to discuss the bout with show hosts Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice:

Machida rates Rockhold as an excellent, well-rounded fighter, but he noted that if he does have any weakness, it’s in the striking department:

“I believe so much in my technique, in my train, and I think his weakness part, probably, can be in stand-up. If you compare it with his ground game, maybe he’s better at ground than stand-up, even though he’s good stand-up fighter. But I think I can beat him.”

Machida has revealed where he thinks he will win, yet that was never really on trial. Perhaps the more muddled part of his bout with Rockhold is the question of whether or not the winner will get the next title shot. Machida said he obviously wants that shot, but at the end of the day, “The Dragon” doesn’t know what’s going to happen next win or lose:

“To be honest, if you ask me that type of question, of course I will say that I will be ready for any fight. But I know there is ‘Jacare’ on the line, there is another fight; Yoel Romero maybe, but is the type of question I cannot answer, because of course I want this fight. Of course I want one more fight for the title.”

Machida is of course referring to the blockbuster UFC on FOX 15 co-main event that will feature two streaking middleweights in ‘Jacare’ Souza and Yoel Romero, a bout from which the next title contender could certainly emerge. Machida said he thinks the next title shot will come down to whomever puts on the best performance between those two pivotal bouts:

“It’s two fights that everyone wants to see, because maybe, who wins those fights can go to the title fight, depending on performance.”