Lyoto Machida: If I Beat Romero, I’ll Be In the Mix
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida is coming off one of the most disappointing and disheartening losses of his long and storied career, as he most recently dropped a second-round submission loss to now title challenger Luke Rockhold in the main event of April’s UFC on FOX 15.
However, it wasn’t just a normal loss that every fighter encounters, as it seemed as if “The Dragon” was mentally and physically broke by Rockhold, something were not accustomed to seeing from the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
Due to the nature of the loss, it’s no surprise that Machida want’s to erase the night from his memory and get back on track, which is why he signed on for a quick turnaround as he takes on No. 6-ranked Yoel “The Soldier of God” Romero in the main event of next weekend’s (June 27, 2015) UFC Fight Night 70.
Speaking on a recent edition of the MMA Hour, Machida admitted himself that the best way to recover from a loss is to get another fight:
“”I like to be busy, especially after I lost against Luke Rockhold,” Machida said. “The best way to recover is to get another fight.”
Machida also disclosed that he actually had a minor hand surgery right after the Rockhold fight. “The Dragon” claimed that he had fragments in his hand removed, and after three weeks he was healed, and is now ready to meet Romero:
“Right after my fight against Luke Rockhold, I had surgery on my left hand,” Machida said. “I just took out some fragments from back then. Too many training and I had some fragments in my hand. It took my about three weeks to be healed 100 percent and now I’m here ready for this fight.”
Despite the surgery, Machida said that there was no hindrance on his training camp, and he still had a five to six week camp. The former champion noted that he couldn’t punch for a short time, but he remained in shape, and jumped on the opportunity to take this fight:
“I think maybe 5-6 weeks,” Machida said of his camp length. “Great camp, no excuses, right after fight against Rockhold, three days later I had surgery. I couldn’t hit someone, [but I] could run, hit weights, do some stuff, kick bags. I never stopped, I wait for some opportunity, and suddenly, opportunity just showed up, I got this fight.”
Coming off of such a tough loss, Machida has not decided to take on any lesser competition as the former Cuban Olympic wrestler Romero is one of the best in the world at 185-pounds. “The Dragon” respects “The Soldier of God’s” skills, and knows that he is used to competing at a high level:
“He has a good ground game, he has control on the ground, and also many knockouts,” Machida said. “So, he’s a good fighter, a complete fighter, even though he only has a couple fights in MMA, he knows how to fight at a high level, because he used to compete in the Olympics, the world championships, he knows how to handle that.”
In the currently stacked middleweight division, the winner of next week’s bout will ultimately put themselves back into title talks, but that is not the ultimate goal for Machida, as he is not overlooking Romero:
“I think if I beat Romero, I’ll be in the mix,” Machida said. “I’ll be in the mix and I can fight for the title anytime. But that’s not my goal now, to think on the title, because Yoel Romero is a tough opponent. I have to think on my next fight, keep my focus on Yoel Romero. But if I have a good victory over him, I’ll be in the mix.”
Does the legendary “Dragon” have one more title run left in him, or are we witnessing the beginning of the end of an illustrious career?
Photo Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
