Tatame spoke with both undefeated Brazilian light heavyweights after their UFC 89 fight was announced yesterday, and while neither had anything particularly revelatory to say this far out from the match, Silva did indicate his disappointment at having to fight another of his countrymen.
“I believe it’ll be a fight with more strategy. Lyoto likes to escape, fight moving backwards, it’s his style, but it’ll do my job”, analyzed Thiago, that will face a Brazilian fighter for the second time in a row on the UFC octagon (the last one was Antônio Mendes “Samuray”, at UFC 84). “Unfortunately yes, I can’t say that I like (facing Brazilian fighters), but I want the belt, and wanna prove my talent and win. I want the belt. I already can fight for the belt. I’ve already showed UFC what I can and what I can’t do. I’m here to fight for the belt.”
In a brief excerpt from an as-yet-unpublished interview, Machida seemed confident that the bout would end in the way most do – with one of the fighters winning.
“I know that this fight will show who is going to lose. The event will sell it this way, two unbeaten guys. I wanna do a great fight, a great show.”
I love this fight and think it puts UFC 89 in line to be one of the top shows of the year. I’m not at all surprised to see that people are considering Silva a huge underdog, but it’s awfully early to count him out. The UFC will no doubt be in Machida’s ear leading up to this fight, reminding him that a stoppage or submission would go a long way towards being able to market him as a contender/champion. Lyoto’s not the type to rush or make mistakes, but his lapse in the closing round of the Tito Ortiz fight almost proved disastrous. It’ll be interesting to see if Silva – who’s known for his striking but is also a BJJ black belt – can put Machida in trouble on the ground.
This stat says it all: eight of Silva’s last nine fights haven’t made it past the opening frame, while seven of Machida’s last nine have gone to decisions.