Lyoto Machida may be serving an 18-month suspension, but that hasn’t stopped ‘The Dragon’ from training hard in the gym to prepare for his UFC return.
Machida, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was handed an 18-month suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in November of last year after his admitted use of 7-KETO-DHEA, a prohibited substance that helps burn fat.
Machida was expected to rematch the now-retired Dan Henderson at UFC on FOX 19 but was pulled from the bout after admitting to using 7-KETO-DHEA.
Machida’s suspension expires on October 8 and the 38-year-old teased fans about a return.
The Brazilian posted on Instagram that he will ‘be back soon’ and appears to be in good health and good spirits.
Machida, who made his UFC debut in 2007 against Sam Hoger, is 5-3 in his last eight fights but dropped two back-to-back losses to top middleweight contenders Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero.
The MMA veteran was removed from the official UFC rankings after his suspension but was formerly ranked as a top ten middleweight.
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