Lyoto Machida: I’d Like to Fight at 185

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Machida May Drop to Middleweight

Lyoto Machida will most likely get a second shot at Jon Jones' light heavyweight championship if he defeats Dan Henderson this weekend at UFC 157. "The Dragon" is confident he can beat Jones this time around and begin a second, much longer reign as the king of the division.

But that's not the only big move Machida is planning to make in his UFC career. Lyoto met with reporters after an open workout Wednesday afternoon and surprised them by announcing that he is indeed considering fighting at 185 lbs sometime in the near future.

"Yeah, if I have a chance, I'd like to fight at 185 pounds. Maybe I can fight in both classes, you know? Everybody saw when I drank water before [stepping on] the scale last time. I showed everyone I can, that I can drop down."

Reporters immediately suspected that there must be a specific middleweight Machida would be looking to fight. However, when they asked him if he had a first opponent in mind, Lyoto seemed open to taking any challenge the UFC throws his way.

"UFC can choose [an opponent] for me," Machida said.

When Machida makes the drop will obviously be determined by how he fairs against Jon Jones. Yet it seems that whether he wins or loses, Machida cannot help but wonder if his signature karate style would be more effective if he weighed less and were to fight lighter opponents. Perhaps it is the idea of competing against the rapid and powerful striking of fighters like Hector Lombard and Vitor Belfort that led him to this consideration.

It's easy to understand why Machida would find this challenge enticing, but we can only hope that he waits until he at least faces the rest of the highly ranked light heavyweights before moving to another division. The only way he'll be able to do that is by getting through one of the greatest fighters of all time this Saturday night. The first step to a prosperous future of this nature will be overcoming Dan Henderson, a task that will undoubtedly consume his entire focus until the match has ended.

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