Lyoto Machida leaves UFC, Signs with Bellator
The UFC appeared to match Bellator’s offer that Machida “Couldn’t refuse” but according to Machida he had already made CEO of Bellator Scott Coker a promise.
“When I came back to the UFC, it was too late because I gave my word to Mr. (Scott) Coker, and I’m a man of my word,”
Machida moving to Bellator opens up a host of exciting potential matchups, Machida has previous wins over Bellator’s current middleweight champion, Gegard Mousasi and their current heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader.
then there is the matchup between Mousasi and Rory MacDonald, Coker had this to say about Machida facing the potential winner.
“Maybe not in the fall, but maybe next year sometime you’ll see Gegard fighting Lyoto,” Coker said. “You might see Rory fighting Lyoto.”
Whatever happens with Machida’s next fight, Bellator is sure to make a lot of noise about it.