MMAVu

It’s official, again.

The monster 205lb showdown will now take place at UFC 93, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on January 31. This bout was supposed to happen at UFC 89: Bisping vs Leben October 18, but Silva had to withdraw due to a back injury.

Both guys are top contenders in the light heavyweight division, a fight or two away from a title shot, both guys are from Brazil, and have identical 13-0 records. This fight is an awesome addition to the rumored main event of Georges St. Pierre vs BJ Penn.

Machida has won 5 straight in the UFC, beating guys like Kazuhiro Nakamura, Sokodjou and most recently Tito Ortiz. Silva has also defeated an impressive list of fighters in Antonio Mendes, Houston Alexander and Thomasz Drwal. Should be a dandy.

Top 205lb contender Lyoto Machida, through his manager Ed Soares, has confirmed that he would like to wait for Silva to heal up, rather than take on a UFC new comer.  Silva had to pull out of the UFC 89 bout with Machida after sustaining an injury in training.

With somewhat a short time before UFC 89 goes down in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England October 18th, Machida was pulled off of the card.  The UFC likely could have found a low calibre replacement, but beating him would get Lyoto no where.  Plus, there’s always a chance of the unforseen, and Machida could lose his spot near the top of the division with a loss.

Besides, after both Forrest Griffin and Brandon Vera openly spoke of their preference to fight any one else besides Machida, options for top drawer opponents were slim at best.

However, should Machida decide later not to wait for Silva, the 205lb class has a new, high-profile contender who would fit Machida’s desire for a “name” opponent quite well.  Rich “Ace” Franklin.  Franklin is in the “top 5″ when it comes to “names” in the UFC, and Machida is only one of two people (the other being Anderson Silva) to defeat Franklin.  The hype for that fight practically writes itself!!

Credit: mmarated.com