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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva said he would rather retire, than have to step into the Octagon against friend, team mate and former light heavyweight kingpin, Lyoto Machida (his words).
The feeling may not be mutual.
Longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) trainer Rafael Cordeiro, who will corner "The Dragon" in his upcoming fight against Mark Munoz in the main event of UFC Fight Night 30 on Oct. 26, 2013 from Phones 4u Arena in Manchester, England (details), wants to see Machida take on the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 2, who settle their score at UFC 168 in December.
Cordeiro elaborates to Fighters Only:
"I think if Lyoto wins he gets the title shot but also you have Jacare, he did a great job in his last fight. I think he deserves the opportunity to fight for the belt. It doesn't matter who is the champion. In my opinion everybody wants the belt, everybody fights for the belt. It's a dream for all fighters so all guys in the top five or top ten deserve the chance to fight for the belt. Jacare deserves it, Lyoto deserves it. Mark works so hard, he deserves all the best also. So if guys have to fight, let's fight."
Machida may not be the only Brazilian looking for a crack at the crown.
Former division number one contender, Vitor Belfort, is hoping to cut to the front of the line by turning away Dan Henderson at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 32 event next month in Brazil. That's assuming the promotion doesn't rank him below the streaking Ronaldo Souza, winner of five straight with five straight finishes.
Bottleneck!
How about it, fight fans, does a convincing win over the "Filipino Wrecking Machine" get Machida into the title picture?
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