Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi made official for UFC Brazil event on Feb. 8

Lyoto Machida successfully made his middleweight debut at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, England when he knocked out Mark Munoz with a head kick in the main event. Machida had spent the majority of his career fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Light Heavyweight division.

The win immediately made him a player in the middleweight division and in need for an opponent. After the bout, UFC President Dana White discussed a possible matchup between Machida and Vitor Belfort at middleweight. However, former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi tossed his name in the proverbial hat when he called out Machida on Twitter following the fight.

Late Friday (Nov. 1, 2013) afternoon, the UFC officially announced that Machida and Mousasi will meet on February 8th in Jaragua do Sol on Fox Sports 2.

This bout will mark Mousasi's return to the middleweight division, where he once was ranked in the top 10 after winning the DREAM middleweight tournament.

It's likely that a win for Machida would put him in line for a middleweight title shot.

So what do you say Maniacs? Is this the perfect bout for Machida to earn a title shot? Or does he need to fight on a major event?