Lyoto Machida vs Eryk Anders headlines UFC Fight Night 125 on Feb. 3 in Belem

I guess that fantasy fight between Lyoto Machida and Michael Bisping will remain just that — a fantasy — as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has instead booked Machida to throw hands with middleweight rising star Eryk Anders.

MMA Today brought word of the booking on Thursday.

They’ll do the deed in the five-round headliner of the upcoming UFC Fight Night 125 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which takes place Sat., Feb. 3, 2018 inside Mangueirinho Gymnasium in Belem, Brazil.

Machida (22-8) recently returned from a lengthy drug-test suspension at UFC Fight Night 119, where he was promptly knocked out by division bruiser Derek Brunson. The 39-year old “Dragon” has now been finished in three consecutive losses.

As for Anders (10-0), he’s remained perfect in 10 trips to the cage. That includes last week’s unanimous decision win over Markus Perez at UFC Fight Night 123 in Fresno, where “Ya’ Boy” proceeded to call out Machida.

Be careful what you wish for?