Why is machida fighting jones

And when he did so, it would come against the man to defeat the man who defeated him. That being the still champion, Jon Jones. Unfortunately for the Brazilian karate specialist, Jones would get the better of him with a second-round submission finish. A lot has happened in and out of the Octagon for Jones since the Machida win, which was only his second career title defense. The decision would wind up being one of the more controversial ones of the year.

To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. It all started when Jones failed a drug test after his UFC knockout victory over Daniel Cormier in , which eventually resulted in a month suspension. Not having that daily stress… You could be doing everything by the book, but there was always this stress.

It has been ten years since he became the youngest champion in UFC history at 21 years old when he beat Mauricio Rua at UFC in March, and then impressed in his second defence against the legend that was Lyoto Machida in December.

I felt like I was this young, raw champion and Lyoto was this very skilled, very clean, well rehearsed champion himself. He fought in the southpaw stance and he could kick very well with both legs, he could punch very well and he was a very educated fighter. And he did it quite a few times. It wobbled him and dropped him to his knees. I knew that you could find the way to these gaps. I was just waiting for the right time," said Machida. Jones may not be invincible, but as of now, he seems virtually unstoppable in the light heavyweight division.

Despite being stopped the earliest, Machida came the closest out of all three in figuring out a way to deal with Jones' otherworldly abilities. Looking back, there are things "The Dragon" admits he would do differently.