Lyoto Machida: Rockhold loss isn’t the only reason I wanted quick turnaround

Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida insists a recent loss isn’t the only reason he accepted a quick turnaround fight against Yoel Romero.

“I like to stay active as much as possible, and sometimes in MMA, you have a lot of time between fights,” Machida told MMAjunkie. “So I didn’t really get hurt in my last fight, and I wanted to get back in there as soon as I can.”

To some, it might look like Machida (22-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) is trying to right a wrong, to satisfy a competitive ego left bruised by a one-sided loss to Luke Rockhold.

But for Machida, that’s not the whole story behind his meeting with Romero (9-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), which headlines the FOX Sports 1-televised main card of UFC Fight Night 70 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

If a fight with Romero is a gamble from a competitive standpoint, it’s one Machida is willing to take.

“Of course, when you lose, you want to get back in there and avenge your loss,” he said. “But it’s not just because of that.”

In April, Machida was dominated by Rockhold when they faced off at UFC on FOX 15. While it wasn’t the ex-champ’s first loss in the UFC, it was the first time it looked as though time may have caught up to him.

After all, at 37, “The Dragon” is heading toward the age where a lot of fighters are on the cusp of retirement.

Machida, though, denies he’s lost his step.

“With all due respect to Luke – he was the better man that night, I just didn’t feel like myself that night,” he said. “I don’t know
exactly what was wrong – I just felt like I wasn’t firing on all cylinders.”

Still, when UFC President Dana White called with an offer to fight Romero, Machida could have taken time away from the spotlight to focus on his technique, to regroup, and to get over the sting of defeat. Instead, he checked to see if he could physically fight. As it turns out, he needed surgery on his hand to remove bone fragments that were stuck in his hand.

Once he was cleared, he said, he quickly said yes to a matchup with dangerous opponent Romero, who has yet to experience defeat in the UFC and has stopped four of five opponents with concussive blows.

Romero is also an Olympic-caliber grappler, having won silver in freestyle wrestling in 2000. It’s a style that could easily stymie a
striking specialist such as Machida.

“Of course, that thought went through my mind (that I’m taking a dangerous fight),” said Machida, “but this is an MMA fight, and
anything can happen. I’m prepared for that.”

Machida is also prepared for the possibility that he might feel off when he fights Romero. But in the end, it might not matter.

“There’s been times when I didn’t feel good and ended up winning the fight,” he said. “As a professional athlete, once and a while you have bad days. That was my bad day.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 70, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.