Despite age, relative MMA inexperience, Bellator 170's Chinzo Machida not ruling out title run

There will be a familiar MMA name on the preliminary card of Saturday’s Bellator 170 event in Southern California: Machida.

But it’s not former UFC champ Lyoto. It’s his older brother Chinzo Machida (4-2), who takes on Jamar Ocampo (2-0) in a featherweight bout on the show at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The Bellator 170 main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

When it comes to MMA, Machida is a late bloomer. He fought for Brazil’s Jungle Fight promotion once in 2005 and again in 2006. Then he didn’t get back in a cage until 2010. But nearly three years later, with a 1-2 record, he put the small gloves back on and knocked out Brian Wood with a flying knee at RFA 11. He won again at RFA 15 in June 2014.

Then it was more than two years before he got back in again when he stopped Mario Navarro with a first-round knockout at Bellator 160 this past August.

“In Brazil, I wasn’t fighting MMA too frequently because my primary focus was karate,” Machida told MMAjunkie. “But since I moved to the United States, I was presented with the opportunity to fight more often. Now I’ll have my second fight in Bellator.”

Although Machida is 39 and will turn 40 in March, he doesn’t believe his age is going to get in the way of anything.

“If anything, I feel I’m getting faster and more agile,” he said. “That’s due to changes in my training. I don’t feel my age.”

So with that whole age hurdle out of the way, Machida doesn’t believe there should be any real road blocks to him going after a title, just like someone who might be 10, even 20 years his junior.

And while taking on bigger names than Ocampo will be something that’s required if he wants to work his way to championship contention, right now, that’s the name in front of him.

“He seems to lean toward jiu-jitsu,” Machida said. “Since this is MMA, we can’t consider only one scenario. We expect him to attempt takedowns and submissions. I have to be ready everywhere, especially since every fight starts on the feet. Without a doubt, he’ll strike too, so I have to remain alert to avoid any surprises while standing. I’ve seen him strike. He’s good at it, but I still believe jiu-jitsu is his strong suit.”

If Machida can get past Ocampo, then at 5-2, he can start focusing on who’s next. And for the first time in his career, he’ll have to start fighting with some regularity.

But it sounds like that’s something he would welcome.

“Despite being 39, my MMA career is just starting,” Machida said. “I try not to think about who’s the current champ. Of course, it’s important. It could be a future objective. But the challenge right now is to beat Jamar Ocampo. I’m focused on him. Once I get past him, we’ll see who’s next. Of course, any fighter dreams of being champion. I receive full support from Bellator, and hopefully the opportunity will arise in the future.”

For more on Bellator 170, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.