Lyoto Machida drops to 185, meets Tim Kennedy at UFC Fight for the Troops 3

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will make a long-discussed drop to middleweight, and his first test will be a military hero – on a military base.

Machida (19-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) will meet Tim Kennedy (16-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at the UFC’s third “Fight for the Troops” show, expected to be UFC Fight Night 31. The show will take place Nov. 6 at Fort Campbell, a U.S. Army installation in Kentucky. The main card is expected to air on FOX Sports 1.

UFC President Dana White announced the fight late Wednesday on “FOX Sports Live.”

Machida is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163 earlier this month. The loss dropped him to 3-3 since losing his 205-pound title to Mauricio Rua at UFC 113 more than three years ago. After losing the belt, Machida lost to Quinton Jackson, then beat Randy Couture to get another shot at the title – but was submitted by champ Jon Jones at UFC 140.

Kennedy, a Bronze Star medal winner while in the Army, made his UFC debut in July at UFC 162 and won a unanimous decision against Roger Gracie. Before coming to the UFC in the merger with Strikeforce, he was 3-1 in that organization before losing a title fight against Luke Rockhold. He finished his tenure there with a 4-2 record.

The UFC most recently did a troops show in January 2011 at Fort Hood, Texas. In December 2008, the first “Fight for the Troops” show took place in Fayetteville, N.C.

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Tim Kennedy)