Machida-Bader Set for UFC on Fox 4; Shields, Herman to Square Off at UFC 150

Light heavyweights Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader will square off Aug. 4 at UFC on Fox 4 in Los Angeles. Brazilian news outlet Esporte first reported the matchup, and the UFC later confirmed the pairing on Twitter.

A week later, middleweights Jake Shields and Ed Herman will lock horns at UFC 150 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. UFC President Dana White tweeted news of the bout Monday evening.

Machida (Pictured) began his MMA career with 16 consecutive wins, capturing the UFC 205-pound title against Rashad Evans in May 2009 and successfully defending the belt against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua five months later. “The Dragon” has fallen on hard times since then, losing three of four fights. Machida last appeared at UFC 140, where he was submitted by Jon Jones with a guillotine choke in the second round.

Bader has returned to his winning ways since falling to Tito Ortiz at UFC 132 in perhaps the biggest upset of 2011. The Power MMA product has rebounded with two straight victories, besting Jason Brilz via first-round knockout in November and taking a unanimous decision against Quinton Jackson in February. “The Ultimate Fighter 8” alumnus began his UFC career with five wins in a row before falling to Jon Jones and Ortiz in back-to-back outings.

Shields, who recently announced his intentions to return to middleweight after a stint at 170 pounds, will make his fifth Octagon appearance. The former Strikeforce middleweight champ has experienced mixed results in the UFC, beating Martin Kampmann and Yoshihiro Akiyama while falling to Georges St. Pierre and Jake Ellenberger.

Herman has been on a roll since returning from a knee injury suffered in a 2009 bout with Aaron Simpson. After nearly two years on the shelf, the “TUF 3” competitor returned to action last June and has defeated Tim Credeur, Kyle Noke and Clifford Starks in his last three fights.