While boss wants Lyoto Machida vs. Vtior Belfort, Gegard Mousasi wants Machida

Following Lyoto Machida‘s big win in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 30 headliner, UFC President Dana White said he’d like to see a fight between the Brazilian and Vitor Belfort. Gegard Mousasi, meanwhile, has other plans.

The former Strikeforce and DREAM champion hasn’t fought since a UFC-debut win over light heavyweight Ilir Latifi in April. After Saturday’s fight and Machida’s win, Mousasi, who’s 21-1-1 since 2006, campaigned for a fight with “The Dragon.”

“I want to make an impact in MW division and fight Machida!” he wrote in a tweet directed at MMAjunkie.com and other media outlets, as well as White.

Mousasi (34-3-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who’s bounced between the 205- and 185-pound decisions, underwent knee surgery following the win over Latifi, who was a very late replacement for Alexander Gustafsson. That victory did little to raise his standing in the light-heavyweight division. However, with a win over Machida (20-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC), who made his middleweight debut in Saturday’s first-round head-kick knockout of Mark Munoz (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), Mousasi would become an instant contender at 185 pounds.

And the possibility may not be all that far-fetched. Although White said he’d like to see Machida vs. Belfort (23-10 MMA, 12-6 UFC), the latter is booked to fight Dan Henderson (23-10 MMA, 12-6 UFC) next month at UFC Fight Night 31. So the UFC boss said it’s quite likely Machida could have a fight in the interim.

“I think, and I’m just talking here as a fan, not as a promoter, I think a lot of people want to see him and Vitor Belfort,” White said of Machida after the FOX Sports 2-televised event in Manchester, England. “That would be a fun fight. Vitor’s got to win down in Brazil. And who knows, (Machida) could fight someone else before that. But I’m just saying, as a fan, and speaking for many fans, that’s the fight they want to see. At least that’s what everyone was screaming at me on the way out of the arena tonight.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 30, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Gegard Mousasi)