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Top 5 Stories of the Week
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Lyoto Machida will move to 185 pounds in November. | Photo: Marcelo Alonso
Lyoto Machida’s rumored move to 185 pounds is now official, as the former light heavyweight king will change divisions to face Tim Kennedy at UFC “Fight for the Troops 3.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White announced the matchup on the Aug. 21 edition of Fox Sports Live. UFC “Fight for the Troops 3” takes place at Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Ky., on Nov. 6 and is also expected to include a lightweight showdown between Jorge Masvidal and Rustam Khabilov.
Machida last competed at UFC 163, where he lost a controversial decision to Phil Davis. After beginning his professional career with 16 consecutive wins, “The Dragon” is 3-4 in the Octagon since 2010. Earlier in 2013, Machida captured a split verdict over Dan Henderson at UFC 157.
A two-time Strikeforce title challenger, Kennedy made his promotional debut in July, winning a unanimous decision against Roger Gracie at UFC 162. The Army Special Forces member compiled a 6-2 mark in Strikeforce, falling short in championship bouts against Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold.
The stories of interest on Sherdog.com this week:
Downshifting Dragon
Sidelined Skyscraper
World Travelers
Hurt Rhino
Notable Omission
Reader comments are active below. Read more -
Thursday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Thursday
3:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Ultimate Insider
Conor McGregor; Joe Lauzon; Travis Browne; Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar
4:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC: George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson
Rousimar Palhares vs. Hector Lombard; Norman Parke vs. Colin Fletcher; Bradley Scott vs. Robert Whittaker; George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson. From Queensland, Australia. (Card subject to change)
12:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Unleashed
Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader
1:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Greatest Japanese Fighters The best of Pride's Japanese hometown stars.
4:30 p.m. ET Fox sports 2: UFC Ultimate Insider
Conor McGregor; Joe Lauzon; Travis Browne; Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar
5:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Reloaded
UFC 146: Relive all the action from UFC 146: Junior dos Santos vs Frank Mir, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
7:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
8:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Tonight
UFC highlights, analysis and interviews.
9:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Fight Night
Michael Johnson vs. Joe Lauzon; Uriah Hall vs. John Howard; Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle; Iuri Alcantara vs. Urijah Faber; Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem; Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen. From the TD Garden in Boston.
11:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: Fight Master: Bellator MMA
Season 1 Episode 9: Eyes on the Prize The last quarterfinal matches commence as Joe Warren and Jackson MMA strive to get fighters to the next round. Read more -
Tuesday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Tuesday
5:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Unleashed
Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader
8:00 a.m. ET Fox Sports 2: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Greatest Japanese Fighters The best of Pride's Japanese hometown stars.
9:00 a.m. ET Fox sports 2: UFC Reloaded
UFC 145: Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans
12:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Fight Night
Prelims: Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda; Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler; Max Holloway vs. Conor McGregor; Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett. From the TD Garden in Boston.
4:30 p.m. ET MavTV: Monster Knockouts
EPISODE: 10 Ray Mercer's brutal first-round knockout; fighter goes down for the count; two brawling females.
5:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC: Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann
Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann; Mackens Semerzier vs. Daniel Pineda. From Sydney, Australia.
5:00 p.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage
7:00 p.m. MavTV: King of the Cage
7:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 1: UFC Unleashed
Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
7:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
9:00 p.m. ET MavTV: Greatest KnockOuts
EPISODE: 7
10:00 p.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage
11:00 p.m. ET Fox Sports 2: UFC Tonight
UFC highlights, analysis and interviews.
11:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
12:00 a.m. ET MavTV: Monster Knockouts
EPISODE: 9 Michael Moorer unloads with a left; a cage warrior gets his skull rattled by a punch; a kick boxer delivers a spinning back kick. Read more -
Friday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Friday
3:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Reloaded UFC 140: Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones faces former champ Lyoto Machida; the Nogueira brothers, Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz.
6:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Minotauro Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum Jason Rony vs. Mike Wilkinson; Daniel Sarafian vs. Eddie Mendez; Erick Silva vs. Jason High; Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Feijao; William Patolino vs. Leonardo Santos; Minotauro Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum. From Fortaleza, Brazil.
9:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann; Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve; Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez; Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami; Rani Yahya vs. Mizuto Hirota; Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Dong Hyun Kim. From Saitama, Japan.
12:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard.
1:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Mauricio Rua vs Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafsson vs Vladimir Matyushenko, and Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz.
2:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship Shogun Grand Prix Mauricio Rua's epic run in the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament.
3:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider Inside Jose Aldo's training camp; special Gracie breakdown of the Twister submission; Ricardo Lamas takes down the Aldo-Korean Zombie matchup; Phil Davis's live reaction to Glover Teixeira vs James Te Huna in Full Blast.
3:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight FS1 – Preview FS1's debut fight, from Boston.
4:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Weigh-ins UFC on Sportsnet Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
4:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Weigh-In UFC: Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen From the TD Garden in Boston.
5:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera; Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader; Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner; DaMarques Johnson vs. Mike Swick. From Los Angeles. (Card subject to change)
7:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Alistair Overeem vs Brock Lesnar, Roy Nelson vs Mirko Filipovic, Lavar Johnson vs Joey Beltran, Pat Barry vs Christian Morecraft, and Frank Mir vs Rodrigo Nogueira.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann, Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le, and Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus.
8:00 p.m. ET AXS: The Voice Versus Michael Schiavello and Alistair Overeem discuss steroid allegations and an appetite for horse meat.
9:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed Featuring Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar; Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin; Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader.
9:00 p.m. ET AXS: Inside MMA EPISODE: 304 Alistair Overeem and Chael Sonnen preview their UFC Fight Night 26 fights; Michael Schiavello and Pat Miletich offer an inside look at the night's RFA 9 fight card.
10:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed Featuring Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick and Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller.
10:00 p.m. ET AXS: AXS TV Fights Resurrection Fighting Alliance 9 Undefeated Pedro Munhoz and UFC veteran Jeff Curran vie for the RFA Bantamweight title; from Los Angeles.
11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed Nate Diaz fights Jim Miller; Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills; Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira; Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman.
12:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Nam Phan v.s Leonard Garcia, and Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver. Read more -
Wednesday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Wednesday
3:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Shogun Grand Prix Mauricio Rua's epic run in the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament.
4:00 a.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage
6:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera
Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera; Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader; Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner; DaMarques Johnson vs. Mike Swick From Los Angeles. (Card subject to change)
1:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann, Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le, and Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus.
2:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FS1 – Preview FS1's debut fight, from Boston.
2:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Inside Jose Aldo's training camp; special Gracie breakdown of the Twister submission; Ricardo Lamas takes down the Jose Chan Sung Jung matchup; Phil Davis's live reaction to Glover Teixeira vs James Te Huna in Full Blast.
3:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
UFC Fight Night 21: Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi in Charlotte, N.C.
5:00 p.m.ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
UFC Fight Night 20: Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz From the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.
5:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
7:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
FS1 – Preview FS1's debut fight, from Boston.
7:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Inside Jose Aldo's training camp; special Gracie breakdown of the Twister submission; Ricardo Lamas takes down the Aldo-Korean Zombie matchup; Phil Davis's live reaction to Glover Teixeira vs James Te Huna in Full Blast.
7:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
8:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Wired
Joe Rogan hosts this UFC highlight show featuring some of the best bouts from years past.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Reloaded
UFC 144: Relive the action from UFC 144 Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.
9:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives
10:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: Fight Master: Bellator MMA
Season 1 Episode 8: Friend or Foe The quarterfinals are under way, with a fighter from each camp in the game.
11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Frankie Edgar takes on Sean Sherk in a lightweight bout; Chael Sonnen takes on Nate Marquardt.
12:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
UFC Fight Night 20: Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz From the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Read more -
Top 5 Forum Threads of the Week
By: Jeff Sherwood
The scorecards bit Lyoto Machida at UFC 163. | Photo: Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com
Controversy seems to find Lyoto Machida often.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder came out on the wrong side of a widely debated unanimous decision to Phil Davis in the UFC 163 co-main event on Aug. 3 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All three judges scored it 29-28 for “Mr. Wonderful.”
Machida countered beautifully throughout the 15-minute clash and, outside of single takedowns in rounds one and two, shut down the wrestling attack of the four-time NCAA All-American and 2008 national champion. “The Dragon” appeared landed more significant strikes in the bout, including a crackling counter left hand in the second round that got Davis’ attention. Machida turned away all of the “Mr. Wonderful” takedown attempts in round three.
According to FightMetric figures, Machida delivered more significant strikes in rounds two and three and also landed at a higher percentage in all three frames. Davis held the edge in total strikes in the first and second rounds. A week later, the debate rages on.
Items of interest on the Sherdog.net forums this week:
Derisive Decision
Dodging Robbery
Two-Year Plan
Concerning Greatness
Documented Success
Follow the jump for reader comments. Read more -
Mike Chiappetta Joins Press Row
By: Jordan Breen
Every Wednesday, Administrative Editor Jordan Breen welcomes a member of the mixed martial arts media into “Press Row” on the Sherdog.com blog. This week, Breen is joined by FoxSports.com's Mike Chiappetta.
After the controversial decision between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis at UFC 163 in Rio de Janeiro, Breen and Chiappetta reflect on the contest, how exactly Davis got his hand raised, and Machida's unique history with curious decisions. The duo also debate the extent to which fighters like Machida could or should adapt their fight style to meet the expectations of judges, the pernicious issue of “damage” and how best to reward defense when judging an MMA fight.
Breen and Chiappetta also discuss whether monitors for judges are a good idea, if the martial art biases of judges are an issue for the sport, what sorts of fights create the iffiest decisions and much, much more.
Grab your credential and get a seat in “Press Row.”
The above file can be saved in MP3 format here.
Follow the jump for reader comments. Read more -
Audio: UFC 163 Media Call
Jose Aldo, Chan Sung Jung, Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida took part in a media conference call to draw awareness to Aug. 3's stacked UFC 163 card.
Read more -
Tuesday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Tuesday
3:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Featuring Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis and Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald.
2:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Reloaded
UFC 140: Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones faces former champ Lyoto Machida; the Nogueira brothers, Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz.
5:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
The greatest knockouts in pride history.
6:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
The Gracie clan, first family of MMA, is on full display.
7:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Some of Pride's greatest heavyweights of all time.
7:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos; Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe; Rick Story vs. Brian Foster.
9:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Featuring Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis and Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald.
10:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
Before They Were Champs The earliest octagon moments of future title-holders Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez.
10:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Cub Swanson puts boxer Tim Bradley through an MMA workout; Anderson Silva's rematch is critiqued by the Gracie brothers; UFC fighters discuss the great sacrifices required to be succeed in MMA.
11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
The Gracie clan, first family of MMA, is on full display.
11:30 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
12:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
UFC Fight Night 23: Evan Dunham vs. Melvin Guillard in UFC Fight for the Troops 2. Read more -
Thursday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Thursday
6:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Blockbuster UFC Fighters predict the outcome of the summer's biggest blockbuster.
6:30 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
Preview for UFC 162: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman in Las Vegas.
7:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Countdown
UFC 162: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman
8:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
UFC fight night 18: Relive all the action from UFC Fight Night 18: Carlos Condit vs Martin Kampmann in Nashville, Tenn.
3:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
UFC 162: Preview for UFC 162: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman in Las Vegas.
3:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Blockbuster UFC Fighters predict the outcome of the summer's biggest blockbuster.
4:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
The best fights from the UFC archives, featuring Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Nam Phan v.s Leonard Garcia, and Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver.
5:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Reloaded
UFC 134: Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami and Mauricio Rua vs Forrest Griffin.
7:00 p.m. ET Sportsnet 360: UFC Central
Hosted by "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. UFC highlights and news.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
UFC 162: Preview for UFC 162: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman in Las Vegas.
8:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Blockbuster UFC Fighters predict the outcome of the summer's biggest blockbuster.
9:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Countdown
UFC 162: Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman
10:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Featuring Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis and Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald.
11:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC 101: Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Rener and Ryron Gracie cover the core positions, principles and techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu that were made famous in the UFC.
12:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Unleashed
Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos; Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe; Rick Story vs. Brian Foster. Read more
