Lyoto Machida

MMAstatsbox


name=Lyoto Machida
|imagesize=160
height=height|ft=6|in=1
weight=convert|205|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
nick=The Dragon
nationality= Brazilian
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1978|month=5|day=30
died=
fightingfrom=Belém, Brazil
hometown=Salvador, Brazil
fightteam=Black House
fightstyle=Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Sumo
wins=13
losses=0
draws=0
nocontest=
ko=3
submissions=2|

Lyoto Carvalho Machida (born May 30, 1978) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial arts fighter. Son of a Japanese-Brazilian Shotokan Karate master nihongo|Yoshizo Machida|町田 嘉三|"Machida Yoshizō", Lyoto is a rising star in MMA, having secured victories over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn and Stephan Bonnar. He is currently ranked as the #3 light heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13605&my_page=3 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings ] ]

Machida is noted for his semi-orthodox fighting style. As a karate practitioner, Machida uses an unorthodox (or southpaw) stance. [ [http://www.boutreviewusa.com/RingSide/WFA/7-22.html WFA - 07/21/2006 ] ]

Machida formerly fought out of Black House with such fighters as UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, and former PRIDE FC and current UFC Interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Machida's last fight was a victory against Tito Ortiz at UFC 84 on May 24th, 2008.

Machida will coach alongside Anderson Silva for Team Nogueira in "".cite web
url=http://www.tatame.com.br/2008/06/05/Lyoto-e-Anderson-Silva-no-TUF
title=Lyoto e Anderson Silva no TUF
last=Cruz
first=Guilherme
date=2008-06-05
accessdate=2008-06-14
publisher=TATAME
language=Português]

Biography

Lyoto Machida was born in the city of Salvador but soon moved to Belém which is his hometown. He is the third son of the Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. Machida began training in karate at the age of four, earning his black-belt at the age of 13. He began training in Sumo at 12 and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 15. He won a number of amateur karate tournaments, including 2001 Pan American Karate tournament. [ [http://www.njpw.com/fighters/lyoto.shtml NJPW.com >> Fighters >> Lyoto Machida ] ] He was also runner up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships in the 115 kg division. In addition to his Sumo and Karate achievements, he has a college degree in Physical Education. Lyoto's brother, Chinzo, is a Shotokan vice-champion (Australia 2006), losing only to #1 ranked Shotokan master Koji Ogata. Lyoto and Chinzo fought in a Karate Final 10 years ago in which Lyoto gave Chinzo a cheek scar that still exists today. His other brother, Kenzo Machida, is a TV journalist for one of Brazil's biggest TV stations.

Lyoto is well-known for using a variety of Shotokan Karate techniques in his fights. Lyoto used a Karate leg sweep on B.J. Penn in the 2nd round of their fight. He uses a back kick in many fights (they can be seen in his bouts against Sam Greco, Sam Hoger, and Stephan Bonnar). Frank Trigg once said that he got dropped twice in row by Lyoto's back kick in a sparring session they had.

In college he was introduced to Japanese pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki who took Machida to groom as a protégé. He would continue training, taking up Muay Thai in Thailand and wrestling at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo.

Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki noticed Machida early and took him under his wing, soon given the nickname "The Second Inoki" by the Japanese media. Inoki entered Machida in several of his promotions, including New Japan Pro Wrestling's "Ultimate Crush" card on May 2 2003, where he defeated journeyman Pancrase fighter Kengo Watanabe. He made several appearances at other Inoki shows, including "Jungle Fight 1" in Brazil, where he defeated eventual "The Ultimate Fighter 1" runner-up Stephan Bonnar on September 13 2003, and "Inoki Bom-ba-ye 2003", where he defeated eventual UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin on New Year's Eve.

At 3-0, he began to fight in K-1's early MMA efforts, with wins against two high-ranked K-1 kickboxers, Michael McDonald and Sam Greco. His last match with the K-1 organization, at "K-1 HERO'S 1", he defeated former UFC Welterweight champion B. J. Penn in a unanimous decision. Penn, who began fighting at 155 lb, weighed considerably less than Machida. [ [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2396&zoneid=3 MMA WEEKLY - Your #1 Source for Daily MMA News, Interviews, Multimedia, and More: - LYOTO MACHIDA READY FOR U.S. DEBUT IN WFA ] ] . In Karate, he was Brazilian Champion twice, and 2nd in South American Championship. He also defeated American black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter, Rafael Lovato Jr. at the L.A. Sub X [ [http://www.ufc.com/ UFC : Ultimate Fighting Championship ] ]

After splitting with Inoki early 2006 as Inoki's management business fell apart, Machida signed with a newly revitalized World Fighting Alliance and began to compete in the United States. In his American debut, Machida defeated Vernon White via unanimous decision at the at "WFA: King of the Streets" event in Inglewood, California on July 22, 2006. After the WFA went out of business for the second time, the UFC acquired Machida's contract.

UFC career

His first two fights in the UFC were against Sam Hoger at "UFC 67" and David Heath at UFC 70. Both were victories by unanimous decision. His next fight was at against PRIDE veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura. He defeated Nakamura by unanimous decision.cite web
url=http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_news=970&lang=e&cur=eur
title=Nakamura to Make UFC Debut at UFC 76
last=Bolduc
first=Justin
date=2007-08-03
accessdate=2007-08-03
publisher=Nokaut] He fought at against former PRIDE FC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, winning via arm triangle choke. His most recent fight was against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 84 where he won via unanimous decision.

His next fight was originally scheduled to be against Thiago Silva, on Oct. 18th at UFC 89 in Birmingham England, however a back injury sustained by Silva prevented this fight from taking place [http://intheguard.tv/site/1/newsNews.php?id=257] . With this injury, Machida's current plans remain unknown.

Personal life

Machida is married to Fabyola. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=12847 And my wife, Fabyola, who cares for me everyday. ] ] The couple is expecting their first child. [ [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.Detail&gid=11776 Now, as he and his wife expect their own child, he understands what his father was doing for him as he prepared him for competition and for life, with lessons which have been seared into his mind, body, and soul.] ]

Mixed martial arts record

As of May 2008, Machida has compiled a professional record of 13 wins and no losses. Three of these wins are by knockout and two by submission. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=7513 Fight Finder - Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida's Mixed Martial Arts Statistics ] ] MMArecordbox
wins=13
ko-wins=3
sub-wins=2
dec-wins=8
nc=0

References

External links

* [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=7513 Professional MMA Record]
* [http://news.adcombat.com/article.html?id=6331 ADCC News Interview with Ryoto Machida]