Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Carvalho Machida is a professional mixed martial artist from Brazil who currently is signed with Bellator MMA and competes in the middle weight division. Lyoto Machida formerly competed for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). It was here that Machida was the former UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion as well as a UFC Middle Weight Championship title challenger.

MMA Instructional DVD:

Machida Karate is a martial art system that has proven to be a powerful and effective method of combat and self defense. Both Former UFC Light HeavyWeight Champion LYOTO MACHIDA and his Brother and CHINZO MACHIDA have demonstrated success in their professional fighting careers with fluid movement, speed and a straight-forward counter attacking style as the SIGNATURE component of Machida Karate. It is easy to learn, practical and very applicable for any age or physical ability and is a great way for Instructors to further develop their own martial skills as well. Machida Karate serves as the ideal program to add to any dojo program whether it be supplemental or as the main curriculum.

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Titles and Accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
One successful title defense vs. Maurício Rua
Knockout of the Night (Four times) vs. Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture and Mark Muñoz
Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Jon Jones, Gegard Mousasi and Chris Weidman
Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. C.B. Dollaway and Vitor Belfort

Other Awards

Sherdog Awards 2011 Knockout of the Year vs. Randy Couture & Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame
Black Belt Magazine: 2009 Fighter of the Year
MMA Torch.com: 2014 Fight of the Year vs. Chris Weidman at UFC 175
Fight Matrix: 2014 Most Noteworthy Match of the Year vs. Chris Weidman on 5 July 2014
MMAJunkie.com: 2014 July Fight of the Month vs. Chris Weidman

Lyoto Machida Biography

Lyoto was born in Salvador, Brazil. He is the third son of Shotokan Karate master Yoshizo Machida, the highly ranked head of the Brazilian branch of the Japan Karate Association. Yoshizo had moved to Brazil from Japan when he was only 22 years old. It was in Brazil that he met and married Lyoto’s mother, Ana Claudia. Lyoto grew up in Belem and started training in karate at the age of 3. By the age of 13 he had already earned his black belt. He began training in sumo at the age of 8 as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing at the age of sixteen.

Lyoto would go on to win a number of amateur karate tournaments including the 2001 Pan American Karate tournament. He travelled to Thailand to study Muay Thai. Then he went to Japan to study grappling at the NJPW Dojo. Finally, he moved to the United States in order to pursue his UFC career.

Machida was the runner up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships. He became the Brazilian Champion twice as an adult as well as placing second in the South American Championship. Lyoto defeated the American fighter Rafael Lovato Jr at L. A. Sub X. Lovato was a black belt in jiu jitsu at the time. Lyoto also had a college degree in Physical Education. His older brother Chinzo is also a Shotokan karate champion and MMA fighter for Bellator MMA. His other brothers include Kenzo Machida, a TV journalist for one of Brazil's biggest TV stations, and Take Machida.

Machida began his career in mixed martial arts under the management of legendary professional wrestler and MMA pioneer Antonio Inoki in Japan. Lyoto would go on to defeat Kengo Watanabe by decision during his pro debut on a card promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling, hosted in Tokyo. In his second fight, Lyoto defeated the future UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonner by technical knock out. This was Bonnar's first professional loss. The on December 31, 2003, Lyoto fought future UFC Middle Weight Champion Rich Franklin in a catch weight bout. Machida defeated Franklin by technical knock out in the second round. This was Franklin's first professional defeat.

Following this, Lyoto went on to compete for the K – 1 Promotion. He beat kickboxer Michael McDonald by submission and Sam Greco by split decision under MMA rules. He then took on former UFC Welter Weight Champion BJ Penn on March 26th, 2005 in Saitama at Hero’s 1 in an open weight match. Machida won by unanimous decision.

Lyoto Machida then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He made his UFC debut at UFC 67 against Sam Hoger and won by unanimous decision. Lyoto faced opponents such as the undefeated David Heath, Pride Fighting Champ veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura, high level Judokan Sokoudjou, UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion Tito Ortiz, undefeated Brazilian contender Thiago Silva and more. Machida then met Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans in another clash of undefeated fighters on the main event of UFC 98. Machida scored an early knockdown in the first round and ultimately knocked Evans out with a flurry of punches at 3:57 of the second round, becoming the tenth UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion. His performance earned him Knockout of the Night honors with a $60,000 bonus for the second time.

Because of the controversy surrounding their first title fight, at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Machida and Rua rematched, seven months after their original fight. In the much anticipated rematch, both fighters started aggressively and scored significant points in striking exchanges, with Machida scoring two takedowns during the round. Rua showed strong defense on the ground, spinning to attempt a kneebar before both fighters returned to their feet. In a striking exchange, Rua swerved to avoid a left straight from Machida and landed a powerful counter overhand right to the temple, which knocked Machida down. Rua then took the full mount and proceeded to knock Machida out with ground and pound, making him the new Light Heavyweight Champion.

After a few more bouts at light heavy weight, Machida made the decision to move down to the middle weight division. His first fight at middle weight was a bout with his friend and training partner Mark Muñoz on 26 October 2013, at UFC Fight Night 30. Machida defeated Muñoz via head kick KO in the first round, earning him his fourth Knockout of the Night award. For his second bout in the middleweight division, Machida returned to Brazil and faced former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. Machida won the fight via unanimous decision after five rounds. A title fight with Chris Weidman eventually took place at UFC 175 on 5 July 2014. Machida lost the fight via unanimous decision. Machida next faced C.B. Dollaway on 20 December 2014 at UFC Fight Night 58. Machida won the fight via TKO only 62 seconds into the first round. From here Machida would go on to lose two fights against Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero. On 13 August 2016, Machida faced former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC welterweight contender, Jake Shields on lost by inside heel hook with only 30 seconds remaining in the match. Next Machida faced Derek Brunson on 28 October 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Machida would end his time in the UFC with a win against Eryk Anders at UFC Fight Night 125 and a win against Vitor Belfort on May 12th, 2018 at UFC 224.

It was reported that Machida signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA on the 22 of June, 2018. Machida made his promotional debut against former Bellator Middle Weight Champion Rafael Carvalho. On weigh in day, Carvalho missed weight and was fined 20% of his purse and the fight proceeded as a CatchwWeight bout. Machida went on to defeat Carvalho by split decision.