FiveouncesofpainDan Henderson meeting Lyoto Machida at UFC 157
It looks like light heavyweights Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida finally have a date, location, and event for their long-rumored rumble. However, it doesn’t involve Super Bowl Weekend as originally expected though the pairing will still take place in February.
According to a report from TATAME, Henderson and Machida have been matched up for a meeting on February 23 at UFC 157. The fight is the first to be linked to the Anaheim bound lineup.
The bout will mark Henderson’s return to the cage after an extended layoff based on both injury and his decision to wait for a shot at divisional champion Jon Jones. He has not fought in a year (to the day as a matter of fact), picking up a decision win over Mauricio Rua to extend his current run of victories to four straight. He was set to mix it up with Jones earlier this year but suffered a knee injury and was forced out of the tilt. Despite the break from action, “Hendo” should be fine given his experience. The 29-8 Henderson has found past success against the likes of and Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Fedor Emelianenko.
Machida was last seen stopping Ryan Bader with strikes in August. A former UFC title-holder, “The Dragon” holds an overall record of 18-3 including knockouts of Franklin, Randy Couture, Thiago Silva, and Rashad Evans.
Moving on..