When the UFC needed a replacement for Phil Davis in the main event of UFC 133 vs Rashad Evans they asked none other than former champion Lyoto Machida to step in. Dana White however told the media that when they called Machida’s camp that he had asked for “Anderson Silva money”. Due to this the UFC got “company man” Tito Ortiz to step in as a late replacement.
Thanks to BloodyElbow.com for the translation on an interview by Terra Esportes who spoke to Machida about the incident.
“I ask forgiveness for the misunderstanding, but not for what I’ve done, because I was not wrong. I never accepted the fight. I was coming back from injury and I had only been training for two weeks. In fact this training routine was only to keep in shape, and not for fighting.
“To patch a pothole, the price is different. It’s my career on the line. As I’ve said, I was coming back from injury and was only training for a small amount of time. I only asked for the type of money that would guarantee me tranquility for a certain time, because if I were to lose it would put me on the back of the line of candidates for the title. Aside from also being potentially injured, Rashad is not just ‘any’ type of fighter.”
Do you think as a former Light Heavyweight Champion he should have asked for more money?
