UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones is set to take on former PRIDE/Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson on September 1. However, Lyoto Machida is lurking in the wings waiting for his next shot at Jones’ belt if he defeats Hendo in Las Vegas.
On Friday, in an interview with ESPN.com, Jones made it crystal clear that he has absolutely no interest in fighting Lyoto Machida again.
“I don’t want to fight Lyoto Machida. He was my lowest pay-per-view draw of last year. No one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. I don’t want to fight Lyoto again. Lyoto is high risk and low reward.
Machida was given the number one contender status by UFC President Dana White following his KO victory over Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4 earlier this month. Many fans and critics alike were surprised by this decision, as Machida has only fought once since losing to Jones back at UFC 140.
“He’s a tough fighter, but no one wants to buy that fight. Between (Mauricio) Shogun (Rua), (Quinton) Rampage (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans), Lyoto was my lowest draw. Why would I want to fight someone where it’s a lose-lose situation? I won’t make money on it, and he’s a tricky fighter.”
With the champ having no interest in the Machida fight, Dana White may have to look into his crystal ball and find a new challenger for Jones’ title.
The only situation that would work out in Machida’s favor, is if Henderson beats Jones at UFC 151.
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Alexander Gustafsson is gonna become the next champion 🙂