Name Lyoto Machida
Nickname The Dragon
Association Black House
Weight Class Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.)
Height 6′ 1″ (185 cm)
Reach 74in (188 cm)
Style Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Birth Date May 30, 1978
Fighting Out Of Belem, Brazil
Country Brazil
Lyoto Machida Pictures Official Website

”’Lyoto Carvalho Machida”’ is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently fighting as a Light Heavyweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The son of a Japanese-Brazilian Shotokan karate master, Yoshizo Machida, Lyoto holds an undefeated record that includes victories over former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, and current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn. Machida is noted for his controversial karate-influenced striking style that implements an unorthodox stance and an elusive strategy.

Machida fights out of Black House with such fighters as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, and former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Machida is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, losing to Mauricio Rua at UFC 113 Machida vs Shogun 2.

== Professional Record ==

Record 19 – 3 – 0 (Win â€Â“ Loss â€Â“ Draw)
Wins 7 (T)KOs
2 Submissions
10 Decisions
Losses 1 (T)KOs
1 Submissions
1 Decisions
Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time Notes
Win Dan Henderson Decision (Split) UFC 157 Rousey vs Carmouche 2/23/2013 3 5:00
Win Ryan Bader KO (Punches) UFC on FOX 4 Shogun vs Vera 8/4/2012 2 1:32
Loss Jon Jones Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) UFC 140 Jones vs Machida 12/10/2011 2 4:26 For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Won Fight of the Night
Win Randy Couture KO (Front Kick) [[UFC 129 St. Pierre vs Shields]] 4/30/2011 2 1:05
Loss Quinton Jackson Decision (Split) UFC 123 Rampage vs Machida 11/20/2010 3 5:00
Loss Mauricio Rua KO (Punches) UFC 113 Machida vs Shogun 2 5/08/2010 1 3:35 Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Win Mauricio Rua Decision (Unanimous) UFC 104 Machida vs Shogun 10/24/2009 5 5:00 Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Win Rashad Evans KO (Punches) UFC 98 Evans vs Machida 5/23/2009 2 3:57 Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Won Knockout of the Night Honors
Win Thiago Silva KO (Punches) [[UFC 94 St. Pierre vs Penn 2]] 1/31/2009 1 4:59 Won Knockout of the Night Honors
Win Tito Ortiz Decision (Unanimous) UFC 84 Ill Will 5/24/2008 3 5:00
Win Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) UFC 79 Nemesis 12/29/2007 2 4:20
Win Kazuhiro Nakamura Decision (Unanimous) UFC 76 Knockout 9/22/2007 3 5:00
Win David Heath Decision (Unanimous) UFC 70 Nations Collide 4/21/2007 3 5:00
Win Sam Hoger Decision (Unanimous) UFC 67 All or Nothing 2/03/2007 3 5:00 UFC debut
Win Vernon White Decision (Unanimous) WFA: King of the Streets 7/22/2006 3 5:00 After the fight, Machida went to compete in the UFC after they acquired his WFA contract
Win Dimitri Wanderley TKO (Exhaustion) JF 6: Jungle Fight 6 4/29/2006 3 2:24
Win B.J. Penn Decision (Unanimous) [[K-1: Hero’s 1]] 3/26/2005 3 5:00 Machida had a significant weight advantage over Penn
Win Sam Greco Decision (Split) [[K-1 MMA: ROMANEX]] 5/22/2004 3 5:00
Win Michael McDonald Submission (Forearm Choke) K-1: Beast 2004 3/14/2004 1 2:30
Win Rich Franklin TKO (Head Kick and Punches) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003: Inoki Festival 12/31/2003 2 1:03
Win Stephan Bonnar TKO (Cut) JF 1: Jungle Fight 1 9/13/2003 1 4:21
Win Kengo Watanabe Decision (Unanimous) NJPW: Ultimate Crush 5/02/2003 3 5:00

== Biography ==
Lyoto Machida was born in the city of Salvador as the third son of the highly ranked Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. Growing up in Belém, Machida began training in karate at the age of three and earned 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 the 2001 Pan American Karate tournament. He was also the runner-up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships in the 115 kg division. As an adult, he became Brazilian Champion twice, and placed 2nd in the South American Championship. He also defeated American black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter Rafael Lovato Jr. at L.A. Sub X. 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 number-one 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.

== Mixed Martial Arts Career ==
===Early Professional Career ===
In college, Machida met Japanese pro wrestler and promoter Antonio Inoki. Seeing potential in Machida, Inoki took him as a protégé and billed him as an upcoming star. Machida continued training, taking up Muay Thai in Thailand and wrestling at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo. Japanese media soon dubbed him “The Second Inoki”. Machida made his MMA debut in Inoki’s New Japan Pro Wrestling: Ultimate Crush on May 2, 2003, where he defeated journeyman Pancrase fighter Kengo Watanabe by decision. He looked more comfortable in his follow-up fight against future The Ultimate Fighter 1 runner-up Stephan Bonnar, whom he defeated by cut stoppage. In his third fight, he faced 12-0 UFC veteran Rich Franklin as an underdog at Inoki Bom-ba-ye 2003. Machida dominated the fight and landed a powerful combination that dropped Franklin to the mat, where Machida finished the fight with strikes early in the second round.

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. In his last match with the K-1 organization, K-1 Hero’s 1, he faced the former UFC welterweight champion B.J. Penn, who was considered to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters at the time, but who came to the fight at a significant weight disadvantage. Machida landed the cleaner shots en route to a decision, but did not gain much recognition for the victory due to his inability to finish the smaller fighter.

After permanently splitting with Inoki’s failing promotion in early 2006, 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 WFA: King of the Streets event in Inglewood, California. After the WFA went out of business for the second time, the UFC acquired Machida’s contract.

=== UFC Career ===
Machida made his UFC debut on the preliminary card of UFC 67 against Sam Hoger, winning by unanimous decision. He followed up with a main-card debut at UFC 76, winning a unanimous decision against David Heath. He next faced judo practitioner and PRIDE Fighting Championship veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura. Machida won another unanimous decision, and Nakamura would later test positive for marijuana.

At UFC 79, Machida faced the highly touted Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a judo practitioner who was making his UFC debut after two quick upset victories over Pride veterans Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona. He scored the first stoppage of his UFC career by submitting Sokoudjou in an arm triangle choke in the second round.

Machida’s next fight was at UFC 84, facing former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in what would be Ortiz’s final UFC appearance. Machida frustrated Ortiz with lateral movement and counterstriking while successfully defending against the former champion’s takedowns. In the final seconds of the third round, Machida landed a flying knee to the body of Ortiz and knocked him to the mat. As Machida moved in to finish the fight, Ortiz almost locked in a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar attempt. However, Machida managed to escape and win a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring 30-27 in his favor.

Machida was originally scheduled to fight fellow undefeated Brazilian Thiago Silva at UFC 89 in Birmingham England, however, a back injury sustained by Silva prevented the fight from taking place. The fight ultimately took place at UFC 94. After scoring several trips and knockdowns, Machida managed to knockout the grounded Silva in the final second of the first round. Machida’s first UFC knockout earned Knockout of the Night honors and a $65,000 bonus.

=== Light Heavyweight Championship ===
Machida next faced, then-champion Rashad Evans for the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 98 Evans vs Machida. Machida would serve as a replacement for Quinton Jackson, who declined the fight against Evans to heal and rest after a bout with Keith Jardine at UFC 96 Jackson vs Jardine. Jackson would be the number one contender to face the winner of Machida versus Evans. Machida put on a stellar performance, dominated Evans throughout the fight, barely receiving any damage. He won the Light Heavyweight Championship at 3:57 of the second round, knocking Evans out cold, and handing Evans his first career loss. The knockout also earned him his second Knockout of the Night Honors in a row.

: “Now that I’ve become champion is when the real work begins,” Machida said at UFC 98’s post-fight press conference. “My goal is always to go out there and become a better fighter every time I step into the octagon. Now, with the title, there is even more responsibility to do that.

: “I’ll go back home, my father will analyze the tapes with my brothers and see the mistakes that I’ve made, and (I’ll) try to improve.”

After Machida won the Light Heavyweight Championship, Dana White announced that the first to challenge his title would be Quinton Jackson.

: “For every fighter I have a different strategy in my training because every fighter has different weaknesses,” Machida said. “My goal is to study Jackson’s weaknesses and try to capitalize off his mistakes.”

Soon after the comments were made, it was announced that Quinton would be a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 10, along with Rashad Evans. Jackson stated that he wanted to fight Evans first, so Mauricio Rua was given the first shot at Machida’s title. The fight took place at UFC 104 Machida vs Shogun on October 24, 2009. Machida won a very close unanimous decision victory. He was awarded a unanimous decision (48-47) victory from all three judges, though there was disagreement as to which round went to which fighter. UFC President Dana White stated during the post-fight press conference that he “thought Shogun won the fight” and was “ready to make the rematch as fast as we can.” Both fighters agreed to the rematch as well.

=== Machida vs Rua Controversy ===
The decision resulted in controversy, with many members of the audience reacting negatively. UFC president Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Rampage Jackson, Randy Couture, Thiago Silva, Jon Jones, Antonio Silva and Frank Trigg stated they felt that Rua won the fight. Writers for a number of sports websites/magazines also claimed they felt Rua had won.

Out of the three judges, Hamilton gave Machida Rounds 2, 3 and 4. Peoples and Rosales each gave Machida the first three rounds. One of the judges (Nelson Hamilton) later commented in a post-fight interview that his line of site was obstructed for much of the action in Round 4, and that after reviewing footage of the round, he likely would have scored the round to Rua. However, since the verdict was unanimous, retroactively changing the score for this judge would still have resulted in a 2-1 split decision in favor of Machida. Hamilton also commented that he felt the commentary had led many fans to believe Shogun had won the fight decisively, when it was a very close, technical and difficult fight to score for all three judges.

There were many in attendance who supported the decision when interviewed afterwards. Among them were other notable MMA fighters, including Minotauro Noguiera, Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos, Andre Pederneiras and Rafael Cavalcante, all of whom are training partners with Machida.

A Fightmetric analysis of the fight suggested that Rua had been more aggressive and had landed more blows to the head and legs than Machida, while CompuStrike reported that Rua landed almost twice as many strikes as Machida did. Both Fightmetric and Compustrike explicitly state on their websites that they are not intended to be used to judge MMA events, with CompuStrike stating “The CompuStrike program is in no way, shape, or form designed to judge a MMA event.”

=== Shogun Re-match ===
Machida was then scheduled to face Rua in a rematch for the title, at UFC 113 Machida vs Shogun 2 on May 8, 2010, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The rematch was set for seven months after the original fight due to an injury Machida suffered in his hand during the first fight with Rua. Mauricio Rua wasted little time taking the fight to Machida. Whereas the first meeting was a strategic affair with both competitors throwing kicks from distance, “Shogun” quickly let his hands fly in the rematch. He clipped Machida with the blows before the champ took the fight to the mat on two occasions. But Rua quickly escaped, and after the second restart, connected on a beautiful overhand right that sent Machida crashing to the mat.

Rua sensed the finish and quickly followed with nearly a dozen punches until referee Yves Lavigne called for the KO (Punches) stoppage at the 3:35 mark of the opening round. The KO finish not only earned Rua the UFC Light Heavyweight title and the Knockout of the Night Honors, but he handed Machida his first career loss.

== The Machida Divide ==
Machida uses a unique style that combines elements from his diverse training background. Often described as “elusive”, Machida relies on cautious and precise counter-striking that frustrates his opponents into making mistakes. Machida has earned considerable respect from MMA fans, fighters, and commentators for his effectiveness and winning ways. At the same time, his cerebral and conservative style is sometimes deemed boring and unsatisfying to watch. Machida has drawn ire from fans, and criticism from MMA commentators for his limited aggression and stoppage victories. In response to these criticisms, Machida said, “If you don’t like it, sorry. I always try to win. For some that is boring, I know, but I am beating the best in the world.”

Machida defied expectations at UFC 94, where he earned a Knockout of the Night honor for his first-round stoppage of then undefeated Thiago Silva. Commentators hailed the knockout as a step in the right direction toward building interest in him as a potential champion. In addition, Machida showcased his improved English skills during interviews for the event, giving him the ability to connect with fans more easily. Machida’s limited English was previously seen as a marketing liability.

== Personal Life ==
Machida is married to Fabyola. The couple have a son named Taiyo, who was born in September 2008.

== Ranks and Titles ==
* Mixed Martial Arts
** UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
* Karate
** Brazilian Champion twice
** 2nd in South American Championship
* Black Belt in Shotokan Karate
* Black Belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu