The monster light heavyweight clash between unbeatens Thiago Silva and Lyoto Machida appears to now be set for UFC 94 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, according to Tatame.com.
It was a 205-pound bout that was originally scheduled for UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” on October 18; however, Silva had to withdraw from the contest because of a back injury sustained during training. The cancellation was a bummer because it was a highly anticipated match up between two of the top contenders in the division.
And there was some concern that the injury would scrap the bout altogether, but it appears that it will go down once and for all on Super Bowl weekend.
Machida has won five straight inside the Octagon, including big time bouts against Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Kazuhiro Nakamura among others. He’s perhaps one of the most difficult fighters to figure out — “The Dragon” has a technical fight style that appears to frustrate his opponents, as well as a few fans who claim he is “boring.”
Regardless, he’s been knocking on the door of a title shot for some time now. And a win over a bad dude like Silva would certainly improve his chances.
Silva brings the fierce Chute Boxe aggression into his fights (even though he is now no longer with the camp), stopping all but one of his opponents throughout his exciting mixed martial arts career. He has an explosive mix of punches and kicks, which can often leave him open to counter strikes.
However, Silva has proven that he can take punishment and dish out more … just ask Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes.
UFC 94 already features the blockbuster showdown between champions Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn. Stay tuned for more UFC 93 rumors and fight card updates.
90 Comments »
music to my ears!
CANT F’in wait to see how this fight unfolds.
Props to Silva for being th eonly bad ass with the stones to face Machida. For the idiots who have been trashing him for saying he faked he injury to get out of the Fight, I say…..HI HATER!
Thank God they kept this fight together. Now I am looking forward to UFC 93 way more than 91 or 92. Not to worry it is only 4 months away… Wait a minute, 4 months, NOOOOOOO!
wow, the ufc is giving me quite a birthday present. bj vs rush, and thiago vs machida, plus the rest of the card. awesome!! hopefully thiago can pull this off.
Great news. Just such a shame it wasn’t UFC89 as that was by far the biggest fight on the card and Im just pissed Im not gonna get to see it live.
Dana needs to book another big fight to make up for it I think.
ufc 93 is turning out to be one of the best cards ever
bj vs gsp
wandy vs rampage(probally)
silva vs machida
I really dont see why everyone is so pumped for this fight. Its not the best matchup. Yeah their both undefeated, but i think Machida has the perfect style to beat Silva quite easily. I pretty much know how this fight is going to turn out. I would rather see Thiago fight Boner. And Lyoto fight Shogun.
really…Vitor Belfort?????
just playin, i agree. Machida takes this fight no prob, Machida vs. Shogun would be a far better match-up.
What u got against Vitor?
I am actually not sure about this one. It could also go the other way quite easily. He may be open to counter strikes, but Lyoto does not have great KO power, and Thiago does have a good chin. I actually would think Thiago is very capable of finishing this fight, but if it goes the distance, then of course it favors Machida.
I will be honest and admit that I am one of the people who find Machida a bit boring, so I would have rather seen Wandy vs. Machida instead. Shogun would be a good match up too, but I think they may end up having Liddell vs. Shogun fight. I have nothing to base this on except for the fact that it was the original match up for the number 1 spot, and now the fight still makes sense.
I agree that there were some haters calling him out. One guy even had the nads to ask why he backed out of the fight if his injury could heal in the two months prior to the fight. This fight is much more convincing IMO than a Rashad fight. I’m incredibly excited for this fight and I’m going to go with Machida based on intimidating looks. He seriously looks like he could kill any man from the picture above.
I don’t really have an opinion on this fight but I do think anyone that actually still uses “hater” is pretty lame…
Completely Agree
When you both have something to actually contribute to the forum I’ll take your opinions seriously. Agreed
Agreed.
“Hi Hater!” That sh*t makes me laugh.
It sounds like something that Tutti would say from “the facts of life”.
HI HATER…
HI GEEK…
PLAYA HATER…
Ahhhhhh, man, LMFAO, you guys are killin’ me!
Hahahaha!!!
Jaswin420 and Kory need to know that if they take a swipe at john then PhilQNY is gonna join the rumble!
Lol everyone on here is on a forum talking about other peoples careers. I don’t think you have the right to throw around the word geek on here. We are all geeks
, so stop your hating 420, you B-A stoner you.
C.E.S., good point. We spend WAY too much of our time examining certain aspects of other peoples’ lives. It could be worse. We could be fantasy football geeks! lol
This fight was just meant to happen. No other fights make sense for either of them. It’s good that Machida said he wants to wait for thiago. I am really hoping thiago takes it but i think this will be the fight that puts machida as #1 contender.
OMG This is amazing ! Just another good fight added 2 the card I’m going to see !
YES!!!!!! Now this is a fight I can’t wait for. Please, please, please MMA gods let this fight happen this time.
when is Antonio Mendes fighting again? I love that guy!
Man, that guy is a poor man’s Luis Cane but i think he’s back fighting somewhere in Fortaleza.
when I use my flying knee, he won’t smile anymore! lol
Great news. Looking forward to this one!
Thiago will win this one
agreed hopefully thiago can really put an exclamation point on it.
Lyoto will win this one
I agree….didnt Thiago come close to getting finished in his last fight? If I remember correctly he got dropped…Machida is a technical accurate little dude…doesnt matter if he hits hard or not, if you are accurate you will drop someone. I think Machida wins in the 3rd. I used to hate on Machida, but I’d like to see him fight for the belt. No one has even come close to finishing him in the UFC.
Tito did from his back..
very close
I was thinking in terms of a KO/TKO which I guess getting choked out would be a TKO….but yea that was close your right
This with GSp/BJ and Rampage/Wanderlei, I would love to see another big match-up to lock up the top 4 fights on the main card.
It’s the best UFC card ever.
What about Sherk vs. Florian II
or Stevenson vs. Griffin.. or either way winer of Stevenson/Florian and Griffin and Sherk should fight each other to determine who fights BJ.
What about Nate Diaz?
Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida or Roger Huerta.
All of this sounds like f’in heaven!
It’s like a MMAgasm.
Mr. NC-17, I didn’t think Diaz had to take the Fitch road to a title shot. He is 5-0 in the UFC and would have to go 7-0 to get a shot because Guida or Huerta won’t get him there. Lame…
You have to think Florian is on a raid, Tyson Griffin is on a raid, Sean Sherk is a former champion, its extremely tough to say who is going to be that sure fire number 1 contender.
Tyson Griffin 4-0 his last 4 fights. Defeated Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares, Glieson Tiabu and Marcus Aurelio. IF he defeats Sean Sherk he will be 5-0 his last 5 fights against top notch competiton. Could you say Nate Diaz vs. Tyson Griffin? Nate has been calling out Tyson, and Tyson vs. Nate could very well be a number 1 contender match. BUT, is Kenny Florian loses, Tyson Griffin would be the next to get a title shot.
Sean Sherk- Defeated Kenny Florian to capture Lightweight belt, then defeated Hermes Franca. Lost to BJ Penn for the Belt. I think he needs to win one more before he is the contender. Possibly Joe Stevenson if he defeats Kenny Florian.
Kenny Florian- 8-1 his last 9 UFC fights. Only loss to Sean Sherk. He is on a 5 fight win streak. Mishima, Robinson, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon and Roger Huerta are his last 5 victims. If Kenny Florian wins against Joe Stevenson, he will of beat another contender and will move his streak up to 6, knocking off two of the top 6 lightweights. Kenny Florian is the number 1 guy to get the next shot if victorious.
Joe Stevenson- 5-1 his past 6 fights, only loss is to BJ Penn for the Belt. If Stevenson defeats Kenny Florian, then Joe Stevenson could possibly fight Nate Diaz or Sean Sherk (if victorious) I say that he has to win 1 more fight if he defeats Kenny Florian. So if Stevenson wins, he could fight Sean Sherk, but a much more marketable match for the number 1 contendership would be Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson.
So either way, as I just broke it down, Nate Diaz’s next opponent really sould be Joe Stevenson or Tyson Griffin if they can pull off a victory over KenFlo and Sean Sherk. Now if both of them lose, could we see a nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida? Nate Diaz vs. Sean Sherk? Nate Diaz vs. Roger Huerta?
Think about it. Tough stuff.
LOL… Take a breath. You didn’t have to do all that, I know the deal.
I love that BJ is fighting GSP, but it obviously screws up the LW division. I think Nate deserves a top LW for his next fight, then again it seems like all the LW are top guys. The ideal situation for me would be Tyson wins and fights Nate and Kenny wins and fighs BJ and the winner of Tyson/Diaz fight winner of BJ/Kenny.
Yeah I know, but I figured I had to break it really down so that people can see what can really happen. I am going to throw another cork-wrench in there. Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard. Rich Clementi is riding a 6 fight win streak. Gray Maynard is riding a 3 fight UFC win streak. Now a Gray Maynard vs Nate Diaz II fight owuld be appealing to viewers because of the history of the Ultimate Fighter 5. Also, Rich Clemtenti if he defeats Gray Maynard can not be denied a top 8 lightweight and a possible dark horse to get a top 5 lightweight. Clementi vs. Diaz could happen as well.
Unfortunatly those guys are getting thrown to the undercard. I actually think that will be a better fight than Sherk/Tyson. But like it or not those guys still have some more work to do before they get talked about with the rest of the guys we discussed.
Clementi vs Diaz.. hm, never thought about that one, but that could be a good fight.
I’m goin’ with Mr. “No Love” on this one!
I really hope Silva fights like Rashad did. Make Machida the aggressor and he will lose!
LOL @ trying to make Machida the aggressor. Machida is too patient for that, and Thiago has a bull’s mentality. There is no secret formula that will beat Machida. He will not be “exposed”. The way to beat Machida is to have a BETTER FIGHTER face him. But we have yet to see that.
Machida has range with his legkicks. Thiago will need to figure out something for that.
Not gonna happen man, nice thought though. Machida is a technical dismantler. I can’t think of anyone who could mentally take him off his game.
a naked butterbean could do it
LOL.
tonight spike is playing the ufc 75 card with rampage and hendo its at 9 pm here in cali idk for others though thats PST time zone
i dont see silva winning this by letting machida come to him. thiago isnt fast enough or a great counter striker. im really not sure how he could beat machida without submitting him or lay and pray.
what about his strength advantage or his brutal GnP.. my prediction is that they will clinch up Silva will take him down and just smash his face into pieces..
Tito is as strong as a bull and he got manhandled by Machida…slammed to the mat and dropped by a knee to the body…Thiago wont pose any threats other than he is an agressive striker who will go for the kill thereby playing into Machida’s game of counter striking.
Good point. Even Randy has commented on how strong Tito is and Randy has fought heavyweights.
sure Tito is very strong i know, but that takedown Machida got came just because Tito was holding back and Machida was still going 100% and the knee to the liver had nothing to do about strength either it was just perfect timing.. Tito is much stronger than Machida and so is Thiago Silva the only difference between those 2 is that Tito has problems with letting his hands go and he’s not even going for his takedowns 100% that is not a problem for Thiago Silva.. and Machida as we know has not got knockout power
Remember, Machida was training his wrestling with Cain Velasquez, who is most likely stronger than Thiago and would possess better wrestling.
My big questions however is: Who fights Shogun now? Maybe Rich Franklin?
Why are people syaing Machida does not have KO power? I’m pretty sure hes got KO power…maybe not like Rampage or Liddell, but hes got that accurate “if I hit you in the right spot” KO power…and he msot likely will since hes so accurate and patient. I guess we will find out in January…
He hasn’t KO’d anyone yet in his career so it would be a shocker if he’d knock T.Silva out.. anyone can score a knockdown and win by TKO if the punches are accurate but it’s another thing to get a KO.. also Machida’s game is about scoring points not going for knockouts
A FEW fans think Machida’s a boring fighter??
That’s like saying a FEW people think gasoline is expensive these days.
Jesus!
Penn vs. GSP II
Wand vs. Rampage III
Lyoto vs. Thaigo
first UFC card I have looked forward to since UFC 84.
Too bad the sky is falling so there is no chance of me going to see this card in person. This card is epic.
this better mean that Rampage/Wandy is still on for 91 cuz I’m sorry but I bought a ticket for 91 and that was the fight that made me do it. I don’t give a shit about Brock or Randy, I care about my boy Rampage and if he’s not fighting I don’t want the ticket. And it sucks cuz I already booked my flight and you know how that shit works, non-cancellation policies and what not.
thats why its safer to buy the ticket at the last minute possible….but then you get screwed on seating if there is even any avaliable
Eh, sometimes stubhub has some great seats at the last minute though. I’m too neurotic for that. I get my tickets right away too during the presale. If I’m going to spend that kind of money I want to make sure I get what I want and it’s always worth it.
chgyeeeeaaa!! this card is staccccckkkked! not only are they all legendary fighters but each fight means something.
Penn vs. GSP – the sequel to their split decision. champ vs champ.
Wand vs. Rampage – Chance for revenge after getting beat twice and bouncing back from recent mishaps.
Lyoto vs. Thiago – aggressive vs. defensive. both 13-0 fighters.
i think i’m going to sh*t my pants, it don’t get no bigger than this… could it?
I don’t think so kama kaze mah man, hehe!
im just annoyed that all the big fights scheduled for britain get cancelled, liddell v evans/ machida v thiago!! i know its injuries but the card should be stronger in my opinion especially when USA get all the top fights. we deserve a top show, plus ufc is trying to build itself abroad, we should be getting the likes of liddell for his next fight or wandi/a silva/gsp etc!! atleast once a year a big card pleae dana!!!!
we are fans aswell!
This Is going to be a nice pay day … GSP/Machida/Rampage !
I cant wait for GSP/Penn III !!! It will happen f*ckers
I have a really good idea and I’m surprised this hasn’t even been considered before. Seeing as the main card of a UFC PPV event guarantees 5 fights and there are 5 divisions in the UFC, Why don’t they make a SUPERCARD where the main card is a title fight from every weight class. Every champ defends his belt on the same card. Please tell me what could be bad about this idea. It would sell far more than any UFC event in history and depending on where it would take place, it might sell more tickets and ppv’s than any performance or event in any location in the US! UFC 100 would be the perfect event for this idea because first of all 100 is a pretty big important number, it will only happen once, and it would represent how amazing the UFC is and how far it’s come since 1993. I would appreciate anyone’s feedback as long as it’s intelligent and not some stupid-ass remark like “they would never do that.” That’s not an intelligent well thought out response. This is a great idea so let’s debate the possibilities of it happening.
UFC 100 will take place probably next august or september I assume, so there is time to make it happen. however if you have BJ holding both the 155 and 170 belts it cant happen. Also if they got all the champs to fight at the same time you would not only lack any title fights for a few months after that, but wouldn’t the title holders be in a pattern where they would each be ready to fight again at the same time a few months after that?
actually champs don’t often fight at even intervals and I don’t see how they couldn’t work it out. The ultimate fighter show delays fights by as much as 10 months as we have seen when the champions are coaches. Title contention fights have to play out first which creates new time slots all the time for title fights, not to mention injuries, breaks, and the fact that there are lots of instances where champions are ready to fight again but it doesn’t mean they fight at the nearest opportunity. Joe silva is not stupid and I guarantee you, the fact that his profession is primarily matching up fighters, he could easily work out the future post UFC-100 fights so everything wouldn’t get screwed up.
I do have an issue with you patting yourself on the back so hard before even hearing any alternate points of view. That being said, it’s a very interesting idea that could make for an amazing show. I would see the primary issue being that it would not only sideline the champions for a few months after the event, but they wouldn’t be fighting for a few months before the event either. That would result in 4-5 UFC events without a title fight, which might not be worth it for the UFC. Also, since their events are already very successful they might not want to take a chance on putting on so many shows without title fights. However, if they were to put together compelling number one contender matches for the shows around UFC 100, and judiciously use stars (like Chuck Liddell) who aren’t in title contention they might be able to pull it off. There is also the issue of the title fights being 5 rounds and not 3. That would make for a scheduling issue, even though there’s no way they would all go to a decision.
It is a good idea though, so props for that. It would be the most exciting event in UFC history thats for sure, but something tells me that Dana wouldn’t go for it for the same reasons he chooses not to do other exciting things like tournaments and co promotions.
It’s a good idea, but not only are there the obstacles already mentioned, there is also the obstacle of all five champions and all five #1 contenders not getting injured before the fight. Even if the UFC was to luck out that all five champs didn’t get injured, and it was one of the #1 challengers, there is another problem. The UFC would have probably used up all of the #2, #3, #4 and #5 challengers against one another in UFC 97, 98 and 99 to make up for not using the champs. And the #6, #7, #8 and #9 would probably be slated to fight each other for UFC 101, 102 and 103. However, they may or may not be willing to step up on short notice to fight for the belt against one of the champs. My point is, some of the Championship fights may turn out to be a champ vs. a #10 contender. Or if a champ got injured, then an interim champ fight between the #6 and #7 contenders. You’re idea would be a dream come true, but it would take God himself to want to see it for it to come to fruition with the amount of luck involved for everything to fall into place.
I was sick when I heard this fight was off the first time, glad it’s back. Gotta go with Lyoto, the only thing Thiago really has on him is ko power. Lyoto is stronger (reference Tito & Soku fights – both of whom are stronger than Thiago) faster, more intellegent, more accurate and better on the ground. That said, Thiago can ko any man…this is a great fight and looks to be a great card. Can’t wait to see this card followed by a Titans Superbowl win, best weekend ever baby.
i call thiago to win this, that is if machida stops circling away from the fight and outpointing him… if machida engages more it could end with a tko or sub win for thiago im hoping.
Thiago is such a badass.. he should just run after him and take it to him!
ya he should just run after him and let Machida end up like Kalib Starnes.
This will be a difficult fight for Silva. Machida is a very intelligent fighter who rarely makes mistakes.