"I think Machida is getting a lot of hype, and I know he has lots of big wins over a lot of big fighters, and a lot of experience over me. I don't think he's Christ; I think he's very beatable. They're looking at him and his karate like he's Bruce Lee. He's not Bruce Lee. He's very beatable. I honestly believe that a great Muay Thai champion will beat a great karate fighter any day; it's been proven on lots of occasions. If Machida has (the belt) by the time I get to that level, I'll be ready for him. I'll have a lot of game planning and a lot of strategy ready. I want to be that greater Muay Thai fighter to beat a great karate champion. I don't think Rashad Evans came with any type of game plan, but to look really cool or look really fancy, dancing around in pretty footwork stances. He really didn't come up with any way to beat him. I didn't see any of his strengths. I didn't see any takedown attempts or any straight right hands that are always good against southpaws or anything. He was just out there looking flashy. I'm going to go out there and pull the trigger if I ever get to fight Machida. I respect him a lot, but I definitely think he's very beatable. I know I have a lot of time before I get to that level of fighting him, but when I do, I definitely won't be nervous or intimidated by him at all, and (I'll be) ready to fight him."
-- Perhaps the most promising light heavyweight prospect to come along in years, Jon Jones, talks to the USA Today about the latest UFC 205-pound champion, Lyoto Machida. "Bones" -- who is undefeated in MMA (8-0) and in the UFC (2-0) -- feels that his style and approach to fighting would be successful against the elusive "Dragon." However, he provides an honest self-assessment by saying he's not quite at that championship level yet. In fact, he'll have to first dispatch of Jake O'Brien at UFC 100 on July 11 before even being considered for a bump up the contender ladder -- the light heavyweight class is crowded up top. But Jones has shown that he possesses the rare mix of raw talent, youth, athleticism, skill and a set of brass balls to really make some noise at 205 pounds for a very long time. And if Machida can hold onto the belt, which has proven difficult of late in that particular weight class, then it may be only a matter of time before Jones gets the opportunity to back up his words with punches, kicks and throws.