Lyoto Machida has no plans of retiring from MMA anytime soon: “I’m motivated to fight”
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida says he has no plans of retiring from MMA, remarking that “I’m motivated to fight.”
Machida is 43 years old now and he has lost his last three fights in Bellator to Ryan Bader, Phil Davis, and Gegard Mousasi. Despite his recent skid, “The Dragon” believes that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Speaking to AG Fight in a recent interview, Machida said that he is still motivated to step into the cage and to fight. Despite his advanced age and losing skid, the Brazilian wants to fight for two more years.
“There’s no shortage of gas in that tank and the most important thing is motivation. I’m motivated to fight. I don’t want to end this way. I know when to stop. So if he leaves it in my hands, he’ll have to wait. I believe that another year and a half, two years of struggle is still there. If you are motivated to wake up, train, there is this flame, there is no reason (to stop. If you are in line with your category too. I train with Glover (Teixeira), Rodolfo (Vieira), (Alex) Poatan (Pereira),” Machida said.
Although the results in terms of wins and losses haven’t been there lately for Machida, he’s confident that he is doing the right things in training to make sure that he is prepared to fight today’s wave of fighters. With just one more fight left on his Bellator contract, it will be interesting to see where Machida goes next. A return to the UFC seems unlikely, but there are more MMA organizations now than ever before.
“You don’t know how willing I am to fight. I believe in myself a lot. Every time I try to innovate, reinvent myself, bring something new to training, to the fight, and that lights the flame. I don’t want to be that fighter with the same quality all the time. I know what led me to be champion in 2009, but it won’t lead me to be champion now if given the chance. MMA has evolved. I am aware of the changes that have taken place. With that, I innovate. So you can expect more surprises in my game. I just want to have a fighting chance. I’ve done a lot, but I want to do more,” Machida said.
Who do you want to see Lyoto Machida fight next?
