Light heavyweight Phil Davis (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) could
get a chance to cut back in line for No. 1 contender if he gets past his next
challenge.
Sources close to the fight on Monday told MMAjunkie.com the 28-year-old fighter
is set to meet ex-champ Lyoto Machida (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) at UFC 163, which
takes place Aug. 3 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian website Portal do
Vale Tudo first reported the fight on Monday.
The fight delays an anticipated title shot for Machida,
who most recently defeated Dan Henderson via decision at UFC 157.
After turning down a fight with Jon Jones at UFC 152 due
to a lack of preparation time, “The Dragon” has found himself on the backburner
for a rematch with the champ, who rendered him unconscious via guillotine at
UFC 140.
Machida has since set his sights on staying active rather
than campaigning for the belt. Recently, he was targeted by Alexander
Gustafsson, but Jones recently quashed that idea by requesting a bout with
Gustafsson.
Since losing the belt in a rematch with Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua at UFC 113, Machida is 3-2 against top-fight competition. He won the No. 1
contender position with a KO of Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4, only to lose it
upon turning Jones down and later win it back with a decision over Henderson.
Machida won the title at UFC 98 with a knockout of Rashad
Evans.
Davis takes a steep step up in competition following a recent
decision over Vinny Magalhaes at UFC 159. The former NCAA champ brushed with
title contention early this past year when he fought Evans at UFC on FOX 2. But
Evans dominated him over five rounds, and he was forced to go back to the
drawing board. A pair of bouts with Wagner Prado ended in a no-contest (via
accidental eyepoke) and a submission win before he met Magalhaes.
With the reported addition to the card, UFC 163 now
includes:
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis - for featherweight
title
Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
Josh Koscheck vs. Demian Maia
Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
Cezar Ferreira vs. Clint Hester
Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
(Source)
