A fight between Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida is all but a done deal.
Sources close to the situation tell Fighters Only that Sonnen will be making his UFC return at light-heavyweight and is almost certain to face the Brazilian former champion.
The fight is apparently being considered for UFC 136, which takes place on October 8th in Houston, Texas. No fights have been announced for that card but Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian are expected to headline.
Machida is a fighter that Sonnen has long had his eye on, and not just because he is a training partner and friend of Sonnen’s favourite smack-talk target Anderson Silva.
Sonnen made comments at the weekend about possibly fighting Machida when he returns to action, and has been taking potshots at him via Twitter (although that is nothing new).
The latest - “Of course your sport should be taken seriously. Everybody would like to be able to workout in their bathrobe” - is a dig at Machida’s background in Shotokan Karate.
He also slammed the recent spate of videos depicting Black House fighters training with Steven Segal. “I don't seek training advice from actors for the same reason I don't seek health advice from strippers.”
Today Machida told Brazilian website Tatame that he will sign for the fight immediately if Sonnen really wants it, but sources say that verbal agreements are already in place at this point.
More news as we get it.
Source: Sonnen vs Machida likely for Fall
