Machida vs Anders banners UFC Fight Night in Brazil

FORMER Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida fights in his backyard on Sunday (Manila time) when he takes on Erik “Ya Boi” Anders in Belem, Brazil, at “UFC Fight Night 125.”

Happening at the Arena Guilherme Paraense, Mr. Machida (22-8), an ex-light heavyweight champion now fighting in middleweight, tries to make his ascent in the division and improve on his number 13 ranking with a win over undefeated Sanders (10-0).

Brazilian Machida, 39, is coming off a three-fight losing streak, the last one at the hands of Derek Brunson in October where he fell by knockout (punches) in the first round.

Prior to that, he dropped his matches against Yoel Romero by KO ( elbows) in June 2015 and Luke Rockhold by submission (rear-naked choke) in April 2015.

He said he is not concerned with the string of losses he has absorbed of late and is confident that he can turn things around at UFC Fight Night 125.

Mr. Anders, meanwhile, has been undefeated in the UFC, going 2-of-2 to date.

His most recent victory came last December in Fresno, California, where he defeated Markus Perez by unanimous decision.

After his victory, he called out Mr. Machida for a fight even in the latter’s home turf, setting the stage for the battle at hand.

“I’ve been training well and I’m ready to go,” Mr. Anders was quoted as saying in the lead-up to his match with Mr. Machida.

Serving as co- main event is the encounter between FilipinoAmerican bantamweight John “The Magician” Dodson ( 20- 9) and Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz (15-2).

Other fights at UFC Fight Night 125 are women’s flyweight Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko against Priscila Cachoeira, lightweight Michel “Tractor” Prazeres versus Desmond “The Predator” Green, heavyweight Timothy Johnson (# 15) against Marcelo Golm, and middleweight Thiago Santos (#15) versus Anthony “Lionheart” Smith.

UFC Fight Night 125: Machida vs. Anders will be shown live on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. over Hyper Ch. 91 in SD or 261 in HD on Cignal TV. Encore telecast is at 7 p.m. on the same day.

In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-tohome company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —