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LYOTO MACHIDA
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Nationality Brazilian
Born May 30, 1978 (1978-05-30) (age 29)
Fighting out of Belém,Brazil
Town of birth Salvador,Brazil
Team/Association Black House
Fighting style Shotokan Karate
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 12
By knockout 3
By submission 2
Losses 0
Draws 0
Lyoto Carvalho Machida (born May 30, 1978) is a Japanese-Brazilian professional mixed martial arts fighter. Son of a Japanese-Brazilian Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida, Lyoto is considered by many to be a rising star in MMA, having secured victories over former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin, former UFC Welterweight champion B.J. Penn, former PRIDE Fighting Championship superstar Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Light Heavyweight runner-up of the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter 1, Stephan Bonnar.
Machida is noted for his semi-orthodox fighting style. As a karate practitioner, Machida uses an unorthodox (or southpaw) stance.
Machida currently fights out of Black House with such fighters as UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Machida's last fight was a victory against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79 on December 29th, 2007.
Biography
Lyoto Machida was born in Belem, Brazil as the third son to Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. He is currently married to FabÃola, his long-time girlfriend. Machida began training in karate at the age of three,[2] and later began training in sumo at 12 and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at 15. He won a number of amateur karate tournaments, including 2001 Pan American Karate tournament.[3] He was also runner up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships in the 115-kg division. In addition to his Sumo and Karate achievements, he has a college degree in Physical Education. Lyoto's brother, Chinzo, is a Shotokan vice-champion(Australia 2006), losing only to #1 ranked Shotokan master Koji Ogata. Lyoto and Chinzo fought in a Karate Final 10 years ago in which Lyoto gave Chinzo a cheek scar that still exists today. His other brother, Kenzo Machida, is a T.V. journalist for one of Brazil's biggest T.V. stations.
Lyoto is well-known for using a variety of Shotokan Karate techniques in his fights. Lyoto used a Karate leg sweep on B.J. Penn in the 2nd round of their fight. He uses a back kick in many fights (they can be seen in his bouts against Sam Greco, Sam Hoger, and Stephan Bonnar). Frank Trigg once said that he got dropped twice in row by Lyoto's back kick in a sparring session they had.
In college he was introduced to Japanese pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki who took Machida to groom as a protégé. He would continue training, taking up Muay Thai in Thailand and wrestling at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo.
Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki noticed Machida early and took him under his wing, soon given the nickname "The Second Inoki" by the Japanese media. Inoki entered Machida in several of his promotions, including New Japan Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Crush card on May 2, 2003, where he defeated journeyman Pancrase fighter Kengo Watanabe. He made several appearances at other Inoki shows, including Jungle Fight 1 in Brazil, where he defeated eventual The Ultimate Fighter 1 runner-up Stephan Bonnar on September 13, 2003, and Inoki Bom-ba-ye 2003, where he defeated eventual UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin on New Year's Eve.
At 3-0, he began to fight in K-1's early MMA efforts, with wins against two high-ranked K-1 kickboxers, Michael McDonald and Sam Greco. His last match with the K-1 organization, at K-1 HERO'S 1, he defeated former UFC Welterweight champion B. J. Penn in an unanimous decision. Penn, who began fighting at 155 lb, weighed considerably less than Machida.[4]. In Karate, he was Brazilian Champion twice, and 2nd in South American Championship. He also defeated American black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter, Rafael Lovato Jr. at the L.A. Sub X
After splitting with Inoki early 2006 as Inoki's management business fell apart, Machida signed with a newly revitalized World Fighting Alliance and began to complete in the United States. In his American debut, Machida defeated Vernon White via unanimous decision at the at WFA: King of the Streets event in Inglewood, California on July 22, 2006. After the WFA went out of business for the second time, the UFC acquired Machida's contract.
His first two fights in the UFC were against Sam Hoger at UFC 67 and David Heath at UFC 70, both were victories by unanimous decision.
His next fight was at UFC 76: Knockout against PRIDE veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura. He won the fight over Nakamura by unanimous decision.
His most recent fight was at UFC 79: Nemesis against PRIDE sensation Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, winning via Arm Triangle Choke.
Source: Wikipedia
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