”He has already trained Belfort, but I think that every fight is unique,” Machida
explained to MMA Fighting. “Every training process is a process. That gives me an advantage in a technical aspect, of course, but a fight is way more than the technical part. A fight involves the emotion, the strategy of combat. There are many factors connected to a fight. The fact that he has known Vitor in the past is only one of them.”
“This is a fight that could have happened in the past, but hasn’t. I have a lot of respect not only for the fighter, but the man Vitor Belfort. I think he has done a lot for the sport, and we all have to respect him. I mean, what’s in the past is in the past. Moments like those are part of any athlete’s career.”
The fight will mark the end of Belfort’s career, but Machida has no plans on stopping just yet. In fact, he still has his eye on a UFC belt.
”I feel well, I don’t think about stopping now,” he said. “I always say I still have a lot of wood to burn. I’m happy with my return and motivated for the next challenges. My goal is to put on a good fight and climb the ranking to earn another shot at the title again. I know that I still have fights to fight before I get there, but my focus is one challenge at a time.”
https://www.mmamania.com/2018/3/12/...ning-with-vitor-belforts-former-coach-ufc-224
This fight needed to happen back in 2012, but I'll still take it. Lyoto is my favorite and this is going to be a very fun fight. Great fight for Vitor to end his career on.
