UFC Fight Night 125 Preview
When the UFC travels back to Brazil for UFC Fight Night 125 there will be a familiar story for the main event and one that is become far more common.
It is the story of the old guard defending their spot against the new fighters coming up through the rankings.
In this case, the story is slightly different in that the old guard is teetering on losing his spot in the UFC while the young rising star looks to put one of the final nails in the coffin.
The old guard is among the best fighters in UFC history as Lyoto Machida brought a brand new style to the UFC that nobody could solve.
He took that karate style and awkward stance to the top of the light heavyweight division winning the title in 2009 after beating Rashad Evans.
He remained at the top of the division for a number of years losing the title only to gain it back and constantly among the top fighters in the division.
In 2013 he dropped down to middleweight in an attempt to gain another title and enter the exclusive club of multiple division champions.
He did well from the start but eventually lost to Chris Weidman and things began to fall off after that title challenge.
Despite bouncing back with a win against C.B. Dollaway, Machida lost two fights in a row before being banned for failing a drug test.
In his much-anticipated return from that suspension, he took another loss against Derek Brunson.
It was not the way that Machida wanted to return to the UFC and it put his record at 1-3 in his last four fights.
At 39-years-old the thought is already brewing that he might want to hang it up as there is little for him to prove and he is coming up on the dreaded forty where things tend to drop off.
He will head into UFC Fight Night 125 looking to prove to everyone that he still has plenty of fight left in him and that he can still compete.
He will try to prove that in his second fight against a rising star except this time it will be a fighter looking to make his big entrance.
Eryk Anders has the background and the personality to be a major star in this division even if the UFC hasn’t quite noticed it yet.
He is a former Alabama Crimson Tide football who won the National Championship under Nick Saban in 2009.
He took that athleticism on a tour around football leagues and eventually to the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
It turned out to be a good decision for the former linebacker as he had a knack for winning fights thanks largely to his athleticism.
Since turning pro he has never lost going 10-0 and took an undefeated record into the biggest promotion in the world.
There is still a lot to see from this young fighter as he has only fought twice in the UFC, both wins including a TKO over Rafael Natal.
As he moves up the rankings and begins to get more attention he will face his toughest competition ever.
Machida is far better than anyone he has faced in his career as this is a major step up in competition for Anders.
He will look to try to prove that he can hang with the best in the division even if that great might be on the tail-end of his career.
That is where this fight stands as one fighter is looking to keep his career going while the other is looking to launch his own.
A win by Anders could be a massive boost to his career and help him to rise and make him one of the fighters to watch in 2018.
A loss by Machida could put an end to his time as he might not be the same fighter and although a loss is not the way he wants to go out there may not be any time for him to come back into the title picture.
The reverse could change a lot as well with Machida potentially restarting one last run at a title and Anders falling into the pool of good fighters in at middleweight.
Although this fight might not be the most talked about right now it is a fight that could change everything for the two fighters and could shape the future of the division.
The Sport Addiction 