Elias Theodorou is aiming for a match-up with Lyoto Machida.
This past Sunday (May 27), Theodorou took on Trevor Smith in a preliminary contest at UFC Liverpool. The action took place inside Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Theodorou won the bout via unanimous decision. It’s “The Spartan’s” second straight victory.
The 15th ranked UFC middleweight finds himself in a decent spot. He’s gone 4-1 in his last five outings. He’s defeated the likes of Sam Alvey, Cezar Ferreira, Daniel Kelly, and Smith along the way.
Now, Theodorou has his sights set on “The Dragon” (via MMAJunkie.com):
“I’ve said it before: I kind of fancy myself the poor man’s Machida, and I’d love to take on the real one. It’s the case of, essentially, you train hard enough, you compete long enough and your idols eventually become your competition. He fought someone who wasn’t ranked two fights ago (Eryk Anders), and it makes sense to fight someone who’s at least ranked. He’s calling out (Michael) Bisping, who may or may not be retired. Bisping’s a mate of mine, and he called him out. And I only want to have a beer with Bisping, so I’m happy to take his spot.”
Machida knocked out Vitor Belfort in his last outings at UFC 224. “The Dragon” turned back time and landed a front kick to the face. After being finished three times in a row, Machida is now the winner of two straight. He sits at the ninth spot on the official UFC middleweight rankings.
“The Dragon” got back on track in February. Machida took a controversial split decision victory over Eryk Anders. Machida believes he can still make a run for the middleweight title. “The Dragon” has captured light heavyweight gold in the past.
Is Elias Theodorou vs. Lyoto Machida the right fight to book?
