The UFC has been around for over 20 years, but in those 20 years only two fighters have won titles in two different weight classes: Randy Couture, who was the heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, and BJ Penn, who was the welterweight and lightweight champion.
But this weekend at UFC 175, Lyoto Machida could join the party.
The former light heavyweight champion, who dropped down to 185 pounds last year after an up-and-down end to his 205-pound career, takes on Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 175 with the middleweight title on the line. It will be Weidman’s second title defence, but if Machida has anything to say about things, it will be Weidman’s last title defence for a while, as Machida is looking to get the belt and hold on to it for a while.
Should Machida earn the upset win and claim the UFC Middleweight Championship, he will join Couture and Penn in that elite class of two-division champions. With Couture already in the UFC Hall of Fame, and Penn a shoo-in to enter it as soon as he retires from the sport, there’s no doubt Machida winning a second title would help his candidacy to enter the Hall of Fame as well.
But even though Machida winning two belts would be a huge deal, and even though it could be a big selling point behind the fight, I haven’t heard a thing in regards to Machida possibly making UFC history this weekend. The UFC hasn’t promoted this point whatsoever, and to me that’s a mistake. There have literally been thousands of fighters who have come and gone through the UFC Octagon over the last 20-plus years, and yet for whatever reason the promotion hasn’t made Machida’s quest a selling point for the fight with Weidman, even though it makes a lot of sense to do so.
Maybe the promotion figures the intrigue of the fight itself should be enough to sell it, or maybe it thinks the Machida-Weidman matchup, combined with Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis for the UFC women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event, is enough to sell the event. And that may be so, but I still think that promoting Machida’s possible entry into the history books helps sell the fight and grab the attention of those on the fence about caring about it.
Perhaps it’s just the history buff in me, but I really do think that Machida becoming the third fighter in UFC history to win two belts in two different divisions is a big deal, and I think it’s a shame that the promotion, journalists, and even fans haven’t caught on to this yet. Perhaps they will if Machida wins this weekend and claims the middleweight championship, but this is a big story heading into the fight as well, and it deserves to be talked about. I just wish the UFC realized it.
• Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida (UFC Middleweight Championship)
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UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida is due to take place on July 5, 2014 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 175 will be.
