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QUOTE UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida has given his thoughts on heavyweight contender, Cain Velasquez, saying the American Kickboxing Academy star proved his worth during his first round demolition of Brazilian legend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Spekaing via Tatame Magazine, Machida said:
“I trained with him when I was going to face Tito Ortiz. I went after a good guy in wrestling, he wasn’t in the UFC yet. We trained together for a couple weeks and I felt he was a tough guy, had a lot of heart. It’s really important in the sport. A lot of people have talent, but not always the will and persistence.”
“I never doubted Minotauro could win, but I knew he was going to face a tough guy. Minotauro deserves all respect for all he already done, but the competition today in MMA is really high. Everybody is studying everybody, getting better and better… The strategy is the differential, and Velasquez’s was better.”
Machida will step back into the octagon himself in May when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a rematch of their controversial bout last October. As for Velasquez, he’ll have to sit it out and see how the interim heavyweight clash between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin turns out later this month. |
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