5 Things You Might Not Know About Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida appears to be fighting a losing battle with Father Time. Nevertheless, he remains a marquee attraction for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In his latest attempt to stave off the inevitable, Machida will meet undefeated prospect Eryk Anders in the UFC Fight Night 125 main event this Saturday at Guilherme Paraense Arena in Belem, Brazil. “The Dragon” enters the match on the heels of consecutive stoppage losses to Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson. Machida last competed at UFC Fight Night 119 on Oct. 28, when he returned from an 18-month PED suspension and wound up on the receiving end of a brutal first-round knockout from the aforementioned Brunson. The 39-year-old karateka has not appeared in the win column in more than three years.

As Machida prepares to confront the fast-rising Anders, here are five things you might not know about the former UFC light heavyweight champion:

1. He has an iron-clad hall-of-fame resume.

Machida owns victories over former Dream and Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi, former two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Dan Henderson, reigning Bellator MMA champion Ryan Bader and six former UFC champions: Randy Couture, Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, B.J. Penn and Rich Franklin. Those nine wins account for 41 percent of his career total.

2. The judges like his work.

A surgeon in the cage if there ever was one, Machida has gone the distance 14 times as a professional. He has compiled an 11-3 record in those bouts, losing only to Chris Weidman, Phil Davis and Quinton Jackson.

3. When he lands, he does damage.

Machida has registered 13 knockdowns in his 22 appearances inside the Octagon, per FightMetric. That number ties him for fifth on the UFC’s all-time list with Rua, Thiago Alves, Melvin Guillard and Anthony Johnson. Only Anderson Silva (18), Jeremy Stephens (17), Donald Cerrone (14) and Chuck Liddell (14) have recorded more.

4. He belongs to an exclusive group.

Machida is one of only 12 Brazilians who have captured an undisputed UFC championship. The others: Rua, Silva, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, Rafael dos Anjos, Jose Aldo, Renan Barao, Cristiane Justino and Amanda Nunes.

5. He made MMA a lucrative endeavor.

Machida has been awarded post-fight bonuses in more than a third of his UFC appearances: four for “Knockout of the Night,” three for “Fight of the Night” and one for “Performance of the Night.” Those bonuses netted him a total haul of $529,000.