Lyoto Machida Accuses the UFC of Favoritism

You can probably safely assume that Lyoto Machida won't be getting a shot at the light heavyweight title anytime soon.

Steve Cofield, in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports, points out that Machida recently made pointed comments about Chuck Liddell and the title situation in the light heavyweight division.

According to the article, Machida suggested that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson actually won his fight against Forrest Griffin, and that the UFC manufactured the decision to insert Chuck Liddell back into the light heavyweight title equation. He goes on to say that the UFC "prefers" Liddell with the belt, because he "has more marketing and sells more".

These are pretty bold statements from someone who seemed to be on the cusp of earning a shot at the light heavyweight title. Machida accusing the UFC (and namely Dana White, who has a self-professed strong friendship with Liddell) of favoritism seems to be a pretty backwards way of advancing your career. Machida is an undefeated 13-0 fighter who has been accused, by fans and other fighters, of fighting a "boring" style. Perhaps this is his way of lashing out at the UFC and its fans?

The UFC certainly favors a Griffin / Liddell match over a Machida / Jackson fight any day of the week. Griffin and Liddell are two of the most popular fighters in the UFC - Griffin has tremendous heart, and Liddell has the explosive punching power that fans love. A PPV between the two of them would result in an Ortiz / Liddell level of PPV buys. Machida - Jackson on the other hand? I'm not sure how many fans would shell out money for that main event.

To make the leap that the UFC manufactured the Griffin win at UFC 86 seems a bit preposterous though, and it smells of sour grapes from Machida. He obviously doesn't like how he is portrayed as a fighter, and is lashing out. This certainly won't help his career trajectory though.

One thing that you can credit the UFC for; they have a history of making the best fights possible, and letting the chips fall where they may. They absolutely want Liddell in the title picture, but influencing judges in order to get the decisions that they want seems a little far-fetched to me. I don't think that we'll see Machida fighting for the title anytime soon.

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