Report: Lyoto Machida headlines UFC Belem against Eryk Anders

Former UFC champion Lyoto Machida will headline in his hometown of Belem, Brazil on February 3.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, will have the chance to fight in his hometown of Belem for the first time in his UFC career. As Combate reported, “The Dragon” will take on up-and-comer Eryk Anders in UFC Fight Night 125’s main event. Bloody Elbow has since confirmed the report, although UFC officials have not officially announced the fight.

Lyoto Machida (22-8) has not won a fight since December 2014, when he TKO’d C.B. Dollaway. Since then, Machida has been finished by Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero and most recently, a brutal first-round KO to Derek Brunson at UFC Sao Paulo in October.

Eryk Anders (10-0) debuted in the UFC with a KO win over Rafael Natal, which he followed up with a unanimous decision win over Markus Perez at last week’s UFC Fresno card. In his post-fight speech, Anders expressed his desire to face Lyoto Machida, and he’s got his wish.

UFC Fight Night 125 marks the first ever UFC visit to Brazil’s Northern region, its largest one. Other fights for the event include Thiago Santos vs. Anthony Smith, Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira, and Marcelo Golm vs. Timothy Johnson.