One thing that Machida truly believes is that the time is right for him to be fighting Sonnen.
“I believe that in UFC I used to fight in 205, and he used to fight at 185,” Machida said to MMA Junkie. “And then suddenly I change to 185 and then he stopped for a while, so we didn’t have a chance. A lot of people, press and a lot of people said that this fight could happen back in the day, but it didn’t happen, but now is the right time. Now we find the right time, and we’re going to do that.”
Both Machida and Sonnen spent many years competing under the UFC banner, but a fight between the two never came together during that time.
Not everybody would consider a bout against Sonnen a blessing, but Machida is one of those fighters who does.
“As I said since the beginning since I signed a contract with Bellator, I said I could flow to different weight classes,” Machida said. “So 185 or 205, and even heavyweight, it depends on the opponent. But what I’m saying is for me doesn’t matter. I want to be very active, so in order to be active you have to fight, so for me to have a fight against Chael, for me, I’m so blessed.”
Bellator 222 takes place on Friday, June 14 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on DAZN.
