On Sunday at UFC Fight Night 130, Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Elias Theodorou took on Trevor Smith in a preliminary contest inside the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Theodorou was victorious, winning by unanimous decision.
Theodorou, who won “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia,” is 4-1 in his last five fights, and is now eyeing a more prestigious opponent after beating the likes of Sam Alvey, Cezar Ferreira, Daniel Kelly and Smith.
It appears he already has someone in mind in the form of UFC veteran and former light heavyweight Lyoto Machida (via MMAJunkie.com):
“I’ve said it before: I kind of fancy myself the poor man’s Machida, and I’d love to take on the real one. It’s the case of, essentially, you train hard enough, you compete long enough and your idols eventually become your competition. He fought someone who wasn’t ranked two fights ago (Eryk Anders), and it makes sense to fight someone who’s at least ranked. He’s calling out (Michael) Bisping, who may or may not be retired. Bisping’s a mate of mine, and he called him out. And I only want to have a beer with Bisping, so I’m happy to take his spot.”
Machida is coming into some form of his own after recently knocking out another Brazilian veteran in Vitor Belfort earlier this month at UFC 224. “The Dragon” landed a devastating front kick to the face of Belfort, sending “The Phenom” crashing to the canvass. Machida is currently ranked No. 9 in the official UFC middleweight rankings.
While Theodorou wants a fight with “The Dragon,” it may not be in the best interest of the Brazilian veteran, who is ranked higher than the Canadian and has said he wants one more run at the middleweight belt before he retires from the sport.