Let’s run it back.
Five-and-a-half years after their first encounter at a UFC show in Brazil, Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi are meeting in a middleweight rematch that will close out Bellator 228 on Saturday. It was Machida who was the better man back in 2014, winning a clear-cut decision over Mousasi, but both fighters have gone on to varying degrees of success since.
Machida remained a contender at 185 pounds, even earning a UFC title shot, before making the move to Bellator where he has won his first two fights including a split nod over former champion Rafael Carvalho.