Dana White met with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at the Zuffa offices today and is in the process of putting together what Dana calls a “really big fight”.
Our gut feeling tells us that Lyoto Machida will be defending the light heavyweight belt against Rua in September. That would leave Machida without an opponent for the December show, since Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson will likely be meeting on that card. Not having Machida on the biggest show of the year is fine, but Zuffa typically likes to have the light heavyweight belt involved on big shows since it is the promotion’s showcase division.
White promises that more information is coming down the pipeline. We’ll have an update for you as soon as possible.
UPDATE: We can now 100% confirm that Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is the plan for the next light heavyweight title fight. We haven’t pinned down an exact date or card, but it will take place in September or October.
