Initially scheduled for May 1, the title dispute between Mauricio Shogun and Lyoto Machid will now take place on the 8th of the same month, at UFC 113 in Montreal. The change of date was a strategy by the UFC not to divide attention with to a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley scheduled for the 1st. The news was confirmed by UFC president Dana White to Yahoo Sports.
Shogun now knows when next he will meet Lyoto. Photo: Josh Hedges
Light heavyweight title challenger Shogun informed GRACIEMAG.com that he has no problem with the new date.
“I hadn’t heard anything about it before. Truth is that I signed the contract for May 1st and didn’t know of the possibility of it being on the 8th. The fight is still far off. For now I’ll just keep training, but when it gets closer to the date I’ll start working harder,” says the fighter, who admitted to being anxious for the day to come.
“There’s always anticipation, especially since Lyoto is a top guy. But it’s all about training a lot to keep calm.”
Beyond that, Shogun remarked on the sale of part of the UFC to a company overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon of the Arab Emirates.
“If Dana and the Fertittas did that it’s for the event’s good, so it will be good for the athletes and for the sport,” says the Brazilian, who also opined on the main event of the UFC’s maiden event in Abu Dhabi:
“The fight between Anderson and Belfort will be between two experienced guys who are good strikers. They know each other well, because they’ve trained together. I think Anderson is more favored, but there’s no telling who will win. It will be a great fight,” he says in finishing.