By
John Heinis on Thursday, September 11
th 2014
An ex-UFC champ is likely going to square off with a resurgent contender before the end of the year.
Former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Lyoto Machida is targeted to take on the season 7 runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter C.B. Dollaway in Brazil on December 20, as MMA Fighting first reported.
Machida is coming off of a failed title bid against middleweight kingpin Chris Weidman at UFC 175 in July and is 2-1 since dropping down to 185 pounds 11 months ago.
Despite coming up short against “The All-American,” Machida looked impressive against perennial contenders and Gegard Mousasi.
Meanwhile, Dollaway looked like a fighter that would never reach his true potential after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Munoz and Jared Hamman in 2011.
However, he has since responded with a 4-1 record in his past five matchups, most recently earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus by outworking prospect Francis Carmont at UFC Fight Night 41 in May.
Dollaway’s lone setback in the past 26 months was a debatable split decision loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 166 in October of last year.
According to the UFC’s official rankings, Machida is the No. 4 middleweight in the world, while Dollaway cracks the list at No. 9.