Lyoto Machida explains why he moved to Bellator even though the UFC matched offer

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has long been considered one of MMA’s true good guys, and he has once again proven why that’s the case.

It was recently announced that Machida had signed with Bellator MMA. Apparently, the UFC actually matched the offer that Bellator made Machida, but he moved to Bellator anyway because he’d already told the promotion’s decision makers that he would, and he’s a man of his word.

“I went to Bellator and they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Machida said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMAMania). “Everything was okay. UFC did match everything, but I was keeping my word to Scott Coker an Mike Kogan.”

“I am a man of my word,” he continued. “So when UFC did match everything, I couldn’t come back again. Scott Coker asked me how much I would like to receive for fight. So he said, ‘Lyoto, if I give that to you, will you jump aboard to Bellator?’ And I said yes. When I come back to UFC and tell everything that happened, UFC match everything, but you know I had gave my word to Scott Coker and Bellator and that is one of my principles so I can not go back on my word. So if I say something I have to do what I said.”

Needless to say, Lyoto Machida is a stand-up guy — and I’m not just talking about his propensity for highlight reel knockouts. See what I did there?

While the circumstances of Lyoto Machida’s Bellator debut are not yet known, he’s certainly got plenty of interesting options when it comes to potential opponents. In fact, he would seem to have a readily available short-cut to both the Bellator light heavyweight and middleweight titles, as he holds decisive wins over both light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, and middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi.

Who do you want to see Lyoto Machida fight in his Bellator debut?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/26/2018.