After losing his title to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113, Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida finds himself back at the drawing board. Once considered almost invincible by some, Machida must now work his way back up the ladder. Although a rubber match with Rua would be ideal, “the Dragon” is focused on getting another title shot regardless of who the champ is at the time.

“I don’t care who has it; I want to have the opportunity to fight for the belt. If it’s Shogun I’m ok, I’ll enjoy the win more. That punch really got me and in this division it’s really damaging to get hit with a punch like that. When it gets you, it’s really damaging. My plans are to fight for this belt in a year or less — maybe more like 10 months. To regain the belt has become my new dream.”

The loss to Rua was the first of his career. Now the Black House fighter looks to fix his mistakes and move forward.

“It’s a tough time for me. I’m trying to understand what I did wrong, but on the other hand it’s been great having the support of my fans. I was well prepared, focused and strong because our last fight was very controversial. I wanted to end this fight. I was feeling fast, but a fight is a fight. You can’t predict what will happen. One moment you’re winning and then a guy hits you and you lose. I feel that I was winning this fight despite his aggressiveness. I give Shogun a lot of credit for his win. He deserved it and is the new champion, but the last you’ll hear of me. Life will go on.”

(Source: Cage Potato)