Now that Lyoto Machida has cemented himself as the #1 light heavyweight in the world, the next step for him is to defend his title, and possibly build his reputation with more fans all over the world.
A natural step to build that bridge would seem to be placing Machida on the next season of the "Ultimate Fighter" reality show, and have him opposite his next opponent, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who previously served on the show during season 7.
UFC president Dana White was asked point blank if the coaches for the tenth season of the show had been picked, and while he was able to confirm they have been chosen, he wouldn't divulge any names.
"I'm not going to tell you. We start filming on the 1st and there's a media day on like the 2nd or 3rd. All your questions will be answered then," White responded.
Even though White wouldn't disclose the coaches, he did verify that Jackson would be the fighter Machida would face for his first title defense, and with every other champion on the UFC roster already scheduled for fights over the next few months it would seem fighting to pit the two top light heavyweights in as coaches for the reality show.
With the news still forthcoming, Machida seemed intrigued at the possibility of becoming a coach, and many have noticed the Brazilian's rapidly improving English, which has been an obstacle for many foreign fighters to overcome when dealing with the American market.
"I'd like to sure, it would be great," Machida said about possibly coaching on the "Ultimate Fighter". "But Dana's the boss."
All signs point to a Machida vs. Rampage coaching situation and with the show's filming ready to start in June, the timing would seemingly work out perfectly to have the two fighters square off during the UFC's year in show in December.
Tiki has hinted that Rampage is gonna be a coach on TUF 10 and he (tiki) is gonna be his striking coach, so naturally Machida is the perfect choice (with the exception of the language barrier).
