Dana White Wants Machida / Rua Rematch On January 2

On his radio show last night, Dave Meltzer said Dana White wants the Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua rematch on UFC 108. Meltzer also stated that Shogun has agreed to the date, and Machida will let them know if he’s healthy enough to take it.

They want to return quickly with Machida/Shogun because the controversy is hot right now and if they can make a rematch announcement soon, they can assuage fan anger and channel it into PPV buys.

I actually do not have any interest in seeing a rematch so quickly. The last thing the situation needs is an unhealthy Machida losing to Rua and having an entirely new situation crop up that necessitates yet another quick rematch. I’d rather see the fight put off until February or March to allow for recovery time while still being a fairly quick turnaround.