UFC 140 Results: 5 Fighters Lyoto Machida Should Take on Next

Last night UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones made history in defeating Lyoto Machida, joining the ranks of Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua as one of the few Dragon Slayers.

With the way "The Dragon" controlled the fight in the first round, Machida showed that he does have what it takes to dethrone the champ. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep it up and, for the first time in his career, lost via submission.

At 33 years old, Machida's career is far from over as he still has enough time and steam to make another run at the title. The road back to redemption will be long and difficult, but everyone loves a comeback.

So, here are the top five fights Machida can take, and if he wins enough of them to earn another title shot we may stop calling him "The Karate Kid" and instead refer to him as "The Comeback Kid". 

5. Rematch with Tito "The Peoples Champion" Ortiz

The most unlikely of matchups with regard to rankings would be a rematch with Tito Ortiz. That said, Machida was unable to finish "The People's Champ" in their first outing and Ortiz almost caught Machida in a submission towards the end of the fight.

The only real reason this makes sense is, because of Tito's notoriety, price tag and name recognition, he will never be anything but a main event fighter, assuming he still has a job following his first round loss to Lil Nog.

In addition to pitting two well-known figures and former light-heavyweight champions against each other, both fighters would be coming off of a loss and a loss for Tito wouldn't be anything to be ashamed of as he can go out saying he only fought the best in the world at the end of his career.

This would be a good fight as a co-main event to help carry a PPV card with the lesser-known bantamweight or featherweight champions as the main event.

4. Winner of Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Taking of the winner of Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko would be a great way to either test a young up and comer against a top-ranked fighter or see how Machida fairs against a well-rounded veteran.

Gustafsson may very well be a future title contender but he is still at least two more wins away from that happening. Since his lone loss to Phil Davis at UFC 112, the 24-year-old Swedish fighter is on a tear with three-straight finishes against tough fighters such as Matt Hamill and Cyrille Diabate.

Matyushenko is on a two-fight win streak against lesser competition but since returning to the UFC he has gone 4-1 overall and his one loss was at the hands of current division kingpin, Jon Jones.

These two will square off later this month at UFC 141. Depending on fighter health, either matchup would make for a great rebound fight for Machida to get back on track.

3. Winner of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader

Machida and Quinton Jackson have unfinished business since "Rampage" took home a controversial split-decision victory over "The Dragon" back at UFC 123. This was a match up many felt Machida had won and if the fight had gone five rounds, most believed he would have defeated Jackson for sure.

Ryan Bader is looking to work his way back up the ladder since suffering back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz. He has started that journey off with a first-round KO over Jason Brilz. Now he'll look to keep on the right path against Rampage at UFC 144 in Japan.

A win for Rampage would put him back towards the top of the division and we could see these two square off in a five-round main event. That would help see if Rampage is still one of the best in the world, or if the last flight was a fluke and Machida really is the better man.

If Bader wins he'll want to continue his climb back up the ladder and will be more than deserving of a fight with The Dragon after co-headlining a PPV and defeating Rampage. Plus, if Machida can't defeat a guy Jones dominated, then he doesn't deserve another title shot anytime soon.

2. Loser of Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis

Some think this fight makes the most sense as it would pit two top fighters coming off a loss against each other. Add on the fact that we saw a fight between Machida and both Rashad Evans and Phil Davis fall through this year and the matchmaking is almost done for you.

Evans and Davis will square off in the main-event for UFC on Fox 2 in what will likely be a No. 1 contender title eliminator. The winner will most likely go on to fight for the title at some point in the future while the losers fate will become a huge question mark in the division.

A fight with Evans would be a rematch of their UFC 98 title fight, where we saw Machida deliver a second-round KO to then champ Evans. Evans would like to avenge that loss, which is his only to date, and prove he still deserves to be considered a top fighter in the division.

A fight with Davis was rumored to occur at UFC 140, but Davis was unable to compete due to injury. Davis is still young enough to suffer a loss against Evans and work his way back to the top of the division, and a match with Machida would be perfect to help serve that purpose. It would also be a good test for Machida to see if he can compete against younger competition.

1. Rubber Match with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua III tops the list for a number of reasons. Both fighters have stated they know they will fight again in the future and both are coming off of big losses.

Both are former champions who will want to get back in the mix and are still young enough to see that happen.

With the record currently at 1-1, the third match would make for a great five-round main event, and would be fitting since their previous matches were also five-round affairs with the first one going the distance.

It makes sense for the UFC, who has seen average PPV numbers drop this year, as Machida vs. Rua I and II saw successful buy rates of an estimated 500k and 520k respectively.

Or maybe given both fighters propensity for knockouts and excitement, we may see this one headline a UFC on Fox card as well, the way many people felt Shogun vs. Hendo should have.

Sound off Below, Who Should "The Dragon" Fight Next?

Should Machida vs. Evans/Davis be No.1 on the list? Is it too soon for Machida vs. Rua III to happen? Does Tito deserve to fight someone like Machida, or not? If you have answers to these questions then let your voice be heard and comment below.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.

Follow Justin Fuller on Twitter @JustinFullerMMA for the latest and greatest in...well...whatever, that's what. Just do it, he's hilarious.