Lyoto Carvalho Machida (born May 30, 1978), nicknamed "The Dragon", is a mixed martial arts fighter from Salvador, Brazil. Machida fights in the Light Heavyweight division. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight champion. He is a third degree black belt in Machida Karate. He is a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is known to have great counter-fighting ability.