UFC 70 - David Heath vs Machida

This week Forrest Griffin withdrew from April 8's UFC 70 "Nations Collide" due to an ongoing severe staph infection in his knee.

After several unsuccessful attempts to match his unbeaten opponent Lyoto Machida with other 205-pounders, including Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine ( The Ultimate Fighter 2, UFC 66), who's out with a shoulder injury, and Jason "The Punisher" Lambert, still not recovered from his bout with 'Babalu' Sobral in UFC 68 earlier this month, Machida is set to fight David Heath.

Heath, an undefeated light heavyweight from Oklahoma, is relatively new to the UFC, although he's been a professional mixed martial artist for four years. After working with super middleweight boxing contender Allan 'Sweetness' Green, Heath made his UFC debut in August of 2006 against Cory Walmsley, taking him down in the first round at UFC 62, and a split decision win in three rounds with Victor Valimaki of Canada.

Heath is optimistic about the match, saying of Machida, "He's an aggressive striker, which I really like about him. I think his style, mixed with mine, will make for a very exciting fight and I'm looking forward to fighting him."

Lyoto Machida, son of Japanese-Brazilian Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida, is also considered an up-and-coming MMA star, after victories over former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin, former UFC Welterweight Champion B.J. Penn (who's coaching the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter 5, debuting next month) as well as The Ultimate Fighter 1 runner-up, light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar. Machida most recently defeated Sam Hoger at UFC 67, declaring it "yet another victory for kara-te."

UFC 70 "Nations Collide" will take place at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England, and will be offered on Spike TV on a same-day tape delay.

(Source)