Gala edition which will mark the organization’s last event for the 2023 season, Karate Combat 43 will take place on December 15, in Las Vegas (USA). In addition to the trilogy between UFC alumni Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson in the main event, the edition will also place a member of the legendary Machida family in the fighting arena for the first time.

Chinzo Machida, 46 years old, will face the no less experienced American Shannon Hudson (44 years old), in a special fight with a combined weight of 70.3 kg.

Lyoto’s older brother, Chinzo, currently runs the “Machida Academy” in Los Angeles, United States. In MMA, he spent time in Bellator and has a record of five wins and three losses.

“My last fight was six years ago, but since then I have continued to be active and train a lot with our professional team. With the confirmation of this fight, I have intensified my specific training. My speed and timing are always up to date.” I think it will be a good challenge. My opponent is a good kickboxer, but I will implement my karate game and come out victorious,” said Chinzo, who also served as Lyoto’s head coach during his UFC journey, which culminated to him winning the light heavyweight title in 2009. .

Regarding the hope of implementing the Machida style in karate fighting, Chinzo was adamant. “Our style is perfect for the full contact rule. We train a lot on knees, crosses, calf kicks and others that are more restricted in sport karate. Our goal is real combat and we focus a lot about the rules of MMA. So, I think the adaptation will be natural,” he said.

In addition to Chinzo Machida, the Karate Combat card will feature two other Brazilians. Antonio Arroyo from Pará will face Canadian Zakaria Benboutcha in the heavyweight division (up to 93 kg), and Gabriel Stankunas from São Paulo will face his compatriot Robbie Lavoie, in the bantamweight division (up to 61 kg).

In Brazil, the event can be followed live and free on all of the organization’s social networks, as well as on Combate. Consult the channel’s programming schedule.