UFC light-heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, underwent surgery on his hand, pushing his rematch with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua later then fans would like.  MMAJunkie.com spoke with Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, who confirmed that the surgery will limit his training till mid-January.

“He had surgery yesterday on his left hand,” Soares said. “The doctor said it was a complete success.”  Soares further noted the surgery addressed a set of lingering issues Machida has had with his hand, issues that may have effect his performance in his controversial fight with “Shogun” on Oct. 24; UFC 104.  “Lyoto’s hand has been actually injured for a while,” Soares said. “Before the fight with ‘Shogun,’ he went to the doctor, and he went to a special surgeon in Brazil. Basically, they say said that he was going to need surgery, but he didn’t want to cancel the fight.”

Soares went on to say he was not suggesting Machida’s hand issues played a role in what many believe was a lackluster performance from Lyoto Machida.  “We’re not trying to make any excuses or anything… But his injury has been bothering him for a while, so we went in and had the surgery, and they found bone spurs. They found a bone fragment down there. There were about four things the doctor said were causing him pain. Thank God they cleared him all up yesterday.”

While the surgery will leave Machida inactive for at least 6 weeks according to Soares, fight fans can not wait for this rematch, and neither can Machida.  “We want that fight,” Machida said. “We want to leave no doubt who the light heavyweight champion is.”