Dan Henderson-Lyoto Machida winner at UFC 157 next in line for title, White says

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The winner of UFC 157's co-main event between Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is expected to get a title shot, according to UFC President Dana White.

"Whoever wins that fight will fight the winner of Jones-Sonnen," White said today, referring to the UFC 159 headliner between champ Jon Jones and challenger Chael Sonnen.

UFC 157 takes place Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The event's main card, including Henderson vs. Machida, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

White's announcement should come as good news to ex-champ Machida, who's lobbied the UFC to make this fight a title eliminator. The laconic Henderson has said he wants to face Jones, but will continue to move forward regardless of whether he's promised a shot at the belt.

Both fighters were recently in line to meet Jones. Henderson was set to fight the champ at UFC 151 before a knee injury forced his withdrawal, and Machida turned down an offer at UFC 152 due to lack of preparation time.

White also said that if Henderson and Sonnen win their respective bouts, a fight between the former training partners could materialize.

"It's very, very, very feasible," he said. "Those guys were actually talking smack to each other when this fight happened."

Betting lines for the fight cast doubt on such a scenario. Both fighters currently are underdogs: Henderson is a 2-to-1 underdog leading into Saturday's fight, while Jones is as heavy as an 11-to-1 favorite against Sonnen.

And there are other possible situations to ponder, as well. White said if the winner of UFC 157 needs recuperation time, light heavyweight standout Alexander Gustafsson could be next to fight for the belt.

"One of them could wind up hurt," he said. "You just never know what's going to happen."

So while the best-case scenario should make a neat line toward the light heavyweight champ, there are variables that make guaranteed title shots a difficult proposition for the UFC.