The Lyoto Machida Dilemma

As I sit back for a minute and rethink this fight, I can't help but look back to the last 1:45 seconds of the fight and think, what Tito could’ve done for his career had he used submissions earlier and throughout his career in the Octagon…but most importantly I thought to myself what does the UFC do with a guy as good as Lyoto Machida?

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Let’s look back prior to UFC 84….

Lyoto Machida had a solid rank within the top 10 LHWs (Sherdog, mmaweekly).  Some MMA Ugers even went as far as putting Machida amongst the top 5 UFC LHWs.  Whoa, let’s not go to far MMA rubes.  For reality sake, a top ten made more sense, in part based on his consecutive and impressive win streak in and out of the UFC and over some pretty notable opponents.   Prior to UFC 84, Machida made each victory count, tallying four consecutive Octagon wins, 3 by decision and a dominating performance over a, then, top ten ranked Sokoujdou.   The question remained, who should Machida fight next, a top ten, perhaps top 5 UFC LHW?

Fast forward to UFC 84 match making and Machida is presented with the opportunity to fight a Tito Ortiz.  The same Tito Ortiz, who by Dana's standards is not even a top 10 fighter but a fighter who perhaps brings one of the largest fan bases in the world...which begs the question, what does a victory over Tito Ortiz seriously get Machida? 

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The UFC 84 aftermath….

Though Machida earned the victory, I'm not so certain this win put him in any better position for the short term. Thus leaves us with the Lyoto Machida dilemma.  As 'elusive' and ‘tactical’ a fighter Machida is, it’s his fighting style that perhaps may be Lyoto’s and the UFC’s own worst marketing nightmare. The question still remains how do you market a fighter who has now rattled off five consecutive Octagon wins, 4 by unanimous decision over opponents outside the top 10? From a dollars and sense stand point, Lyoto made a fair $100,000 to Tito’s $210,000 salary.  One could argue that Lyoto earned every penny but the question of Lyoto’s value still remains to be seen, especially for $100,000 a fight.  As MMA fight ratings go, it takes two to tango and you take Tito Ortiz away from the equation and what do the average MMA fans think of Lyoto Machida in the short term? 

From a PR perspective, it’s obvious the UFC will attempt to market Lyoto Machida as a silent assassin.  However come fight time, will he do enough to entertain the crowd…pre fight, night of and post fight? As they say, styles make match ups however does Lyoto Machida bring a fighting style that exudes bad ass like a Chuck Liddell?  Or the likeability of a Tito Ortiz? 

It’s unfortunate to examine Andre Arlovski’s demise in the UFC and for the sake of this post I won’t however with that benchmark in mind, how many more fights and how much more patience Dana White has for a guy like Lyoto Machida?    

So what now…..

Tito, love him or hate him, came away UFC 84 a winner.   Whether he and Dana are able to reconcile their differences is another story, needless to say, it will be interesting to see where Tito finishes out his career.  At the very least, I think fans will come away remembering one thing and that’s not Machida’s victory:  Tito’s near submission attempt. 

Lyoto’s record now stands at 13 wins and perhaps is one fight away from a title shot?  Can we say Thiago Silva, Wanderlei Silva or Keith Jardine come step up to the plate?  It will be interesting to see how the UFC handles Lyoto Machida in the long term, LHW champion or not?  I just hope for his sake, he continues to grow his fan base because he’s just too talented a fighter to not watch….a la…Andre Arlovski and Yushin Okami.