Coaching Rashad Evans Against Lyoto Machida
by Michael Rome on Apr 25, 2009 11:17 PM EDT
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Greg Jackson is facing the biggest coaching test of his career. He has to coach Rashad Evans against Lyoto Machida, and he has to prepare a gameplan for a fighter that has confused and frustrated everyone he's ever fought.
Unlike Rashad's last 3 opponents, Machida is not going to come forward and let Rashad take his shots from against the fence. Both of these guys like to frustrate their opponents and take advantage of mistakes, but Machida has been far more successful at avoiding taking shots on his feet. At the same time, he hasn't fought strikers recently like Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping, and Chuck Liddell. If I was coaching Evans, here are five things I would want him to do to win this fight.
The first and most obvious key is for Rashad to stay patient. Thiago Silva gameplanned around Machida's frustrating style, but recently admitted he was frustrated out of his mind just a minute into the fight. Even if the audience boos, and they will, Rashad can't let it get to his head.
Second, Rashad needs to know Machida's footwork like it's his own. From what both Ortiz and Silva said and did, it looks like they thought they could chase Machida down and eventually time his movement to catch him. They never came close, and if Rashad tries the same he won't either. The camp needs to carefully study Machida's footwork to try to anticipate his evasive moves, so Rashad can stay a step ahead and unload where he believes Machida will be next. The only way to hurt a guy who can't be chased down is to know where he's going before he starts moving. Thankfully, Rashad probably has the best camp out there to do this with.
Third, Rashad can steal rounds with takedowns. He hasn't used wrestling in a while, and Machida has excellent takedown defense due to his sumo background, but we haven't seen Machida defend takedowns against someone that is also a threat standing. This fight is very likely to go to decision, and given the fact that Machida rounds are often decided on a small number of strikes, takedowns near the end of rounds are a good way to win over judges unimpressed with his style.
Fourth, headhunting is a waste of time. In addition to his amazing footwork, Machida has very good head movement. Guys spend 15 minutes swinging at his head and never get close. Take a lesson from what Mayweather's opponents know: you just can't move your body away as fast as you can move your head. The best way to slow Machida down is to attack his body.
Finally, if possible, use anticipation of his movements to get into the clinch. The only weakness from Machida we've seen was a small susceptibility to dirty boxing in the third round of the Ortiz fight. From the clinch, dirty boxing, takedowns, and opportunities to push off and land blows could be effective against Machida.
All this being said, I am leaning towards Machida with a month to go before the fight. He is so fast and has so many tools, and nobody has figured him out yet. Rashad needs to fight the perfect fight to win, Machida just needs to fight his normal fight to win.
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FIRST POST WOOT
i would like to say that i am a big fan of this site.
anyways, does anyone else see this going all 5 rounds? i dont know what type of game plan you could have against machida. you cant attack him, you cant back away from him, and you cant out point him. good luck rashad.
good luck in life!
I don’t. I think Rashad (or even Machida, yea I said it) will let the impatient crowd get to them and leave themselves open for a big shot.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
Machida is Machida, he won’t crack for no crowd. Rashad knows that if he keeps the belt there is big money coming his way, that alone will probably keep his head in the game.
by Kaleb Kelchner on Apr 26, 2009 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know, Machida really wants the crowd to love him and was extremely happy with the fan reaction after his last fight. At this level even a small deviation from his game plan to placate the crowd could be disastrous.
As far as Rashad goes, its easy to understand that getting too aggressive against Machida is deadly before the fight and during training. Its a whole different animal to do it in the biggest fight of your career in front of a potentially restless crowd while getting peppered and frustrated by an opponent that is unlike anything you have fought before.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
Another tip, Rashad: conserve your energy by keeping your hands low. Machida doesn’t have KO power, so you shouldn’t worry about it. Try wild swinging from all angles to keep him guessing. The unorthodox hand placement will confuse him.
What’s that, am I a big Machida fan? What would make anyone think that?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 25, 2009 11:35 PM EDT reply actions
Thiago Silva would like to discuss these claims regarding Lyoto’s lack of power, sir.
by inadvertentgroinstrike on Apr 26, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m guessing you missed the joke.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 26, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder if Rashad is going to use any taunts to try to break Machida’s gameplan? Thats something we haven’t seen, is someone who is willing to step into the ring with Machida, grab his crotch, and slap at him. lol
In all seriousness, very good write up.
by Kaleb Kelchner on Apr 25, 2009 11:54 PM EDT reply actions
If Rashad gives away the first couple of rounds, he’s going to be in a bad spot. It is one thing to fall behind then turn up the heat on Tito, Chuck or Forrest, but doing it against Machida will just play into his game plan.
Also, I think that Machida is going to be looking out for take down attempts at the end of rounds and use his super sumo skills to wind up on top.
Yea I definitely see Machida going for some clinch throws and take downs. Rashad is MUCH less dangerous on his back and might get overconfident in his ability to avoid a takedown due to his wrestling ability.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
I see Rashad trying to get this to the ground in the first round. He definitely can do it too, but it’s going to be tough. I don’t like the dirty boxing idea though. When Machida and Tito were in the clinch Machida just sort of flung him away. When Rashad clinched with Tito, he didn’t handle him nearly as easily. I know I know, they’re both different fighters, but it’s something. I actually can’t wait for this fight even though there’s a real possibility of it being boring.
But I’ve always loved Machida, he generally is able to finish aggressors like Soku and Thiago, I wouldn’t be surprised if if this goes the whole 5.
Ya know, Machida doesn’t really have boring fights. I’ve seen a lot of genuinely boring fights. His UFC stuff doesn’t qualify. Even his slower fights are watching the Seven Samurai; its a bit foreign, a bit weird, a bit slow. Still a good movie. It ain’t for everyone, but its not boring.
You nailed it. It’s sort of acquired. But I even like watching Silva when he’s being lame. His defense is a work of art. You see stills and slow motion and you get the picture that he sees in slow mo. The thing about Machida is, you just don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s backing up one second and performing a flying knee to the stomach the next. He definitely keeps me on edge.
I agree with 1-4..but not 5..
thiago tried to clinch, look what happened.. Machida is too good with trips and throws from there that I thnk it’s a bad idea to try it… What I’m worried about, is machida trying to please the fans more.. He’s said in numerous interviews that he’s trying to be more fan friendly and agressive. It paid off in the thiago fight, but I just hope he doesn’t take unnecessary risks cause Evans is a very dangerous opponent..
WOW FROCH V TAYLOR WAS GREAT
I am not a boxing expert, but wowie wow was that fight the shit.
OK anyway, I think Rashad has mad faith in his hand speed – that whole ‘land your power a split second before Chuck does’ was planned, and Forrest’s hands looked slow next to his. I think we’ll see a lot of distance closing by Rashad, and I imagine him reverting back to his wrestling roots if shit hits the fan.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 26, 2009 1:35 AM EDT reply actions
Also, many would argue that
He is so fast and has so many tools, and nobody has figured him out yet
Could be used to describe either one, seeing as how neither has lost.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 26, 2009 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Except we know that with Machida he’s really won every fight, and everyone knows he really lost the Ortiz fight and barely beat Michael Bisping. He also lost 2 rounds on every judge’s score card against Forrest before coming back to win. The point being, people have not had trouble hitting Rashad or figuring him out, he’s not confusing, he just is good at what he does and gets wins.
by Michael Rome on Apr 26, 2009 1:48 AM EDT up reply actions
I fall in the camp that says Tito loses that fight if he doesn’t grab the cage.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 26, 2009 2:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Slams are weird
Sometimes they really hurt a guy, and sometimes they just sort of bounce right back and do nothing. The slam Rashad was giving to Tito didn’t seem too devastating to me, but you take out the slam and Tito was definitely and clearly winning the fight.
Rashad can take a ton of damage though and he has mad power in his legs. That’s why I think it’ll go all five. Rashad takes a punch and keeps on going, and I think he’ll be able to avoid the submission, but I don’t know how he’s going to catch him though.
nice work
I’ve been waiting for analysis like this. You touched on a lot of good points. Rashad has fought better strikers and better all around competition. He can do some damage in the clinch and there’s no reason to think he can’t get a take down or 2 on Lyoto in a 5 rounder. NO one moves like Rashad. He’s going to have to totally unpredictable and use a lot of faints and he could possibly out manuever the dragon. Lyoto cant just get deep in his wide stance and wait for rashad to hop into the danger zone . It’s hard to make predictions with fighters of this high caliber colliding but I agree with your conclusion that Rashad has to excute flawlessly to pick up the W.
“Rashad has fought better strikers and better all around competition.”
Care to name names on that one, cause I can’t for the life of me figure out who you are talking about. Forrest? Chuck? Bit of a stretch don’t you think?
It’s pretty simple. Rashad’s competition is far better than Machida’s has been.
by Hardcharger on Apr 26, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Really? According to whom? You?
Penn, Franklin, Thiago > Chuck, Forrest, Bisping
I’m talking in terms of pure talent and styles. Machida has far more experience against a wider array of talent.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
by FlyByKnight on Apr 26, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
All you have to do is compare their fights against Tito Ortiz. Ortiz was manhandling Rashad whereas Machida won every round in dominant fashion.
BTW , that fight w/ BJ could easily have been a loss for Machida dont you think? Minus the stomp he didn;t really do any damage to BJ. I know he’s improved shitloads since then but I’m just sayin. After further consideration I suppose their competition has been about the same although I think Forrest as champ was the strongest fighter either of the 2 have faced.
Rashad has KOs of two former 205 champions (at or near their best) within the last year and a debatable win over Bisping.
Machida has a decision win over a 170 lb and future 155 lb champion (4+ years ago) who ballooned up in weight because of sheer laziness, a victory over the future MW champ but who has never proven to be a particular force at 205 (5+ years ago) and a TKO over a fighter with zero chin who fought in an undisciplined manner, playing EXACTLY into Lyoto’s bread and butter strategy.
Lyoto is very good, and he has dispatched his opponents with ease. But his record of opposition is not what some believe it to be and the blame falls partly on matchmaking’s inability to find him quality opponents.
Rashad has KOs of two former 205 champions (at or near their best)
Chuck Liddel was not anywhere near his best this year, the guy is 39 years old and has lost 4 of 5 fights.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
So in determining how good Chuck was when he fought Rashad, you include Rashad’s KO and Shogun’s KO.
Righto
Oh seriously now, who really believes Chuck was at or near his best in that fight? not only was he washed up and without his hand speed or chin, he was also coming off a bad injury. Forrest was at or near his best, but to claim Chuck is (almost) as absurd as deluding yourself into thinking Rashad was dominating Tito.
by Michael Rome on Apr 26, 2009 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I won’t make the case that this was a prime Liddell, but he wasn’t nearly Liddell who fought Rua. To this point, Chuck had not actually been KO’d (TKO’d yes). Chin? That punch would have KO’d any fighter, so Chuck’s chin was not an issue there.
Rashad’s overall quickness and strong boxing was a new challenge and bad matchup for Chuck at LHW. There were a long list of things going in Rashad’s favour pre-fight. Because of those, the fact that Chuck was such a resounding favourite surprised me. In the end, my honest opinion is that Rashad made him look far worse than he actually was – who else had really toyed with Chuck like that before? No LHW has the speed or footwork to replicate that performance.
And Rashad didn’t dominate Tito, but he turned that fight around 180 degrees from round 1 to round 3 and he would have continued to win each round easily had it gone past 3.
That is irrelevant, it was a 3 round fight. It’s like saying if the second round was 20 seconds longer Rashad would have passed out in the guillotine. It wasn’t, and he didn’t. I just rewatched this fight, as painful as it was, and to say Rashad got bailed out would be an understatement. He got a point and the takedown anyway, the best of both worlds for a fighter.
And it’s not like Rashad dominated the third at all. He was taken down, spent a lot of it with his back against the cage, and would have likely lost it on the cards if he didn’t get the final slam. He did get it though, and deserves credit for it, but Tito out performed him in the first two rounds.
It’s a different Rashad now, I think the Ortiz and Bisping fights showed him that wrestling wouldn’t be enough to be champion. Still, for all the “crazy” power Rashad has in his hands, it’s not like he has a long line of standing punch knockdowns.
by Michael Rome on Apr 26, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions
to say Rashad got bailed out would be an understatement. He got a point and the takedown anyway, the best of both worlds for a fighter.
I hadn’t seen the fight in a while either. So I went back and watched round 2, and bits of the rest of the match.
Rashad didn’t get bailed out. That is completely false. Big John first warned Tito about holding the fence with 2:20 remaining in the round and takes the point with 20 seconds left. Instead of getting dumped and GnP’d for 20 seconds which undoubtedly would have swung a close round, Tito forces an awkward takedown and ends up with a near guillotine attempt. So instead of Tito being down 1 point for round 2 (10-9 Rashad), it ends up being 9-9 which is beneficial to Tito.
And it’s not like Rashad dominated the third at all.
Fightmetric scores the bout:
r1: 23 – 24 Ortiz
r2: 24 – 32 Ortiz
r3: 63 – 23 Evans
Total: 115 – 79 Evans
Not domination?
You can see the fight however you like, but I don’t subscribe to the theory that Ortiz was the better fighter that night. Even if he did win both round 1 and 2, which is debatable, the deduction is still valid. Evans easily does more total damage, and clearly has the upper hand at the end of the fight.
What happened in this bout is not a question at all in my books. At worst, it’s a draw. And even then, it’s a moral victory for Rashad because he finished the fight so strongly.
Still, for all the "crazy" power Rashad has in his hands, it’s not like he has a long line of standing punch knockdowns.
This might be best answered by saying, “It’s a different Rashad now.”
First, let me say that Rashad was a very raw fighter when he showed up on TUF. He fought above his weight class and was primarily a wrestler who had handspeed but was unrefined. He has moved to his appropriate weight class (some say he could make 185), he has much better strength and conditioning now, and he has upped his technique considerably. I’m not surprised that he has improved the effectiveness of his punches to such a degree because of where he started.
He isn’t naturally heavy-handed like a Liddell or Rampage, but what he does have is quick accurate hands, sudden explosiveness and surprising strength.
I won’t make the case that this was a prime Liddell
Pretty sure thats what you did with this quote
Rashad has KOs of two former 205 champions (at or near their best)and exactly what Rome and I disputed.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
It has been 7 months between the Evans fight and Rua. Unless Evans did serious brain damage, it was pretty much, give or take, the same Liddell. And its not like he was doing all that bad against Rua, until he got KTFO.
Your point is the equivalent of saying that Matt Hughes was not a great WW champion because he recently put up consecutive losses to GSP and Thiago Alves.
I hope you are kidding.
BJ Penn is a LW fighter, Thiago Silva is not a top 10 fighter, and Franklin is maybe equivalent to Bisping (although we’ll see how Bisping does against Henderson).
Styles have nothing to do with level of competition, and Rashad has faced tougher competition, and by a significant margin.
BJ Penn is a LW fighter
You should get his name removed from the UFC’s welterweight championship list since it must be some sort of mistake.
Thiago Silva is not a top 10 fighter
Hard to tell when hes only lost once and it was to Lyoto and has finished 12 of his 13 wins. Can you back that up at all?
Franklin is maybe equivalent to Bisping
Franklin has lost to three people: Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson. He has 24 wins and all but 2 were finishes. Rich K.O.‘d Matt Hamill and Bisping took a (bogus) split decision from him. There is a reason that Bisping is a 3-1 dog against Hendo and Franklin wasn’t.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
Lyoto beat Franklin who beat Okami who beat Silva. Also, Lyoto beat Tito who killed Forrest who beat Rampage therefore Lyoto is better than Forrest and Rampage. Lyoto finished Soku who KO’d Lil’Nog who struggled to a split decision loss to Shogun when Shogun was the top LHW in the world. Lyoto is therefore better than Shogun at his peak and is therefore the greatest LHW in the world.
Rashad fought a couple of dudes but nothing to get crazy about.
I think it’s clear from my careful math who is clearly the better fighter. I drew up a chart. I checked and re-checked my numbers and they come out the same. Lyoto is better. Sorry Rashad fans…:p
I think that their MMA careers are kind of a wash, but it is undeniable that in terms of variety and years of combat sports experience Machida has a big edge on Rashad. I don’t know when Rashad started wrestling, but has only been a multidimensional fighter for a few years. Machida hasn’t been one dimensional since he hit puberty.
If there’s a hidden ace the Jackson camp has, it’s this:
http://www.amazon.com/Machida-Do-Karate-Mixed-Martial-4-DVD/dp/B001VED3FI
Having Machida systemically tell you most of his MMA techniques goes a LONG way towards gameplanning for him.
by Flying Gogoplata on Apr 26, 2009 1:49 AM EDT reply actions
YES!!! It’s the James Thompson gameplanning technique come to life!!!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 26, 2009 1:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Rashad will do what he did against Chuck… try to draw Machida in – except machida can score and win the rounds.
Rashad will try to be the one who is elusive – the challenge for him is doing this while still being able to win the rounds.
Machida has proven he can do this – Rashad has not. Rashad lost the first round to chuck and he was losing the fight to Forrest.
Rashad will not be able to frustrate Machida and Time his strikes like he did with Forrest and Chuck.
To the hardcore fans this will be a great chess game… to the rest of the fans this has the potential of being as or more boring than Silva v Thales.
Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Si… oops, I mean Greg Jackson ;)
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Apr 26, 2009 3:01 AM EDT reply actions
Rashad by kimura.
I really would love to see Rashad win but I agree that Machida has to be considered the favorite. This is one of the most perplexing and compelling fights in a long time. Machida always seems way ahead of the game where as Rashad always comes in surprises everyone with his skills. It seems like he improves a lot every time.
The perfect result for me would be something totally unexpected.
I dislike Matt Hughes.
I think Machida’s footwork and more importantly his ring awareness is going to make a takedown not very likely. The clinch seems like the logical place to set up takedowns but the way he shrugged off Sokudjou and Tito makes this seem kinda unlikely. Countering his footwork is brilliant the way he uses those kicks like a jab is gonna give Rashad’s boxing a lot of trouble.
Rashad needs to fight the perfect fight to win, Machida just needs to fight his normal fight to win.
The entire fight and preparation for the fight is summed up in this one sentence.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
Machida is being overrated here. Rashad needs a perfect fight to beat Lyoto, and Lyoto needs to fight an average fight to beat Rashad? That’s ludicrous.
Rashad is by far the fastest LHW in the world, and Lyoto will have to keep up with him, not the other way around. There’s significantly more one-punch knockout threat from Rashad, and his ability to get in and out of his opponent’s range is much quicker than Lyoto’s because of his footwork. He also typically stands right at the edge of his opponent’s striking range which means he only needs to make a small movement to move into his own striking range. Essentially, I feel Rashad will be in range when he wants to strike, and constantly probing Machida’s defenses otherwise.
It also needs to be said that Rashad was not losing the fight to Liddell at the time of the KO (rd 1 was very close – Chuck’s face was already cut, and Rashad dominated rd 2). Forrest was winning, slightly in both rd 1 and 2, but the damage he caused was not too significant – Rashad was no slower in rd 3 than in rd 1 while Forrest got sloppy and lost because of Rashad’s pressure. Rashad also should have beaten Tito (as Subo says) and the second half of that fight was all Rashad.
Lyoto does not hold the height/reach advantages that Liddell and Forrest had over Rashad. Forrest was basically able to keep Rashad at bay by utilizing his length (and by throwing large amounts of strikes), while Liddell’s size/power kept Rashad from becoming too aggressive.
Lyoto has had great success because his opponents have not been particularly good strikers. Powerful, perhaps, but unsound and sloppy. He can often time his opponents coming into him easily because they have poor footwork. Rashad is much quicker, moves in different directions, presents many angles and gets off power punches extremely quickly. I strongly believe this fight ends with a KO by Rashad as he will at some point be able to cut Lyoto’s escape angles off, and his hand speed will allow him to slip in to land a big right hand before Machida can counter it.
I agree with that. It’s going to be a tough matchup for both fighters, but I think Rashad’s mobility gives him an edge that not many fighters can ever present. I feel that Machida’s countering is certainly effective vs. fighters who are off-balance while coming straight forward, but that is not what Rashad does at all.
It will be interesting to see if Lyoto being a southpaw and his ability to land short one or two strike bursts pose significant problems.
War-Rashad Evans!!!
Evans by 3rd round GnP TKO!! Rashad times a kick with a very hard and fast right hand that rocks Machida and the ref stops it after some brutal GnP much like the win over Forrest.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
Remember how much detail went into planning GSP’s fight against BJ Penn? That same level of analysis will be put to use picking apart whatever weaknesses (if any) that Lyoto Machida has. This plan will then be put into use by a fighter who has fast dynamite hands and feet and high level wrestling. Rashad Evans also has the patience to stick to a gameplan and is willing to sacrifice a round to win the fight.
I’ll swim against the current and pick Rashad Evans to win the fight. He keeps winning when he’s the underdog anyway. If Rashad Evans can’t beat Lyoto Machida, then I can’t think of anyone in the LHW division who can.
Keep firing Assholes!
Akiyama is the Japanese word for Sexify.
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