"It’s too early to talk this. Getting the belt is hard but keeping it is even harder. The division is full of great fighters. I will talk about the era only after holding the belt for a long time."
Lyoto Machida rejecting the talk of "the Machida Era" per Fighters Only
4 months ago
Kid Nate
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I agree
Nice to hear it from him though.
by EnsignFrog on Jun 22, 2009 10:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Machida is so awesome
He is just such a humble fighter. Everyone (including me) has been hyping him up, and he himself just downplays it. I guess that it is a good way not to have a loss like GSP had against Serra by getting too comfortable.
by chrisbboy82 on Jun 22, 2009 10:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The division is full of great fighters.
Lucky for him his first title defense isn’t against one of them.
Due to Cheick Kongo's atrocious takedown defense....
Walla walla walla, I’m an idiot
by ufc4 on Jun 22, 2009 10:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
shogun had a 16 month lay off… its gonna take a while for him to get back into form, and adjust his game to ufc rules. no matter what u think of him this is still the same guy who has W’s over rampage, overeem (2x), arona, and lil nog
by espino on Jun 22, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No, he’s not the same guy, that’s the point. Is Chuck Liddell the same guy who had all those title defenses? Is Frank Shamrock the same guy who was once one of the best fighters in the world? Maybe in a year or two Shogun could be that guy again but right now he is obviously not.
Due to Cheick Kongo's atrocious takedown defense....
Walla walla walla, I’m an idiot
by ufc4 on Jun 22, 2009 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ah, I see. So you think a one-dimensional boxer, like Rampage, will have a better shot than Shogun? Rampage would get decimated by Machida. He has no ground game and his striking style plays right into Machida’s hands. Machida could trip him and submit him or outstrike him ALL DAY. Whether you like it or not, Shogun presents the toughest challenge for Machida at the moment. I know it’s early and for some of the more simple-minded MMA fans, all they see is what’s on paper and can’t make conclusions that go beyond precisely what they’re seeing.
It doesn’t matter whether he’s the exact same fighter that he was in PRIDE or not. The Shogun that we saw against Liddell was a huge improvement over the versions that we witnessed against Coleman and Forrest Griffin (who was being taken down nearly at will, I might add). As a matter of fact, I think Shogun might be a better fighter now than he was in PRIDE. PRIDE Shogun is kinda overrated, tbh. His striking wasn’t nearly as crisp and he relied heavily on soccer kicks. Now that he’s training in Sao Paulo and is more far active, expect to see Shogun at his absolute best.
Lyoto’s going up against a guy with good wrestling, possibly the best kicks in the division, and without a doubt, the best jiu-jitsu in the entire UFC LHW division. If Tito almost submitted him then Shogun definitely has a shot. Not to mention the fact that he’s already trained with Lyoto on numerous occasions and understands his style better than anybody. Again, Shogun is Machida’s sternest test right now.
by zeke21 on Jun 23, 2009 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If Tito almost submitted him then Shogun definitely has a shot
Fairly certain Tito almost submitted Machida because nobody would expect that from him. Don’t sleep on Machida’s ground game.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
by iiowyn on Jun 23, 2009 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
As a matter of fact, I think Shogun might be a better fighter now than he was in PRIDE.
That might be the most baseless conclusion ever drawn on BE. Where do you come up with this? Rua couldn’t finish a gassed Mark Coleman who was just begging to be KO’d and then he beat another over the hill fighter more than 10 years his elder in a fight that gave us no sense of if his cardio has improved. We have no idea if Rua’s knee is back to 100% and considering he could barely breathe in the second round against Coleman I’m scared to think what might happen if he somehow makes it into the third or fourth round against Machida. Luckily for him I don’t see this making it past the second.
Due to Cheick Kongo's atrocious takedown defense....
Walla walla walla, I’m an idiot
by ufc4 on Jun 23, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Scared to think what might happen if he somehow makes it into the third or fourth round against Machida...."
Yes, because Machida is known for gassing his opponents out, right? Shogun’s cardio was clearly sub-par for the Coleman fight, but the reality is that that fight was a grueling match. Trying to keep a wrestler that’s of the calibre of Coleman off you will tire anybody out and is no way comparable to being in a strategic fight with Machida.
PRIDE Shogun had an awesome resume with plenty of big names, but if you actually watched the way he fought then you’d realize that he wasn’t a completely different fighter, and he certainly wasn’t an infinitely superior fighter like you seem to think . His hands were far worse than what we saw in the Liddell fight and besides the Rampage and Arona fights, all of his fights were extremely competitive, including the fight where he was outboxed by Nakamura. We all know that the second Coleman fight was a bad showing for Shogun, but what happened in the first fight again? Oh yeah, he was being taken down at will until he broke his arm.
The point that I’m trying to make is that the PRIDE Shogun myth is nearly as laughable as the pre-accident Mir myth. The only things that are mildly concerning about the Shogun of today are his knees and cardio, and if he says that his knees are 100% and he’s working on his cardio, then I tend to believe him. This will be his third fight in 2009; he’s going from training camp to training camp, meaning he’ll be in awesome shape compared to coming back from a year of inactivity for the Coleman fight, and a wedding and more than 6 months for the Griffin fight.
Like anybody, I would’ve liked to see Shogun smash Cane or Rampage before getting his title shot, but to say that he isn’t a great fighter and a worthy title defence is C-R-A-Z-Y.
by zeke21 on Jun 23, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I guess its lucky that Rampage ducked him.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
by Day Man on Jun 23, 2009 12:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t see it as fully “ducking”. That implies to me being too scared to fight someone. Yes, Rampage probably (rightly) figured Rashad would be easier that Machida, but he’s also been upfront about the bigger payday, a completely believable reason. I personally give him a pass for that, since MMA is also a business. Your mileage may very.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jun 23, 2009 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cost/Benefit analysis.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
by iiowyn on Jun 23, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
To me ducking a fighter is purposely avoiding a fight with that fighter. His motivation for ducking someone does really matter as long as he doesn’t want to fight the guy and goes out of his way to make sure he doesn’t.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
by Day Man on Jun 23, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
*does not really matter
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
by Day Man on Jun 23, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I don’t see Rampage declining the fight with Lyoto having anything to with fear, and everything to do with $$$.
And good for him! He’s making the smart decision, because i’m pretty sure he realizes he probably won’t win that fight. He’s not afraid of an ass whoopin’, but he is afraid of the L on his record at this stage in his career, and I don’t think he’s ready to start making less money.
And as for Lyoto, man it’s good to see him on top! Just like Fedor & Anderson, dope as can be, but humble men as well. True ambassadors of the sport we love. I hope to see all three remain at the top for as long as possible.
"The path to enlightenment is through suffering"
by RearNakedChoker on Jun 23, 2009 4:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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