UFC 129 Results: Lyoto Machida, Ivan Menjivar Walk the Come Back Trail
by Leland Roling on May 1, 2011 3:00 PM EDT
in UFC Analysis
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UFC 129 was an evening full of great stories. Randy Couture retired from the sport. Jose Aldo conceived a baby on the forehead of Mark Hominick. Ben Henderson proved the WEC's best can hack it in the UFC. Vladimir Matyushenko graduated from "piss break" to "must-see". And Georges St. Pierre didn't impress many fans with his win over Jake Shields. The talk will last for weeks.
But one of the stories that hasn't received a lot of attention is that of the comeback trail. Lyoto Machida, Rory MacDonald, Ivan Menjivar, and Jason MacDonald all came up big when it mattered the most... with their backs against the wall.
The most inspirational story is Menjivar's return to prominence in the sport. He is a former welterweight and lightweight fighter who has fought some of MMA's most recognizable stars over the course of the last decade. He was Georges St. Pierre's first opponent back in 2001, and he has since battled notable veterans Jeff Curran, Vitor Ribeiro, Matt Serra, Joe Lauzon, Urijah Faber, Hideo Tokoro, and Caol Uno.
He retired from the sport in November of 2006 after a loss to Bart Palaszewski under the IFL banner, citing that injuries and additions to his family were making it difficult for him to continue to compete. As you can imagine, both require money, and the sport wasn't producing the purses that it does today during those times. Menjivar was also a victim of battling in weight classes not suited for his frame to get those bigger paydays.
Those times are long gone for Menjivar. Since his return in 2010, Menjivar, who is only 28 years of age, is now fighting at 135 pounds. Believe it or not, Menjivar was fighting at 170 pounds at one point in his career with a 5'6" frame. The level playing field along with the ascension of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions to the UFC make Menjivar's rebirth an inspiration to us all. And he took full advantage of the free Facebook stream last night, dispatching of Charlie Valencia in brutal fashion with a short elbow.
Lyoto Machida was also on the comeback trail, although I doubt the UFC would be releasing him had he lost to Randy Couture last night. His impressive crane kick finish of Couture was the highlight of the evening, and it likely kept him in the hunt for the UFC light heavyweight title. Interestingly enough, I would not mind seeing Machida take aim at Jon Jones, mainly due to his elusive striking style and newfound ability to finish opponents.
Rory MacDonald entered the Octagon for the first time following his loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in June of last year. Ring rust and the gameness of Nate Diaz were concerns for him, but he persevered and dominated Diaz for the entire fight. He continues to prove he's the future of the sport, and the division should be taking notice that he will be relevant at the top of the division in the coming year.
And finally, Jason MacDonald returned to action last night, submitting Ryan Jensen at the 1:37 mark of the first round. He took roughly a year off due to a gruesome leg break he sustained at UFC 113 against John Salter. Not only did he get a standing ovation from fans as he entered the cage, but he delivered in a big way by taking full advantage of Jensen's poor grappling skills. Canada should be proud.
More Bloody Elbow UFC 129 Results and Analysis after the fold...
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Randy Couture saying he's retiring is kind of like a leap year.
It happens regularly and doesn’t really change anything.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
I tend to believe him this time.
Xtreme Couture- The best never rest!
"I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler."
-Socrates
by ElliotMatheny on May 2, 2011 7:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Menivar was really impressive last night
Valencia is a pretty limited fighter but he’s no doubt dangerous and Ivan pasted him.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Very happy for The Athlete
One of my favorite fighters, have had the opportunity to meet him on numerous occasions, absolutely one of the nicest guys around.
www.hottopicwithphil.com
by Worldisart on May 1, 2011 3:07 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yup, I’ve never met him but I have always like him for some reason. Dude always shows up to fight.
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
His fight with Damien Maia
Still one of my all time favorites. Very underrated fight.
www.hottopicwithphil.com
I almost cried a little bit last night...
..during the post-fight interview with Lyoto. He was so respectful towards Randy and veryvery emotional as well. Fantastic, historic, amazing event!
"This is for me, I mean right now, I mean this year.. I mean I probably haven´t been my best.. -- That wasn´t a fair fight. I just fought. I got kicked on the leg. I go out there, what´s the guy try to do? Kick me around my leg. That´s not a fair fight man! My other fight before that.. none of these have been fair!
I´ve got people out there to get me.." -Nick Diaz
Is bones/dragon possible?
since anderson and bones are bffs and by the transitive quality…
I mean, I’d love to see that fight get made, and it probably SHOULD if Machida wins his next match against anybody born since the color TV was invented, but I worry about the Bros before Belts thing a little, even now.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on May 1, 2011 3:17 PM EDT reply actions
Machida fights at LHW.
Guarantee he’d fight Jones if given the opportunity.
"Unless you can’t think of something intelligent to say, don’t reply and make the world as dumb as you are appearing to be." - mabel4life
by lowellthehammer on May 1, 2011 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions
The title picture is so messed up now.
Evans vs Davis
Rampage vs Hamil
Forest vs Shogun
Any guy on the left side could win and get a title shot. If Evans wins he fights Jones. If Rampage wins he should get the next title shot, or we could see Rampage vs Forest 2, If Shogun loses, we could possibly see the tie breaker between him and Machida.
Jules: Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can't give you this case, it don't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass.
I may not have been completely clear
The weight class issue doesn’t concern me. I know they’re both 205ers. But Anderson Silva has stated he would not fight Machida due to friendship, and has said the same about Jones. That’s not proof that Machida and Jones would have a problem doing the Octagon Waltz, but it doesn’t help me feel good about the chances. Yeah yeah, what Rashad and Jones were saying last year yadda cubed.
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on May 1, 2011 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions
What Silva really meant was that, Jones would beat the living SHIT out of me, and what the hell would that fight due for me!? Jones is the perfect guy to beat Silva. Machida is probably the perfect fighter to take out Jones.
Jules: Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can't give you this case, it don't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass.
There is no transitive property of friendship.
Machida has never said a word about not fighting Jones, because he wants the belt and he’ll fight whoever has it at 205 to get it. Silva is a 185er who moonlights at 205, so he has a bit more room to pick and choose who he fights.
"Unless you can’t think of something intelligent to say, don’t reply and make the world as dumb as you are appearing to be." - mabel4life
by lowellthehammer on May 1, 2011 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
This seems true now.
But I can easily imagine a scenario where Jones spends a couple months at Black House to get ready for Evans. And then…
http://fightdrinker.blogspot.com
by some schmuck in texas on May 1, 2011 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Silva and his new found love for Bones......
is based solely on the fact that Silva believes he would get ragdolled by him. I doubt very highly that their “friendship” is greater than Bones and Rashads was.
"There are no atheists in foxholes" isn't an argument against atheism, it's an argument against foxholes. ~James Morrow
"There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot."-Steven Wright
by F'n Clownshoes on May 1, 2011 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
"If do right, no can defense"
I was ridiculously happy for Machida last night. He’s back to show people who the man is.
I was happy too,
but no matter how bad ass the kick was, it was against Randy. I wanna see him back up against some top competition asap.
Be a man, not a child-Phil Anselmo
Whos available for him to fight? Not a lot of top fighters available who don’t have fights booked already. I’d like to see them bring over Gegard Mousasi. I think that would be a really good fight.
He didn’t take any damage in his fight with Randy, maybe they could set it up for Rio
Maybe winner of Rampage / Hamill.
If Rampage wins, it’ll be a good rematch. If Hamill wins, he’s ranked 17 right now, and it should elevate him closer to the top ten if he beats Rampage. Plus, they’re only fighting at the end of the month. I really don’t think there are any other top contenders out there. Given a rematch, I think Machida would win against Rampage, and I certainly think he can destroy Hamill.
Crane Kick FTMFW!!!!
Machida Era NEVER DIES!
Jules: Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can't give you this case, it don't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass.
by RJshock 305 on May 1, 2011 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Machida looked like himself again
He looked so relaxed and in control, like he was having fun with Couture. Reminds me of the Thiago Silva fight. Machida knew it was only a matter of time before he knocked his opponent silly.
by Flying Gogoplata on May 1, 2011 4:54 PM EDT reply actions
Agreed.
I think it took him 2 rounds against Rampage to get comfortable again. Shogun traumatized him a bit IMO, and I actually think he should campaign for a rubber match.
I really like both fighters, and think that’s a great trilogy.
Xtreme Couture- The best never rest!
"I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler."
-Socrates
by ElliotMatheny on May 2, 2011 7:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Ivan Menjivar is the man
If you haven’t read it already Leland, definitely check out my interview with him over on Mania.
twitter.com/GotaHemmi
instrength.com <-- Best MMA forum
What's the policy on Tristar fighters fighting each other?
I ask this cause when Rory Macdonald eventually reaches the status of contender, if GSP is still around their paths will prolly cross at some point
I think GSP will be a middleweight by then
twitter.com/GotaHemmi
instrength.com <-- Best MMA forum
by Brian Hemminger on May 1, 2011 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions
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