How Do You Solve A Problem Like Machida?
Not that I blame him, but 205 pound contender Forrest Griffin can now be added to the list of fighters who would prefer to steer clear of the “elusive” style of one Lyoto Machida:
“The winner of Saturday night’s clash is likely to face Brazilian hotshot Lyoto Machida next. And Griffin is wary of the threat The Dragon poses. He admitted: “I want nothing to do with that guy. Not at all. He’s a tough fighter and I’d like to fight a lot of other guys first.”
BloodyElbow.com’s Michael Rome adds:
“It’s not going to be easy to book Machida’s fights going forward. The top guys have very little to gain by fighting him. If they lose a boring fight, it’s terrible for their reputation and drawing power, and if they beat him, the win doesn’t really do much besides boost their credibility among hardcore MMA fans. Even Quinton Jackson has given some signals of late that he is not interested in this fight. The other day he made it clear that he only wants to fight guys that come in and fight, not guys who run away.
Pleasing fans isn’t the only obstacle for Machida now. The next one is going to be convincing fighters that there is any upside at all in fighting him, because you need two signatures to finalize a fight contract.”
Rome speaks the truth. On paper Machida is an excellent fighter, but if no one wants to fight him (at least no one good) and the UFC has such trouble marketing him, then what are they supposed to do with “The Dragon”? Let’s face it, Machida could probably pull out decisions all the way to earning the LHW title, but is that what the fans, the UFC, or anyone else wants? I doubt it.
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Good fighter…but I hate watching this guy..I wanna see guys bang it out and Im glad Forrest doesn’t want anything to do with him…I wish they would deduct points againt guys like Machida…Maybe then he would press a little more.
Griffin going to tear Jackson up this Saturday, Can’t wait!
Lyoto is a beast!!! You can call him boring all you want but that guy is talented
Yea he is really good at kicking you and then running away, n then kicking you and then running away…He wouldn’t win half his fights if he stood there and actually fought…what a ****
put him in with chuck,rampage,wandi,silva,hendo or anderson and i dont think they will let him run away
“Lyoto by cowardice”… lol. the words ‘elusive and evasive’ are nice ways to say he runs around like a chicken…
Lyoto may not fight a pretty game but this is a Sport first and foremost and he has paid his dues to get a shot. Forrest wins one fight against an Octagon virgin (Shogun) and gets a shot at the title. All credit to Forrest for being a crowd pleaser but let’s not kill Machida for having his own fighting style.
After all his main discipline is Karate, not Ground and Pound!
If you win, you win. He doesn’t run away in his fights, he just engages on his terms. An aggressive fighter should be able to take it to him and disrupt his style, then we’ll see how he handles it.
I’m actually interested to see how he fares against any of the top guys. If you are good enough to force elite fighters to fight your style then that is saying something. So far, his fights have not been the most exciting, but give him a chance. He just got into the UFC. I’d love to see him fight Wandy.
Lyoto Machida is pretty good fighter. He has been more aggressive than usual in last couple of fights. Maybe Machida is starting to notice that there is a huge payday in his near future, so he’s trying to step up his game.
Or maybe he’ll be the Wladimir Klitschko of MMA once he becomes champion.
I am so sick of people crying about Machida. The guy is bad ass. What? Cause he won’t stand there and get hit he’s a coward? You stand in there with BJ Penn, Rick Franklin, and Tito Ortiz and see what you do? Oh by the way, he beat those guys.
He knocked Rich Franklin on his ass. The only other guy to do that is Anderson Silva. And we all know how we feel about “The Spider”. Point being Lyoto has a style that people can’t figure out how to beat.
I though he was great against Tito. Really take a look at his record. It’s great. I agree put him in there with Chuck, Wanderla, hell Quintin too. I think the outcome will be the same every time. Lyoto wins. Lyoto wins. Lyoto wins. Lyoto for President!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
see this sucks for him cause he is a smart top notch fighter this is what happened to andrei arloski (forgive the spelling) he was great at exploding then he lost to the sloth and he slowed his game and tried filling the wholes in and that makes him a boring fighter all the sudden. so we will see what is in the dragons future. also i thought that there wasnt much choice of who you fight. i would love to see a top notch fighter come in adn just beat him that way he will be out of title contention lets have the spyder face him when he is done with irvin lol that will solve all sorts of problems
i personally don’t think he’s that boring. by no means would i compare him to tim sylvia. it sucks though cuz i can see both sides of the coin. 1, you have fighters that have won fights and deserve a shot but 2. it’s somewhat at the expense of the rest of the orginization cuz in the case of sylvia, no one tuned in for those fights which meant ufc lost money. if they give him a title shot, i’d hope they’re smart enough to put it on a stacked card so that people will for sure tune in. maybe have it with penn gsp 2? that’d be nice.
It’s all about the match up. Match Machida up with a very agressive fighter who will bring the fight to him and see what happens. I don’t see how Machida could stay away from someone like Anderson Silva or Rampage. Machida may not be the most entertaining fighter but he is a very good fighter. His record proves it.
I want to see him fight wandy or vera. I believe vera was smart to turn down the fight with him. Not enough time study him and trian for his style. But wandy would take a fight to him cut off the ring and then I want to see how he would react. But I respect the dragon he is a very calm fighter. I think one more contender and he should get a title shot.
i believe vera turned the fight down with machida he doesnt want to fight him either i agree with kouch an agressive fighter would expose lyoto a bit which is good for the rest it will give some other guys confidence. no one wants to fight a very dominant person who has yet to be beat. if he had a loss then poeple wouldnt get so hung up on him
2girls2cups
i agree they would probably put and awesome card on to back him up as the main event. thats what they did with big nog when he went for the interm HW title they had a great card to back up some boring fighters.
actually it would take a smart fighter to beat Machida. The over aggressive bang it out guys are what he’d feed off of.. He’s a counter striker.. so you come in fast, hard, and wild (like everyone seems to love) and then you’ll finally get to see Machida finally end a fight.. For all those that say all he does is run then you need to check out some photos of his opponents faces after the fight.
It still baffles me how MMA fans want everyone to respect MMA as a sport but at the same time most don’t even want to see skills displayed. Most seem to want to see people stand toe to toe like Rocky and Apollo swinging until someone falls. Where is the skill in that?
Count me in the camp that says Machida has a great style. Its not like he is just running around in circles, he keeps moving and avoiding being right in front of his opponent. If you dont want to lose a decision to him you better have the skills to close the distance and either take him down or land punches. Can he be beaten? Of course. I will agree that he should not be given a title shot already, I’d like to see him fight someone that isn’t washed up (tito).
Talk is that Rich Franklin is moving to 205, again, and that he might debut at UFC 88 or 89. Let him try to make up for his loss to Lyoto from way back when. I believe that was Rich’s first ever loss. I’m sure he would love to get that back.
everyone needs to stop crying….i believe the real problem is that everyone knows lyoto will take down there favorite fighter in a match and they cant get over him being so great…..i hate it when people say he is overated or that he runs….go learn some karate you idiots……i mean theres a reason sherdog.com has him ranked #2 in the LHW divison….people talk about his fights being boring …..i can name alot more matches that where more boring than any of lyotos and they were main events!………rashad vs bisping, Rampage vs hendo(tell me that wasnt hugging for 5 rounds)…….and also if you think hes boring look at his record…..if everyone else had a great fighting style like him then they would be undefeated too……lyoto will be the champ and he will reign for a while…he is gonna do to the UFC LHW divison what Anderson silva did to the UFC Middleweight divison and ill put money on that!
Machida vs. A. Silva- Silva
Machida vs. Q. Jackson-Jackson
Machida vs. C Liddell(or anyone else in LHW)-Machida
Machida vs Evans would solve one problem at least in the short run as both fighterts have their detractors.
i think the best 3 in the division is chuck,rampage,and is much as it pains me to say it machida he has skill but i dont think he would beat chuck or quinton i think everyone is getting a little over excited about his win against tito
I’m not a proponent of Anderson Silva moving up to 205 (although how can you not want to see him fight anybody), but since he’s already doing it, at least for Irvin, then a match up with Machida would be a great one.
I think Liddell for some reason would pose a lot of problems for Anderson. The Spider hasn’t fought anyone who is a truly gifted striker yet. Henderson has a good haymaker, but he’s basically a great wrestler who can bang. He couldn’t close the gap against the rangy Spider. Chuck, on the other hand, is 6′2, with long arms and accurate knock-out power counter strikes and great take down defense. I think he beats Silva if they fight in the next year.
Silva actually has a better shot at beating Rampage IMO, even though Rampage beats Chuck 4 out of 5, probably. I think Rampage would try to take him down and the fight might go like Silva’s with Hendo.
Bottom line, I think Silva will shorten his period of dominance by moving up, because once he’s knocked out, he loses most of his mystique. If you are someone like GSP, you can come back even stronger, but I think if any of the top 205’s (Rampage, Liddell, Wandy or Machida) KO him, then when he returns to 185, he’ll find a guy like Marquardt more than ready to take his belt.
Nevertheless, you gotta love that Anderson has the guts to fight the best in the world. He’s on par with BJ Penn for the most fearless mixed martial artist in the world, and the most talented.
haha he is toooooo shifty
I think that another LHW that needs to be feared is Goran Reljic. I think he could be the real deal at LHW as well.
i’ll be pleased if he somehow gets a shot at the belt and takes it…just for the sheer amount of pissing and moaning that’ll go on. it’ll be awesome.
The guy is great so what he hits then moves, thats his game plan and makes the fight come to him……its rather smart
the guy is good but do yall really enjoy watching him fight i mean i have been watching the sport for along time and he is up there in my book as one of the more boring fighters
“Machida by cowardice”? How about all these duckers and dogders are the cowards. If they are all so skilled and badass, why can’t they figure him out and step to the plate? Complaining about him running away, is not cogent because Machida attacks and lands blows. He is a counter puncher. His footwork is to go for these cowards who don’t have sufficient boxing skills to cut of angles. They claim to “fight anywone” but want nothing to do with Machida because they don’t want to be exposed and embarrassed. Talk about cowardice.
Machida sure didn’t learn Karate @ Cobra Kai!
UFC NEEDS YELLOW CARDS. Problem solved.
@ rutdog, agreed, he connects with one of those high kicks and he could knock anyone out in any division.
THIS IS THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN FOR MACHIDA. I say that because he is already in fighters heads.
The UFC should use this as a scare tactic and promote his as the man that fighters are afraid of. No one wants to fight him, not because he is boring, but because they don’t believe that they can win. I thought if you were a fighter, you fight anyone no matter what. I guess I was wrong.
I don’t know why people don’t think he deserves a title shot that. He has already fought 5 fights in the UFC and is still undefeated at 13-0. He has been BJ Penn(A guy who was the welterweight and now the lightweight champion), Rich Franklin(who was the middleweight champion, stephan bonnar, tito ortiz(who was the LHW champion-a while ago), and a many more top rated fighters. 3 UFC Champions alone should say alot. Don’t say a guys is boring because he won’t stay directly in front of you and let you hit his face. Did Randy couture stand in front of Tim Sylvia and let him hit him in the face-does anyone say Couture is running away from you. No way-he doesn’t let you hit him then seizes the opportunity to either take you down or hit you. As a guy who teaches Martial Arts for a living-I can really appreciate Machida-he doesn’t take any unnessary damage-as a UFC fighter-you are going to take enough no matter what over the years.
I love watching Machida fight. He’s easily the smartest fighter in the division today. You see everybody complain and ask for an aggressive fighter to fight him, well, that happened in Sokoudjou and Tito. And he killed them both.
This is a sport people. A sport. It’s not a human cock fight. We’ve made great steps in legitimizing MMA as a sport to the general public. I would really hate for all that to go down the tubes because all people really want to see is two guys that just beat the living hell out of each other.
If Machida bores you, maybe you should start hanging out with Michael Vick and his crew. I hear those dog fights are really exciting.
I wanna see Chuck vs Lyoto
Machida is def a very good fighter, but he did run, run, run from Tito, not that I blame him. I dont care what you guys say, if he got close enough to Tito, he knew he would lose. Machida can be champ, but if he doesn’t get his balls back, he wont.
i am not so sure that liddel will cause that many problems for anderson liddel is a awesome counterstriker i will give him that but his wildness is not that much different that chris leban and we all saw what happens when you give anderson too big of a hole ktfoed
you knwo everyone has a style and a game plan for a fight tito must have been someone lyoto didnt want to stay in the pocket with so he would stick and move especially since tito is a great wrestler ground and pound really removes lyoto karate
Fighters complain about Machida’s elusive style yet when a fighter like Franklin or Soakajew (sp) takes it to him they get schooled and finished.
Match Machida up with Shogun and watch the sparks fly.
I’d love to see Machida vs Wanderlei !
Wanderlei will be the man to stop Lyoto “piss break” Machida
This guys so awkward, he’s almost too awkward to the point of being boring. I’m not saying I find Lyoto a boring fighter, quite the opposite in fact. I find his fights exciting without too much ever happening. I’d really look forward to see him fight some of the top guys in the division & i’d see him causing some upsets too.
JPM
I think most people agree with you he’s there…Nothing exciting just there…In the end that will be why the UFC will drop him.He will lose two and it will be time to make way for the next guy who makes the highlight reel.
If you just wanna see bums getting beat up you probably should buy a Kimbo Slice-t shirt and stick to the circus-fights that EliteXC throws in for him.
But if your wanna watch the most talent filled fighters in the world.. you just gotta love Machida. I can’t wait for his next fight.
YUP THE ONLY REASON UFC IS KEEPING HIM RIGHT NOW IS BECAUSE HE IS UNDEFEATED. ONE HE LOSES A COUPLE UFC WILL DROP HIM. IM SURE THEY ALL THINK HE IS A BORING FIGHTER LIKE JT MONEY I DON’T MACHIDA
True fighters fight anybody, anytime, not matter what style. Lyoto will fight anybody. For Forrest and Rampage saying they will not fight him, then they are not meant to be the champion. I guarantee guys like Couture, Liddell, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, GSP would find a way to press a karate guy. It it called MIXED MARTIAL ARTS……that is the beauty of this whole thing, people have different styles. The highlight of this year so far was watching Lyoto catch Tito Ortiz with that knee that buckled him…guys like Forrest and Rampage should be able to push the action….put catching a scissor kick or knee kinda deters people!
The guy is undefeated and that’s all that matters. He has not lost. You can call him boring or whatever, but he isn’t just beating guys, he’s dominating them…beating them easily. Not just some ole Joe Blows, but Big Name guys. He was the first person to beat and KO Rich Franklin. He stopped Stephen Bonner, he beat BJ Penn, choked out Sokodju, beat up Tito, and the list goes on and on. The guy is just a supreme technical fighter. He is like the Pernal Whitiker of MMA. He hits his opponents and doesn’t get hit much by his opponents. That’s call good defence….”period”! You don’t have to like his style, but it’s effective and he’s good on the feet, on the ground, and with submissions. Extremely Hard to take down. I would like to see someone put him on his back and see how he does. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him on bottom position EVER. Regardless to what you think of him, he deserves the next title shot!
All you guys are saying put Machida with an agressive fighter?? Im thinkin the opposite…Yea it will be a boring fight, but what Machida fight isn’t boring? He needs to fight like a passive wrestler….Just stay away from him and make Machida be the agressor…Once he steps in with that body kick…take him down…do that once each round n Machida will feel his own Medicine….I wish this guy would get knocked out but he won’t even exchange with anybody…its 1…maybe 1-2 then back away…back away…back away
JAI
He is not dominating anybody…hes winning boring ass decisions…
He’s kalib starnes with skills. Change his nickname to “The Dragonfly”. BORING! BORING! I’m not paying that kind of money to watch a track meet. I’m paying money to see someone get punched in the face! Oh and he’s friends with Anderson Silva so that fight will never happen.
It is all about money… Machida is hard to market with a few losses and a boring style.
THIT MACHIDA VS TITO FIGHT WAS BORING AS ALL HELL. I STARTED OUT FOR MACHIDA AND AT THE END I WAS FOR TITO HOPING HE WOULD PUT HIM ON HIS ASS. I FEEL BAD TITO WENT OUT WITH A LOSS A “BORING” LOSS AT THAT
I agree with JAI, the guy is legit….I enjoy watching him fight….I will be very disappointed if the UFC lets him go because of his style. There are plenty of other guys out there who are worse. Of course everybody wants to see people throw hands, but Lyoto is flashy, those scissor kicks are ridiculous…people are just scared to fight him….
Some enjoy differant styles. Not everyone is going to think he is boring, but it is about the majority. There are over 100 to 1 against him.
PLANCKF16 YOUR RIGHT I FIND HIM BORING BECAUSE I LIKE TO SEE FIST THROWN AND ALOT OF ACTION ON THE GROUND. I DON’T GET FROM MACHIDA. HES TOUGH DON’T GET ME WRONG. I JUST LIKE ACTION. IM NOT TRYING TO TAKE AWAY FROM HIM ITS JUST MY OPINION AND PEOPLE MIGHT FEEL DIFFERENTLY BUT THATS WHAT I LIKE.. YA KNOW
Cole,
What did he do to Sokodju?….Was he boring against Tito?….Did you see his fights against Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, or Stephan Bonnar from Rumble on the Rock?
I’m not saying the buy is a “top draw” or as exciting as someone like Liddell or whatever, what I am saying is he is a GREAT fighter, extrememly skilled, extremely technical, makes very little mistakes, he beats his opponents in all phases of the fight (standing, on the ground, with submissions) and just because he isn’t as marketable or as exciting of a fighter is no reason not to give him a title shot when no one has been able to beat him.
Forrest Griffin is going to use the same stragety this weekend against Rampage that Machida uses against all of his opponent and that is “get in, land punches and/or kicks, and get out without getting hit.” Go to UFC.TV and click on Forrest’s interview video. According to his interview, he’s going to do the same thing Machida does all the time. If he uses that stragety and wins the title and beats Rampage it will be interesting to see what you guys have to say then.
Forrest and Machida are complete opposites.
JAI he is a great fighter and is good at what he does, but imagine trying to market him as the champion. Can he anchor a PPV card when the mass MMA public thinks he is boring?
I DON’T THINK HE CAN HEADLINE A PPV FIGHT. DEPENDING ON THE OPPONENT IS BUT NOT WITH A NO BODY.
You guys that keep saying he is boring and “like to watch someone get punched in the face” sound like the kids on the play ground standing over 2 kids fighting-hoping someone will get hurt bad and dissappointed when it doesn’t happen. Like other people have said-this is a sport-how much skill does it take to just stand there and get hit in the face? It takes a lot more skill to create angles and get in and out without taking any punishment. Did you seen the left hand he landed on Soukoudou? Did you see the several head kicks he threw at Tito-he had them all rocked. I love to watch his fights and the technicality of what he is doing is on another level all together. I agree with those who posted previously that said real fighters will fight anyone. Why are these “Champions” don’t want anything to do with Machida?
JAI…if he isn’t a “top draw” like liddel or jackson..then why give him a title shot? Theres sooo many good fighters in that division and sooo many more fighters that would put on a better fight than Machida,..dana has stated he wants f*ckers that are going to go out there and fight…not run away or lay on a guy for 15 mins…Machida is very skilled, Im not saying he isn’t but…he needs to go out there and bang so people wanna see him…
ok…you can make out to be as civilized as you want…but its still two guys in a cage tryin to hurt each other….thats like saying I like to see good safe tackles in the NFL…not big hits. Its about dominating the other person…not getting by and winning a decision
You can’t have a champion that is supposed to be the best in the world, and have no one want to see him. That would just be bad business sense.
I want to see him fight someone on the caliber of Rampage, Shogun, or Chuck. I don’t think he has ben that tested. Think about it. Franklin in his third fight ever. Tito 3 years after washing up. Soukodjou in his first ever bigtime fight. Come on, I don’t think he’s all that some of you are saying. He needs another fight against a top contender to get a title shot.
Rampage(Champ)vs Forrest (Cause he’s getting a shot)
2. Wandy (should fight Machida for a shot)
3. Chuck
4. Anderson Silva (One win away from chuck)
5. Thiago Silva (Than man is a beast! no one wants a part of him right now! )
***I dont think that anyone deserves a shot right now. Everyone is ONE or TWO fights away from a tittle shot right now
*******Machida needs more quality wins before he can be mentioned for a tittle shot. His last two fights were against sojdoku and tito ortiz. Niether are top ten tier fights.
Rutdog,
I agree he should fight better fighters, but the guys he is fighting are not bums. Plus, he has never came close to losing, except for the Tito armbar. I mean, if we want to split hairs, Liddell should have been done after his Rampage and Jardine loses (that was the most boring fight ever), especially with Jardine getting dropped so quickly in his last fight. Here is how I see it:
Jardine is out of the picture.
Chuck needs to win 2 more before a shot.
Wandy needs to beat Liddell again before a shot.
Machida vs. Thiago Silva for the next title shot…that would be a great fight. Both are undefeated and Thiago will push the pace!
Cole,
i feel what you’re saying about people may not want to see him fight over one of the other guys that are bigger fan favorites or whatever. What I’m saying is do you just keep by passing this guy and over looking him when he is defeating everyone you put in front of him and making it look easy against BIG NAMES. How many more people are you going to throw at the guy before you give him a chance for a title shot regardless to how exciting he is. You’re right, Dana did say he wants guys that put on exciting fights, but this is what he said about Vanderlei Silva prior to the Jardine fight, “Vanderlei is a very exciting fighter, but he has lost 3 in row. I don’t care how exciting you are, you better win some fights if you plan on being in the UFC”. So here you have a guy that goes balls to the wall, swinging for the fences every time he fights, straight up banging and he’s being threatened with being cut from the UFC because he wasn’t winning at the time. Well, that’s all Machida does is win. He has NEVER LOST! I’m just saying there has to be a happy medium. I didn’t like JT from the last season of TUf because he was boring, but he never lost to anyone. So because he was boring should Dana not have let him go one to the next round even though he won a lackluster fight? I agree with you, it would not be an easy fight to sell or market, but he deserves the next title shot…it’s only fair!
Well said JAI, now chew on this:
Thiago Silva is also undefeated, with only one fight going to a decision. Dana White wants to test Machida…..put him in against Thiago, that guy is ruthless and mean. Thiago will fight him, hands down. This fight needs to happen! Do I get a booking fee?
Chuck is not some up and comer who needs to string victories together to get a title shot. He needs two in a row, that’s it. He beat Wandy and looked great doing it. Rua was next, but now it’s Rashad. Fine, Rashad is top 10, and if Chuck’s hamstring injury didn’t slow him down too much he should win that with a KO.
Remember, Forrest got his title shot after winning only two in a row after his Jardine loss (which was a lot worse than Chuck’s). He beat Rua (on par namewise with Wandy) and now he’s in there with Rampage.
Liddell is a former dominant champion with a huge drawing capacity. True, he’s lost twice to Rampage, but only once in the UFC in a flash knockout. The Pride fight was years ago and closer than many remember, even though Rampage finished it strongly. Not saying Chuck wins if they fight a third time, but you can be sure the real Chuck will show up and not the guy who was konking out on daytime talk shows.
Wandy, because he lost three in a row before whacking Jardine, is the guy who has to string a few together. A no-brainer match-up if you really want to test both guys would be Wandy Machida. The winner of that would be next in line, with Wandy erasing his losses in one fell swoop by beating the undefeated and currently untouchable Machida.
I like the idea of Wandy – Machida….where do you see Chuck fitting into the pic if:
a) Chuck wins
b) Wandy – Machida fight
Obviously, that winner gets a title shot, right?
But Chuck beat Wandy, does Wandy’s success over Rampage sell a better fight?
I see what your saying…but as far as his last fights go…Tito is washed up and no where near a contender and sokuju haha can’t spell his name…hes young and inexperienced…so really he needs a win over wandy, chuck, rashad, top 10 fighter…I’d like to see what would happen with wandy..I dunno, its hard to hit a guy when hes constantly backpeddling…its hard to take them down too, as you could see in the ortiz fight
I is going to take him beating a top 10 to get the recognition that many feel he deserves. His style is just so differant than normal, but eventually someone will figure him out.
Cole, if it were you, how would you approach a fight with him?
I’d say use his style against him…but then you would have 2 guys just dancing around…its really a bad match-up for an agressive fighter…cuz he just moves around so damn much…you spend more time chasing him and once you get a position to throw combos, hes moving away again…what about you? whats your gameplan?
Puma,
You are absolutly right. I would watch 2 kids on the playground fight. And yes I do want to see someone get punched in the face when I’m paying to see a fight. This is a sport…a fighting sport! I have no problem with a guy fighting a technical fight as long as he is attacking and not running. Lyoto runs. If I want to watch something be passive and technical I’ll watch the ballet like you do you FRUIT!
My game plan would be to stand there and say come here. Stand in the center and keep motioning for him to come to you. The crowd would obviously start booing him if he keeps dancing around and not engaging. I’ve done that in a wrestling match and the kid got nailed for stalling because it proved his passiveness. On second thought they should add that to the rules for stand up. I mean if the ref can stop a fight on the ground for no action he should be able to stop and and warn a fighter for not engaging on their feet as well. Take away a point after 2 or 3 warnings.
you guys are ignorant… Machida is a master. He hits and doesn’t get hit. he banged up Tito. Why take punishment? Machida threw kicks, effective punches, and slammed Tito. Don’t forget he had him in half guard pounding him at the end of the round. Sorry he doesn’t get his head kicked in just to entertain you. You gotta appreciate the skills and making top fighters look stupid. Didn’t you see him beat down Franklin into a little ball in the corner of the ring??? you’re making him sound like Starnes…
curtis…tito use to be top five plus he beat african assisan he was ranked when he beat him….machida trains w/ the best in the world haha will is correct
will
no1’s calling him a bad fighter, he just doesnt entertain. Whats the point of having someone in your organisation who no1 likes to watch fight, no crowds no money
Lord Mark,
It’s one thing to have a spirited debate about what you think a fighter should or shouldn’t be and what you appreciate vs what I appreciate-but to go after me personally-what’s that all about. I don’t know you from Adam. I am a man-I like a good fight just as much as the next guy-but there has to be something more than just standing there and banging it out with each other-you could take some guy from the toughest parts of LA, and threw him in the ring and I’m sure he would do fine if that is what you are looking for. I teach Martial Arts for a living, I spent 5 years living in Korea with young Koreans trying to take my head off daily (the young college kids hate American military over there). So I can really appreciate Lyoto Machida’s method and skill required at that level to basically come in and attack at will and not receive damage on the way in or out-that is a hard thing to do-I’ve been doing Martial Arts for over 15 years and it is still a challenge to do. I admit to being biased coming from a traditional background like Machida, but that’s the benefit of these kind of boards-you get people who look at things a different way and you can gain something. I never thought about Lyoto fighting Alves-now I think about it-yeah that would be one hell of a fight-that is the kinds of things to gain here. Sitting around calling each other names is just stupid.
I appreciate Machida’s technical skill I think he is just suffering from 1 less than stellar showmanship and 2 not having a highlight that sticks in your head as a MMA fan.
cole are you shure your tito just trying to make machida look bad cause you lost ………..if not are you just a cole miller nut hugger?????…..wait maybe you are cole miller…well in that case…i cant wait to see you lose to gurgel he is gonna dominate you….and if your just a normal guy whats with the gay naming yourself after a fighter maybe ill be a fighter to…..look now im lyoto machida!
jeeze cole anyone who cant see the art that is lyoto machidas style is not a true mma fan………ur favorite fighter is probably chris leben!……………………..is this you?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Kaveka says:
So far I have heard a lot of good points and thoughts from all you guys. I would just like to say I am first and foremost a hard core MMA fan (from the first UFC) and over the past 3 yrs. I have added Lyoto Machida to the list of one of my favorite fighters. Like all of you I like a fighter based on skills, gameness(willingness to fight) and personality. Now until Machida’s fight with Ortiz I don’t think too much thought was put into him being a boring fighter or a runner. Especially coming off his 2nd round win over Sokadju. However, After watching the fight against Ortiz over and over I would have to say that Machida played it a little too safe and did not capatilize on oprotunities to finish the way he is capable of doing ie..Franklin, Sokadju. I don’t know if it was nerves or what, but it looks like he was thinking a little too much..who knows?
Anyways, Let’s be honest real MMA fans can change their mind about a fighter based on one great performance or one bad one (your only as good as your last fight). So I agree with all of you that said Machida should fight one more fight before he is given a title shot. Let’s face it Machida knows he did not put on as an exciting fight as he would have liked to. He has to feel the pressure to come out next time and knock some one out, so I imagine he will not change his style but will engage more, especially if he faces a true striker. (Bye the way I thought Tito vs. Machida was a bad match up style wise but Dana probaly new it was the safest way to send Tito out with a loss.) I think although thiago deserves a shot to fight Machida for a title oprotunity the right guy for the job is definatley “The Axe Murder” It would be a great win-win for the UFC assuming Rampage beats Forrest. Lets face it, if Machida beats Silva it’s probably not going to be by decision. It would probably be by knock out and then every one would definately think differently of Machida, which would increase his marketablity for a title fight. Or if Silva won, it would also most likely be by knock out and would be two great victories (in the UFC)over top ten guys. Then The UFC would have a dream matchup between the guy who beat rampage twice. Bye the way Silva does not need a long streak to earn a title shot, come on, he is a top ten veteran not an over night sensation. Plus he did in seconds what Chuck failed to due in Three rounds (K.O. Jardine) Machida Vs. Silva Thanks giving weekend…Mandalay bay
Are you kidding me , Machida is a very smart fighter , he throws combos and side steps , this guy is a dodger of punchs thats not to say he runs, just that he throws his punch and when you goes to throw his not there, which means your timing is **** compared to his, thats just stupid if guys don’t want to fight him, cause they are to scary to lose , that just proves all the Machida fans right , this guy is good. like really just because he does stand infront of your punchs makes him a crowd? no sounds smart to me. Rampage doesn’t want to fight him cause he saw this friend Tito a good wrestler not get Machida to the ground once
Cole,
I think if it was in a ring you would be able to corner him and take his style away.
Since it is in cage you have to produce angles and anticipate his movements. We already know that he is going to run and not be aggressive. It may take tons of fake shots and kicks but eventually you could work into him and be able to take him down.
As he circles away try to time how he steps and throw a hook to that side into his movement…
That is what I think would work.
Easier said than done.
Puma,
My appologies. You’re right, I shouldn’t have attacked you personally. I will try to keep my future comments to the topic.
I still think Lyoto is boring though and wouldn’t pay to see him as the main event. The card that he would headline would have to be stacked to keep me interested. I respect his skill set because it definatly would keep you out of trouble in a fight in real life, But we watch MMA and the UFC in particular to be entertained. Fighters like Lyoto just do not entertain and that is my problem with him. I wrestled pretty much my whole life and I’m not a fan of Koschek, Jesse Taylor, and others like that even though they wrestled. Boring fighters just don’t cut it with me. Do I respect they’re wrestling abilities yes…but their entertainment value is very weak to me and I just won’t tune in to watch it. They need to become more well rounded like Urijah Faber, Jens Pulver, Diego Sanchez, John Fitch, and many others…Great wrestlers who can also bang with the best of them. To me Lyoto is on the level of Koschek and those guys just as a Karate guy. Please someone tell him to start to attack!
I admit as a fan of the sport Machida is not the most exciting,but he is an intelligent fighter.That is his fighting style.Like him or dislike him the guy still gets in the ring and gos to work.Much Respect!He will continue to move up in that weightclass i believe.The solution for beating him is keep pressure on him constantly!Tito did not.
machida will be the next ufc lhw champ!
I’m not sure why people are on Machida’s case so much – he nearly knocked out Tito, submitted Sokoudjou, KO’d Rich Franklin, TKO’d Bonnar. People seem to be upset that he doesn’t stand in the middle of the ring and let himself get hit, that’s stupid. For those fighters that complain about him – just corner him or take him down and pound him if you don’t like it. But they can’t, cause he’s too good. Whiners. Good martial art skill is about hitting and not being hit yourself. Machida – the future LHWC baby!
quit talking to yourself.