No ones beating Machida right now...Lets hope a diamond like Jones can shine because truthfully, he is the "type" to beat or compete with Lyoto in the future. After seeing Machida throw Silva like a rag and slap an explosive guy like Rashad (who was fighting and did well against HWs in TUF) Lets not forget that Arona got knocked the **** out by Sokodjou who was then "subbed" and in retrospect ruined by Lyoto. Hows that for irony. Its not MMA math, theres just a big gap. Arona = please..u kidding me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pf4iraoVu0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLMbQWhfQ2I Guerriro His takedowns are a bit like GSP, not as good, but he never wrestled competitively, just had a great coach in Gohlar.
The answer to Machida is beat the **** outta this guy! Fighters need to stop being scared, and go get this guy! Evans was cautious, and scared, and why the first round was boring. Then, he just got caught cuz he seemed to have to much respect for Machida. Machida is just evasive, and a good counter . Somebody jump on him AGGRESSIVELY would stand a good chance. Of course you run the risk of getting caught....BUT your going to get caught, and finished if you stand back, and do nothing. Fighters are just plain dumb sometimes....... The man is good, but not invinsible. He hasn't even really been tested.
Nice try but Machida isnt feared. To some he is the most methodical (tactical) fighter. Hes not prime Wandy or Chuck who projects the fear of getting beatdown. Did you just say that a prime counterpunchers weakness is to be attacked aggressively? lol As for the Evans fight, he always fought like that, against liddell and Forrest he was the counterpuncher, thats his game and it got him to be the UFC Champ. This is his bread and butter and it wasnt good enough to beat Lyoto. Had he been more aggressive, he would have gotten sparked sooner. In MMA "right now" Machida is invincible as it gets, the man hasnt been hit let alone be beaten because the gap in skill is so large. Someone has to close that gap and he has to be great. For me the only one with potential is Jon Jones who has executed moves that Ive never seen in the Octagon, he can be special and thats what it'll will take to beat Lyoto at LHW.
I don't know man. Machida hasn't exactly been running through the best of the best light heavys. Sure, he has looked fantastic in basically all of his fights. But Soko is looking like a flash in the pan. Tito was a good win but Tito wasn't exactly prime. Rashad was a great win. Thiago looked like he didnt have a pulse when they fought. Machida is DEFINITELY great and may be champ for a long time, but he hasn't even defended his title yet. Let's see him in there with more top 10 guys before we start declaring him God.
Who would you have him fight but whats in front of him? He stepped up to Soko in a prove it to Dana match and ended Sokos hype, Tito he dominated besides 10 seconds. Rashad is the Champ. You really think Rampage will beat him? lol If his competition is shady at best, then in a sport where every given night anyone can get caught, Lyoto has dominated all of them with ease. Its safe to say that no one will do to Thiago and to Rashad what Lyoto did (Flawless victories). Thiago was limited but feared (that was a 50/50 fight going in). Rashad landed one shot and that was when Lyoto overcommitted a bit. Sometimes you have to look at a fighters skillset and extract it from the context of a fight. Independently assessed, Lyotos attributes are what makes a great great fighter. Tactics (he has the best), Quickness, Balance, Power, Defense, Underrated Toughness, he has it all and it aint luck hes winning easily.
I don't disagree with anything you said. He is absolutely the champ for a reason. I don't really know what I was getting at with my post except that I want to see him defend against more top 10 fighters before I am convinced he is near unbeatable.
I hear yah, but there seems to be no one in the Horizon, someone exciting and with alot of buzz. Shogun, technically will get eaten alive. Rampage although dangerous can be kicked indefinitely and when Lyoto kicks, it'll take a pole to reach his face. Translation, he can kick all night. This goes in the ground, trouble for Rampage as well. Theres just nobody, except Anderson which wont happen
Arona is a pretty good pic. I think he'd have a lot of trouble taking him down in the octagon though; theres so much space he wouldn't be able to just bull in and overpower Machida like he can to guys in the smaller ring. And his spastic striking would just get shredded. Again I think that manic unorthodox striking works better in a cramped environment like the Pride ring. At least he has an area where he is def. stronger than machida, and has a real possibility of imposing it. How far away is Arona from competing at the elite level again? Is he serious about fighting?
