Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Lyoto Machida

My own thoughts:

1) As mentioned before, Sakuraba was excellent with the single leg takedowns during his prime. He also had an uncanny ability to get the fight to the ground one way or another--something he managed against Crocop, briefly.

2) Sakuraba had an extremely good chin and a great deal of determination. Machida is quite good at scoring knockdowns, but doesn't always close in to finish--especially when the opponent is on the ground. Sakuraba, conversely, was able to fight very effectively when hurt.

3) Sakuraba is there to be countered. The wild swings are going to allow Machida to launch punches straight down the pipe.

4) The main reason I think Sakuraba loses: Sakuraba always tried to give his audience an entertaining fight. Perhaps this had something to do with his (bad) decision to stand against Silva. Regardless, it would be suicidal against Machida, whose boring (yet highly effective) running style would force Sakuraba into a very disadvantageous fight.

5) As already mentioned, Machida doesn't seem to know what to do in the clinch. Sure he's strong, but he's not particularly scary there compared to Silva unless you're referring to his trips. These, considering Sakuraba's game, aren't nearly as dangerous.

6) Assuming that this is under modern rules, the knees to the head of a downed opponent and stomps to a downed opponent wouldn't be available to Machida. Not a major point, perhaps, but it makes the fight slightly safer for Sakuraba.



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I would predict a decision win for Machida rather than a brutal knockout. Sakuraba's recovery skills and Machida's caution would prevent the sort of massive beating that Saku took against Silva from materializing. There would be several knockdowns, however.

...And Machida fans had better hope that Sakuraba doesn't get a hold on one of Machida's legs.