Machida Accepts Fight With Tito

im on the first class cabin of the machida express, ever since i saw his fights on youtube versus franklin, bj penn, etc.

the guy has a karate man's mentality everytime he fights. he tries very hard to avoid getting touched by his opponent, even light hits. just like in karate tournaments, 1 point is 1 point, it doesnt matter how hard the opponent hits you.

 

Yeah, he's kind of like boxing Paul Williams at welterweight.

 

as a machida fan this makes me smile.

 

good call.

 

At this point, I'm not sure.. Machida's ability in the scramble was great. He reversed Soko's takedown and gained control, he was extremely game on the ground, I would bet he has superior defense, considering his ability to scramble and reverse someone as strong as Soko..

Soko got his takedowns in the clinch and not by overpowering so much as he utilized his balance and tripped Machida up.. When you see Tito's normal takedowns, they are almost always single legs, or he charges and stuffs opponents against the cage.. He isn't explosive enough to catch a guy as mobile as Machida in a straight up ranged takedown attempt, at least he's not explosive enough anymore..

Top it off, Machida really has nothing to worry about from Tito as far as striking.. Whats interesting, and what was commented about machida was his ability to strike with minimal setting. A good takedown is going to be based on a guy planting his feet, or timing a guy planting his feet and going for a takedown.. Looking for patterns in a strikers movements and strikes..

Tito wont find these in Machida and will be picked appart.