Prime Liddell vs Lyoto Machida

that was a heck of a fight

 

Very hard to call, Chuck might very well land that right hand & KO Machida, if he doesnt tho he`ll probably get outpointed in a stand-up striking match... Liddell by knockout or Machida by UD, flip a coin

 

machida would wreck chuck.

 

machida is one of my favourite fighters, and i always hear that he is influenced by karate.
how exactly does this karate influence manifest itself in his fights?
he's elusive and more of a counter-striker, would that have something to do with his karate background?
it seems like most fighters can't work him out, so what is it that they can't fathom?

 

He stands further back than most fighters do, with his feet wide apart and a back-foot stance. Machida also throws kicks off his leading foot with much more authority than most fighters do. Most guys step into a kick and then throw with their back foot, but Machida can launch fast, effective front-foot kicks with no warning.

He's also quite patient, and mostly is tough to drag out of his fight plan. He's happy to pick away at you and wait for you to get frustrated and sloppy, so he can exploit your mistakes and his big strikes.

His style helps to neutralize most orthodox attacks, and his timing, speed and reflexes are excellent. I think that a lot of guys he has fought aren't used to not being able to land on their opponent. Every time they attack, Machida hits them and immediately moves out of range. After a few minutes of this, they get discouraged and become flatfooted, and once that happens the Dragon will pick them apart. :good

:hat

 

Agreed. Liddell had the power to ko most and was very good at it. It would be a matter of whether Machida could avoid the bombs while still doing his damage coming in and out.

I was actually thinking about this matchup the other day. Good match-up imo.

 

If Liddell was the same age as Machida is now, I.E prime, I'd see it as an even money fight.