Machida to replace Rampage/Frank Mir at UFC98

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day, and with the number of wrong predictions I have made, it was inevitable that I would get one right eventually

I did have a feeling about this one through- I think Machida is a fantastic fighter, and Evans, whilst fiercely competetive, to me is way too generic, or 'standardised' to have the depth to deal with anything out of the ordinary in the octagon.

*Cord hugs Brian, cupping his buttocks, then drops into stance and gives him a KO krotty chop 'HIYAA!!!'*

Wow, Machida did very well. I expected Rashad to have a better gameplan than he did- it seemed like he was just backing off the whole fight. When he did come forward, Machida wasn't having any of it. Machida showed how good his striking is for MMA. I don't know what it means for karate, but it certainly shows the effectiveness of Machida's stand-up.

He is going to be a nightmare for anyone else in the division now. If Rashad Evans can't take him down, and nobody can hit him, how the hell do you take him out. I like Quinton Jackson a lot, but I don't know if he has the strategy to figure Machida out. Right now, I can't think of anyone who does.

Vids while they last:

http://mixedmartialartvideos.com/

Just a fantastic KO. To be able to stand so close, slip so many strikes while delivering your own is a real display of talent.

I always remember being taught the theory that the 'krotty' stance was designed to minimise target area for your oponent, whilst increasing your own mobility etc etc etc. I think machida is the first full contact fighter I have ever seen who has been able to take that theory off of the page, and put it into a fight. Great kicks too

Great stuff.

"Welcome to the Machida era". No joke. I think he will be champ for some time. He is the Anderson Silva or GSP of the LHW division. His defense is simply uncanny - great footwork combined with excellent head movement. His attack timing is superb, as well. Too bad he is boring. *pokes Brian*

Machida better watch out for "Bones" Jones - he may be even more unorthodox than Machida is.

Gotta give Rashad some credit, too. That guy has heart - knocked down 3 times, and got back up until the last one.

Props to Matt Hughes, too. A good fight, and Hughes' takedowns were the story, as I thought. Serra did display some great striking, and if that last round had been about 10 seconds longer..........

Anyone that needs a crash course on Ground-and-Pound need only view the Sonnen/Miller fight. Sonnen better work on his defense, though, both striking and grappling. Some close calls there, but once he got top-position, it was all over for Miller.

How about the Sherk/Edgar fight? Some blazing striking from both guys. Sherk was very fast, and strong, but simply wasn't hitting with enough penetration to do damage. Edgar looked awesome, as I remembered him from his fight with Tyson Griffin (which is one of my all time favorite MMA fights - show ANYONE that fight, and they will become an MMA fan).

The interesting thing is Machida is portrayed as utilizing kata training in his fight preparation. Which is something I have heard people say pro fighters don't do and would be foolish to do. Maybe foolish enough to win a world title too.

Kata. It doesn't take kata to produce what he does. Just a thought.

Anyway, I felt that Machida would win. He did. This IS the Machida era no doubt. Does anyone know if the guy has fought another high level southpaw in MMA so far?


-John

So what if it doesn't take kata to produce his fighting style either it is a part of his training, or it isn't.

No one disputes that you can reach the same place by alternate routes, however I think if part of his training is kata-based, we should take him at his word and not second guess it.

Why second guess how he got his skills? Clearly a part of what he does is traditional Shotokan, and funnily enough it appears to be this difference in his fighting style that is making him such a challenge, you can watch many top level ippon shobu Karate tournaments and see this kind of evasiveness and timing, there is no question that it is that kind of training playing a big part in his wins now...yet still people like to pretend it isn't his Karate, mind boggling.

Basically, he is using his Karate, I find it funny how now so many people are trying to say "well he's not really using his Karate"..when you read interviews with Machida he certainly seems to think his Shotokan is a big part of what he does.

I think the key word here is 'part' of what makes up his fighting.
He has definitely kept more of the stylised movement, which normally disappears in full contact competition, (K1 is essentialy a full contact karate tournament, yet Semi Schiltz and many others tend to adapt their karate into a more generic kickboxing guard/footwork), but lets not forget that he is also a pretty accomplished ground fighter as well.

He clearly makes what he does work for him, and I can only imagine Fred Ettish is sat somewhere wondering where he went wrong

Cord, Undeniably true. Obviously a part of what he does is "MMA proper" with the BJJ and MT training I guess you'd say. The point I am making is that the part of his fighting that everyone is raving about, the part of his skillset that sets him apart from everyone he is fighting is unmistakably Karate.

Of course i'm not trying to say that's the sole deciding factor in his wins, obviously he couldn't do this for instance without the comfort of extensive grappling skills, what I am saying is that he IS doing Karate, no question...and it appears to be working.


It even appears to hold up pretty well against the more standard MMA "standup" methods, at least in the way Machida is employing it.


Fred Ettish heh ...a different time I suppose!

People i'm sure will continue to claim that his Karate has nothing to do with his victories, but it certainly seems to be what is setting his style apart right now.

Doesn't matter what people are saying or what people think he is doing/using. Even Joe Rogan gives his karate training the majority of the credit!

It does matter what Lyoto Machida says is driving his training and every karate practitioner knows what that is.

Now, don't be a hater. It's not too late to start or return to kata training.

Fred Ettish was not a different time, merely a different person. I think we can all agree that it is the person, not the art that makes the difference in such situations, or maybe a combination of the person, and the way the art is trained.

Now before you all start shouting 'MACHIDA IS A KROTTY KATA GUY!!!' , do we know how he intergrates kata/bunkai into his training?

Lets not forget that you can argue that drilling pre-determined combo's on pads and shadow boxing, could both easily be seen as a western art 'kata' in concept. Its all down to application of these tools in training as a whole, as to if they prove effective.

Edgar/Sherk; fantastic fight. Sherk is becoming one dimensional and guys are now able to pick him apart. Edgar did a fantastic job; props.

Serra/Hughes; I had this as a draw and perhaps even Serra a head by a point at the end.

Machida/Evans; surprised and not surprised. Was a good fight and props to Machida for the big win.

With respect to Machida and the Karate comments. This is "Machida's" style of fighting. We've seen other guys come in with Karate backgrounds (i.e. GSP, Chuck Liddell) who don't fight this way. I've seen Karate guys fight in Karate tournaments and don't fight this way. This is again Machida's fighting style. Karate is a big part of his training and he does it proud but I think what ever art he trained in his style would be similar. We all have our own style; some people just figure it out differently or better; that is what he did.

I don't in anyway give any props to katas. I don't think for once that because he does katas that this is why he did well. As a fighter he fights and trains fighting. He may hold true to his Karate background and may continue to do this but his abilities come from him training to fight and katas is not fighting. If he was given a choice to train fighting or do katas and had to drop one; he wouldn't even have to blink and katas would be gone. Any Karate guy or any other martial artist that has katas/patterns/forms that think otherwise are delusional. Katas effectiveness I think would be no more then I would if he ate a big bowl of Cheerios before the fight.

Again props to Machida. Never been a fan because not to exciting of a fighter but these last two fights have certainly been impressive and I also think he could hold on to this belt. He seems to have the answer to many fighters; whether they are counter fighters or aggressive fighters. Good luck to him.

It's not so much about Kata, I have no interest in having that argument with you guys, and you are correct that in isolation kata training would have no effect on a fighter, nevermind that virtually no one (including Machida obviously) trains it in isolation...

However, what Machida is doing is NOT just "Machida's style"...what he is doing is pretty clearly influenced by his years in Shotokan, watch some high level JKA ippon shobu kumite, then come back here and tell me what he is doing is just "his style". With respect Dereck, if you don't see how what he is doing is similar to Shotokan kumite, then you haven't watched alot of good JKA/Shotokan type kumite matches.

It's not just his style, it's pretty classic Karate, to a degree even *gasp* "sport" Karate. I find it nothing less than hilarious watching people come up with all kinds of reasons that his standup skills aren't Karate based...they are.

Ridiculous.

Did you guys see that drill he was doing with the cones and combinations? It was on the pre-fight show. He was basically running a slalom around cones and hitting combos on focus mitts at every angle. I tried it... it is hard!

It fares even better for Machida that his fights will now be 5 rounds. Gives him more time to be "boring" if and when he ever needs it.

-Jeff

In every clip I've seen, they always mention Machida came from a Karate background. Joe Rogan seems to love Machida's Karate base. He mentioned it in the pre-fight spots they had prior to UFC98. What most people are probably thinking of are the other Karate competitors who come in and get submitted, KO'd, or GnP'd in round 1. Machida isn't like that at all, clearly. It seems he's really focused on the ability to evade incoming attacks, and counter effectively, rather than running in with a flying bicycle kick. Isn't that what Karate teaches? To not be first to engage, but be the last to strike?

Exactly! It's the fine art of counter-striking. The longer I train, the more I realize how appropriate such a strategy is to "street" fighting.

The one who strikes first often tips their hand. It seems that the one who maintains poise and control, is the one most likely to land the telling shot. How often does Machida do that very thing?!

I love seeing him fight although many criticize him for being boring. But IMO, that's the same sort of "boring" that people originally labeled grapplers with. Once you understand the art involved, it isn't quite as boring as one might think.

Interesting article here:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/your-kung-fu-actually-is-good-here-17640

Good find Matt.

Here's Machida competing in a Karate tournament in (so the vid says) 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nqbAfzrg-E

Interesting to watch. I've been following Machida for a while now. I posted some video of him a few months back doing what looked like an aikido throw in a full contact match. All in all, a very interesting fighter.



--Chris