The concept of an athlete’s career taking a nosedive is an interesting one, as fans expect it and yet are shocked when it actually comes about. We all talk about that night where fighter X will enter the octagon and finally look old. Yet, when it happens, fans rush to find any excuse they can to explain the performance and thrust age to the side. You need not look any further then this past weekends main event between Lyoto Machida and Yoel Romero for examples of this.
Not The Dragon We’re Used To
Machida came into the contest at the age of 37 and coming off of the most lopsided defeat of his career. Think about it, Machida’s six losses prior to the Romero fight came against Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Jon Jones, Phil Davis, Chris Weidman, and Luke Rockhold. Shogun’s title victory over The Dragon was dominant as it was a first round knockout but it was Machida’s first loss and was the sequel to a back and forth, five round war. Machida’s losses to Jackson and Davis must be placed with an asterisks as a majority of people believed Machida won both of those contests. The fights with Jones and Weidman were battles with two of the top five pound for pound fighters on the planet. The Jones fight saw Machida test the young champion more than anyone ever had at the time before Jones found a way to finish The Dragon in the second round. The Weidman bout saw the middleweight champ have to go through by far the closest contest of his career in a five round fight of the year candidate. Machida rebounded from that loss with a thumping victory over C.B. Dollaway, seemingly maintaining his elusive form.
That’s when he walked into the octagon with Luke Rockhold, and that night that fans fear for their favorite fighters took place. And if you thought that was a fluke, go back and watch his next battle with Romero from Saturday. Yes, Rockhold and Romero are both world class fighters, but that was not the same elusive Dragon that we have come accustomed to. We are so used to seeing Machida either win or lose a close battle that his last two matches, where he was thoroughly dominated, were an anomaly.
More Age, Less Speed
Anyone who has watched Lyoto Machida fight will tell you that his greatest asset is his elusiveness. That elusiveness is a result of the fluid speed Machida fights with in every area of a match. In his last two matches, Machida has looked uncharacteristically slow with his footwork, head movement, and strikes. His last two fights have seen a drop off in speed, which has then led to an absence of the elusiveness that has made him great. This was easily visible as Machida was hit far more often and taken down much easier in his last two fights, which do not mirror the rest of his career. Lyoto Machida is 37 years old and is getting hit much more often then he used to. He’s also not quick enough to avoid takedowns that used to be impossible to land on him. Think about the last time you remember Machida being taken down so easily on a single takedown attempt before the Rockhold fight. If someone is to fast and elusive to throw your fist at, they’re definitely too quick to grab a hold of and drive to the ground. But, sadly, that just isn’t the case anymore with Lyoto Machida. In the end, that all makes sense. One of the things that athletes lose on account of their age is their speed and athleticism. Machida is clearly one of those athletes, and his style does not permit him to be dominant without that speed.
A Blueprint, Courtesy of The Natural
In some cases, athletes are able to overcome their late career drop off in speed due to their style and skill sets. Randy Couture was able to stay relevant in his career past the age of 40 (until Machida himself kicked his face into retirement) by relying on his smothering wrestling style and strength to wear opponents out and take away their speed advantage. If Couture was able to get his hands on his opponent, the fight could only be won by whichever fighter had a better balance of technical skills (fighter intelligence) and strength (which, while not easy to carry through age, is much easier then speed). In most cases, that fighter would be Couture due to his immense experience and hard to match work ethic. Was he unbeatable? His 19-11 record would tell you otherwise, but the point is that he was able to beat UFC quality opponents well into his 40’s as long as he could implement his game plan. That was the result of his style being one that could carry on through the wear and tear of age.
Lyoto Machida’s style, on the other hand, is not built for longevity. It is not something we think about early in a fighter’s career, but certain styles are bound to hurt a fighter when he nears that frightful age of 40. Machida relies heavily on fast footwork and speedy head movement to be able to avoid his opponent’s strikes and use their momentum to land his own powerful shots. He frustrates his opponent as they swipe at air continuously, and then suddenly bursts forward with short but powerful strikes that startle his opposition and usually leave them on their backs with a flashlight in their eyes. Take away his natural speed, and he can longer avoid those strikes like he used to using his footwork and head movement. He can no longer burst forward with those short, powerful strikes because he is not throwing them nearly as fast. He is much easier to grab a hold of, and therefore much easier to take down.
An Ever Growing List of Sadness
We’ve seen it so many times in MMA’s still short history, and yet fans have not become accustomed to it. Chuck Lidell was knocked out four times in a row before he realized he just didn’t have it anymore. B.J. Penn couldn’t muster a win in five of his last six bouts before retiring and then failing in his comeback match, a one sided thumping at the hands of Frankie Edgar. Tito Ortiz came out without a win in eight of his last nine UFC bouts and he is still trying to revive his career in Bellator. Ken Shamrock stepped into a Bellator octagon less than two weeks ago as a 51-year-old man and looked it when he got knocked out by a glorified street fighter. It happens all the time in this beautifully violent sport, and yet the fans and the fighters don’t learn. Like Dana White said, this sport is an opportunity, not a career. I’d still take Lyoto Machida over 90 percent of the middleweights on the planet right now, but it has become apparent that age is deteriorating his skills, and it is acting quickly. The Machida era was fun, sometimes boring, but always captivating. However, it feels like the demise of The Dragon is upon us, only adding to an ever growing list of sad endings for fan favorites in this sport.
