When the dust settled on Saturday night and Lyoto Machida watched Yoel Romero have his hand raised, it marked what some consider a pivotal moment in the future UFC Hall of Famer’s career. After one of Machida’s shortest fight turnarounds of his 29 fight career, he has now gone onto recording his seventh loss, his second straight against top-ten UFC ranked fighters. Few questions were answered by ‘The Dragon’ in the bout, but a major one loomed large, where exactly does this defeat put Lyoto Machida in terms of the title picture? And more importantly the UFC in general?
THE KARATE KID
When Lyoto Machida came into the UFC, he did so with a 8-0 record, not completely uncommon for a fighter that has probably been around the minor leagues for a few years prior, taking out some easier opponents before eventually earning his shot at the big time. The key difference, however, was that in earning that unbeaten eight fight streak, Lyoto Machida had beaten Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin and B.J. Penn. Hardly a bad resumé to be taking into the UFC and certainly one that made many within the fight game tip him for greatness from the start. It was a slow start in some respects, however, as five wins were welcomed but with all but one of those coming via decision some pundits questioned if Machida’s style really transferred itself to the world of MMA. This all changed on the night that he met Thiago Silva, when both men put their unbeaten records on the line in an explosive fight that produced a highlight finish for Lyoto Machida and propelled him into the light-heavyweight title fight with Rashad Evans.
WAX ON/WAX OFF
The title fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 98 in Las Vegas showcased all of Lyotos Machida’s skills in devastating style. His karate had initially raised questions in its application in MMA, but all where answered within two rounds. Lyoto Machida’s counter striking style, his leaned back karate stance, had always made opponents earn every single strike that they attempted to land and it was no different for a frustrated Rashad Evans in what was a tentative first round. The second round was a different story with a devastating knock out by a swarming Machida that left Evans in a folded heap against the cage. It was Joe Rogan that night that echoed what everyone in attendance and watching at home was thinking, that the era of ‘The Dragon’ was upon us. It seemed that Lyoto Machida was impenetrable, that his style was just so different and so difficult to find a weakness in, that his next opponent to his belt would just be another number in the win column. It seemed that Machida was destined to match his compatriot, Anderson Silva, at that current moment in time and become untouchable.
MIXED RESULTS
This proved to be far from the truth for Lyoto Machida however, and it did not take long for ‘The Dragon’ to fall from his throne and be where he is today. A successful but ultimately questionable title victory over Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua was followed by Machida dropping the belt to the same man just seven months later in devastating first round fashion. What has since followed is undoubtedly top level opponents, but the inability for Lyoto Machida to put more than two back to back wins together, a run now stretching back to 2010. Machida has in this time dropped down to middleweight and attempted to gain the title from Chris Weidman. This proved unsuccessful against a superior wrestler who would not necessarily start the exchanges between the pair and therefore not play into Machida’s strengths, with the challenger only finding a sense of urgency a little too late in the day for the decision to go his way.
EXIT THE DRAGON
That brings us back to the question, where does the defeat on Saturday leave Lyoto Machida in relation to his tenure within UFC and his ultimate aim to wear gold again? The man himself said pre-fight that a win would leave him firmly in the title picture, referring to the middleweight division at least, and it would have been hard to argue if he would have emerged victorious. Lets just assume for a second that Machida had actually won on Saturday, or starts to put some notches in the win column (and quick) in the near future. The major problem with these premises lies within the actual men with the current belts at Lyoto Machida;s two weight classes and those potentially scheduled to challenge them. Although Chris Weidman does not look unbeatable and Lyoto Machida pushed him to the decision, his wrestling skills just seem too much for Machida and his patient approach does not suit either. In Luke Rockhold you have a fighter who just months ago beat Machida decisively and it is hard not to see the younger Rockhold not doing the same again, he just seems right at his peak. If Lyoto Machida was to consider a move back to light heavyweight then waiting there would be a physically stronger wrestler in Daniel Cormier and a fighter in Alexander Gustafsson whose reach could pose a problem to Machida in the same way that Jon Jones did. Neither path looks promising in the short term for Machida, which leaves another probable and most likely position for ‘The Dragon’, should he continue within the UFC, of a top level draw and Fight Night/Fox head-liner, especially on the Brazilian cards. Which although sounds like a massive step backward, could on the contrary be a potentially good position for Machida. Why? Because as a head-liner on some ‘smaller cards’ and being a name that draws in viewers and revenue you are in a position to take on the upcoming talent, some of which are on their way to a title shot, in some cases, through their momentum alone. A few wins against this type of opponent and it would be hard to not push Machida back into the title frame, a position that he certainly deserves for his professionalism, fight record, achievements and for illustrating the effectiveness of karate in MMA.
However, at 37 years old and with four losses in the last two years it is getting increasingly hard to make a case for Machida. I hope that ‘The Dragon’ can rise again, but it is looking increasingly likely that it is the beginning of the end of the legend Lyoto Machida!
