UFC 163 was headlined by one of the best fighters in the sport of MMA today, in Jose Aldo. However, before Aldo would have the chance to have his hand raised as champ again, there would also be excitement from fans to see former light heavyweight champ, Lyoto Machida, jump back into the cage against Phil Davis. In terms of name recognition, it sounded like it could be a good fight (Machida v. Davis) – especially on a card that had a lot of names unknown to non-hardcore fans. When all was said and done, as I suspected from the announcement of the fight, the match-up ended up stealing a lot of the momentum out of an otherwise decent event.
As I was still reeling from the outcome of this fight, one that Machida should have won in my opinion, I was reminiscing through Machida’s career. I really started to realize that this guy is a “hit or miss” fighter in terms of his ability to put on a really exciting fight. As a counter-puncher by trade, Machida is not really known for pressing the action in a fight – but, when he baits someone into his little trap he often makes short work of them. However, one thing always looms – inconsistency. Let’s look at his record over his last number of fights:
- Phil Davis Loss Decision (unanimous) UFC 163
- Dan Henderson Win Decision (split) UFC 157
- Ryan Bader Win KO (punch) UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera
- Jon Jones Loss Standing guillotine choke UFC 140
- Randy Couture Win KO UFC 129
- Quinton Jackson Loss Decision (split) UFC 123
- Mauricio Rua Loss KO (punches) UFC 113
- Mauricio Rua Win Decision (unanimous) UFC 104
- Rashad Evans Win KO (punches) UFC 98
- Thiago Silva Win KO (punches) UFC 94
So, in the last 10 fights Machida is 6-4 and of those fights, 4 have been decisions and 6 have been finishes (whether or not in favour of Machida). I am not one of those people who need to see a finish for every fight, but watching a counter-puncher try and win a fight can sometimes be a little less than interesting. He’s always looking for that perfect moment… one that sometimes never comes.
Machida also incidentally is one of the more defensive fighters in the UFC with a 64% striking defense and an 80% takedown defense. What are his offensive numbers? 65% on the takedown (not that strong compared to some of the elite wrestlers/grapplers in the UFC) and 56% successful striking ratio.
When we look at the list above of those fighters that Machida has had success against, or even really interesting fights, one thing does stand-out a little to me – there’s not a particular-style (wrestler, striker, BJJ, etc…) of fighter that Machida doesn’t fair so well against, or make a good fight out of. It’s a particular game plan that a fighter comes in with against Machida. As noted above, if Machida is to win a fight or put on a good display, he needs to be faced against someone who applies pressure the entire fight (i.e. Thiago Silva, Randy Couture, Jon Jones). Fighters, like Davis, who don’t usually show a lot of aggression in the cage are not a recipe for a great fight with Machida in the mix.
So, who do I think would be a great next match-up for Lyoto? Well, after his loss to Davis he has lost some standing in the light heavyweight division. A fight against current champion Jones is not likely in the cards. I do think a fight against someone like Gegard Mousasi could be really interesting to watch, or perhaps a re-match against Rashad Evans (although, Evans does seem to have lost some of his magic). I also think contender Glover Teixeira could be a really interesting match-up that would make for fireworks against Machida.
Whoever they do give to “The Dragon” in his next fight, I just beg Joe Silva and Dana White to give him someone that will engage! Machida is not a fight who is going to do it on his own, so give him a fighter that will engage with him – he might win, he might lose, but at least I won’t have an excuse to go on a beer run.
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below. You can follow me on Twitter: @lastwordmark and the site @lastwordonsport
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Photo Credit: Marcos Joel Reis via photopin
