Edit 5/8, noon: Here’s what Rua is doing. He looks like he’s in the best shape of his life. That’s one badass kick.
Other than maybe Pacquiao-Mayweather, I can’t think of a better matchup this year.
Edit:5/8 morning: Rua needs to be worried.
Article here. Machida says his adjustments are small. All he really needs are small adjustments to make it happen. I’m pumped for this fight.
Original:
I caught this on Alpha Asian. I wasn’t going to post on this (since I had nothing to post), but I thought the interview above was interesting.
Lyoto, you’re my favorite fighter, but don’t question Dana when he expresses an opinion. It doesn’t hurt the credibility of the UFC when he questions outcomes; in fact, it brings more cred. Those judges and refs don’t work for him, and when he questions outcomes, it shows he cares about improving his sport.
I know you won that last fight. Deniers will continue to speak trash about you, saying that Rua beat the snot out of you in the last round. I watched the fight twice, and with the way scoring is done, you won. I think you won, Anderson Silva thinks you won, and Stephan Bonnar thinks you won. Don’t let the naysayers get under your skin.
I hope you knock Rua out tomorrow. I think you’ll do it in Round 4 or 5. Be careful but not tentative.
Related posts:
I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
I disagree with you on one point, Dana White does hurt the UFC when he becomes overly involved in the post fight banter. He continually criticizes fights that technically are sound, but lack a knockout or some sort of drama. With people still just understanding the sport, he is running the risk of training audiences to lack appreciation for skilled fighters and their abilities. Ex. Anderson Silva wins Dana throws a temper tantrum because it wasn’t engaging. Styles make fights and it takes two fighters willing to exchange and take risks to make spectacular fights.
As a relatively new brand it is bad business for Dana White to criticize outcomes that don’t include his ideal endings. It is why I think the UFC isn’t as far as long as they could be. MMA can still be enjoyable and entertaining if people aren’t involved in a bloody brawl. If Dana would talk up this point some people wouldn’t consider it as barbaric.
Looks like Dana is cool with the criticism:
http://www.5thround.com/35469/dana-white-has-no-beef-with-lyoto-machida-understands-why-the-dragon-is-heated/
(article is biased. not everyone thought Rua won the first time.)
I think Dana only criticized Silva because he felt Silva wasn’t taking it seriously and that he was insulting his opponent. Dana hasn’t criticized either of the two most boring decision fighters in the UFC: Sonnen and Edgar.
How do you think it’ll turn out? I did a google search on predictions. I think most people see Machida winning it, and probably most of those see a decision. I don’t think either of these guys is going to let a decision take place. Rua has never been knocked out before. Both are BJJ black belts. This is really going to be interesting.
It’s still early so I can still predict things.
One reason why I think Machida will adapt is his early fights. People say he’s never been hit, but if you watch his early fights against Penn and others, he used to get hit a lot. The “most elusive” thing is a recent phenomenon.
I am going with Machida. I feel he has the ability to make the necessary adjustments and now is aware of how his body will react over five rounds. Their first fight I felt Machida held back because he didn’t want to get gassed. This fight will lean toward whichever fighter makes the least amount of mistakes and creates openings. Shogun is going to give it his all yet again, but I don’t see it being enough to win.
I do think Dana White gets too “Mark Cuban” out there at times. If Americans could learn to appreciate the sport for it’s craft, I think it will thrive. But what I truly like about Dana is that he takes care of his fighters, unlike the sport of boxing.