Machida vs Shogun

[Andy_S]

I agree with all the above, and would add that Shogun finished the fight without a mark on him (and barely breathing heavily) while Machida's legs were a mess, his floating rib (where Shogun's jump round kick landed) looked very unhealthy and the claret was flowing down his mug. Machida got one offensive flurry in - in the 3rd - and that was it as far as I could see.

Ridiculous decision which the crowd - and even the ring commentator - acknowledged.

I should add that Machida's long stance leaves him wide open to low kicks, though it was the knees in the clinch that hurt him. I admit I have never seen him fight before, but in this case I was severely unimpressed: What does he have? Untactical stance, weak kicks (a karate footsweep vs a Thai low kick? No contest) no significant boxing ability, and no apparent groundwork. Yes, he was elusive, yes he took some heavy shots and yes he had fair reactions, but champions need more than this. Ali was not the heaviest hitter, but at least he was entertaining.

[Butterball]

Check out some of his other fights, he's a great counterstriker with good standing grappling and good ground work. He has been very effective with the footsweeps and other Shotokan techniques. His timing is usually terrific and he is usually good at avoiding taking any damage. The fight last night would not be one to form a complete opinion on, imo. Shogun clearly came in with a terrific strategy to counter Machida, which no one else had previously done.

The same could be said of Demian Maias last fight, if one ignores all of his previous matches.

[Butterball]

Shogun vs Silva would be an awesome fight to see. It will be interesting to see how Machida and Shogun 2 goes and the modifications that both make strategically to deal with the situations encountered in this fight.

[everything]

I do think Machida won but this guy says it better than I can:

I understand how everyone feels because after watching this fight myself last night I thought the same thing especially with Joe Rogan’s comments.I just watched the fight again twice and even went as far as to do a round by round score the fight myself.What I have to say is that I now understand why Machida won.Everyone must keep in mind that on the scorecards they do not count punches or kicks that are blocked or parried.Machida is a Karate fighter and this is a good example of how you do not want to get into a scoring match with a Karate fighter.Rua only landeda few headshots the entire fight, in the fifth round and one counter punch in the 4th.I would say that at least 70% of Rua’s lower leg kicks were either parried or he totally missed them as Machida backed up and one thing everyone forgets is that on the scorecards the power of the strikes is not included all that matter is how they land.When I watched the fight a second and third time I realized that Machida blocked almost all of Rua’s strikes which negates them and they are not counted.Machida also landed pucnhes to the face almost every time Rua actually landed his kicks which is why Machida outscored him like crazy.The only round I gave to Rua decisively is round 5 the others were all up in the air and keep in mind that judges will always respect landed head shots and body shots over lower leg kicks.Machida showed his Karate skills by out scoring Rua and he did deserve to win.You shouldn’t become a champion because you can land 20 lower leg kicks and land 3 punches to the head in a fight.Another thing to keep an eye on was remember that Joe Rogan said that Shogun had won the first 2 rounds which he clearly did not.watch the strikes that landed.Joe Rogan was so unbelievably biased in this fight it was insane.All he was saying was OMG shogun shogun shogun…everytime Machida landed those straight punches to the face and even when he gave shogun his black eye, all Rogan would say ohhhhh Shogun kick to the body.Machida is out on his feet, ohhh Machida is in trouble…Shogun is not as accurate as Machida and always remember a head shotis always > body or leg shots.Blocked shots do not count nor do parried ones.Please I encourage everyone to watch the fight again and not to listen to Joe Rogan as he is for some reason is obviously in love with shogun.Machida outscored him there was no doubt about it.Watch the fight again and don’t listen to Joe Rogan.I am sure then you will see that he did win the fight fair and square.Never get into a scoring match with a Karate fighter.

[jasonf]

No one in that crowd was listening to Joe Rogan's broadcast and even though they started out cheering for Machida it was very clear by the boos that most people felt Shogun won the fight. You can score the fight on points, but there are a number of factors that judges are supposed to consider like, damage at the end of the fight, octagon control and agression...Machida may have won on points, but many people, myself included feel he lost the fight.

[Andy_S]

Everything:

I have only watched the fight once, but I disagree with everything your Poster writes: Would he, by chance, by a point karate fighter?

The issue in contact fighting is not 'head shot or body shot/face punch vs leg kick,": nor it is 'scoring points': it is whether blows land with damaging power. Clearly, by this analysis, Shogun was miles ahead; Machida was a bloody mess at the end. (Shogun had a 'black eye?' I did not notice). One thing that stood out was that when they landed simultaneously (ie Machida's face punch versus Shogun's low kick), it was Machida who was rocked. Take away the platform and power delivery goes out the window...

I also agree with what JasonF said, and would add that it was Shogun who:
(1) Controlled the pace of the fight;
(2) Had a decent strategy (crumple Machida's legs) and
(3) Only looked in trouble at one point (during Machida's combo attack in the 3rd): Machida, OTOH, looked in trouble (this was even visible in the experssion on his face) a number of times, notably in the clinch when Shogun was barraging his legs with knees.

Butterball:

Of course you are right in that one should not judge a sportsman on the basis of one match, but if a fighter is only as good as his last fight...well, I'll just say that Machida did not live up to his rep.

[Chris Fleming]

That's what happens when, as good as you are, you leave it in the hands of the judges.

[grzegorz]

I'm sure Machida doesn't really feel like he won.

On the other hand as good as Shogun looked I think it would have been lame for him to get the belt for landing some kicks.

In a Title fight you have to win if you want the belt, otherwise you're leaving it up to the judges.

I also think people are overlooking the fact that Machida neutralized Shogun's takedowns. Not as easy feat against a man who defeated Sakuraba.

Joe Rogan does seem to scream Shogun in every exchange as if he didn't see Machida's shots, but I believe that's because this was one of those rare situations where we've actually seen Machida getting hit.

Here it is for those who haven't seen it yet.

http://mixedmartialartvideos.com/lyoto- ... #more-8550

[yusuf]

man oh man.. just watched this and Shogun got robbed by the necessity for marketing the UFc

fukkin bastards