“I know there are problems between Dana White and Tito Ortiz. But I have nothing to do with it. That’s their problems…. I’m prepared for a title shot. Every fight I get more comfortable. But the UFC and the fans will choose when I get a title shot…. Tito is very, very strong, and has a good ground and pound game, but his other skills are not so efficient. I want to beat him at his strength.”
– Top light heavyweight contender, Lyoto Machida, finally talks (via Yahoo!Sports.com) about his upcoming fight with Tito Ortiz at UFC 84: “Ill Will” this Saturday (May 24) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24. Up until this point we have heard “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” and UFC President Dana White swap barbs, turning it essentially into a fight between those two. Meanwhile, “The Dragon” has sat quietly in the shadows training ground and takedown defense in north Brazil.
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Humble, yet confident. Add that on top of talented as hell, and you’ll easily see why this guy is such an amazing fighter.
boring and tiresome is how I see him. I really think that Tito stops him, but then resigns with the UFC
hey mania, I tried but am not computer savvy enough. There is a great interview with Tito on the front page of sherdog. I personally get a kick out of how he is always saying how intelligent he is, almost as if he’s trying to convince himself. He talks candidly, and it’s overall a good interview.
mania, here’s another cut/paste that may be news worthy??? BJ IMO would beat GSP!!
BJ Penn Responds to GSP’s comment on Penn Vs. Sherk
GSP said on mmaweeklyradio that “IF BJ wins, it will be in the 1st or 2nd round. IF Sherk wins it will be by decision.”
BJ Penn said on mmaweeklyradio yesterday (05/19/08: “GSP probably said that because he doesn’t want to fight me again, and wants Sherk to win.”
Amen. I’ll be rooting for Tito.
I haven’t wanted someone to win a fight so much in a long time here are my reasons…
Machida is boring and i feel overated. Yeah he beat Penn and Franklin but so what? Both undersized and he didn’t exactly dominate BJ did he?
Next argument is him beating Sudoku… come off it, he was all Houston Alexander on the ground, a long way from being a top ten fighter.
Tito can be an ass sometimes but overall i think he is a good guy. Never has a TUF coach seemed so bothered about his guys, also is there another fighter who spends more time in the middle east with the troops… no.
I also hate all the hate (good english) he gets. His record in the cage is good with wins over Wand, Forrest, Vitor, Cote, Tanner and Rashad (he would have won) not to mention a very pissed Ken.
Yeah chuck has got his number but when you fight at the top level for that long you’ll always find your Nemesis.
But the biggest reason by far is to see the look on Dana’s face when he walks off into the sunset having just beaten his number one contender… that will be priceless.
WAR TITO.
So many things wrong with your post,
First off Franklin was still bigger than machida in that fight.
Soku is a world class judo black belt, Dont even compare his ground game to houstons. Not to mention he makes tito look like a lttle girl, when it comes to the strength compartment.
Next, Tito does not have good wins over wandi, forrest, vitor, cote, and rashad. In the wandi fight he just laid on him for five rounds, does that mean he beat him up? In the forrest fight, he just laid on him also, Forrest tried to finish the fight more than tito did so I’ll give forrest the win. Vitor, also beat the piss out of tito, so I’ll give vitor the win also. Rashad caused more damage so he gets the win too.
thank god you’re not one of the ringside ref’s… you’d get more abuse than cecile peoples… wrestling is part of the game… and he doesn’t just lay on them… its gnp… its not his fault wand had no takedown defence or answer to the gnp… arona beat wand the same way… rashad lost clearly… one point deduction saved him (got the takedown anyway) and he would lose the rematch too… as much as i like rashad.
and the comment about tito being the best coach on TUF and caring more about his guys than any other coach is also true.
ay Nick.. good post. it makes sense and we got the same reasons. WAR JACOB!
Thanks you two, was raging when i read NewGuys post!
So good Judo means you’ve got a great ground game does it? So i guess karo has got the best ground game in the sport then? Anyone (even Stevie Wonder) could see that Soku has got no ground game in his fight with Machida.
Oh and you gloss over the BJ fight?
Tito’s many wins… to say he just lays on his opponants is just stuipid, Tito is always active and busy even in his opponants full guard, its almost his trademark!
Yeah he hasn’t pounded out anyone for a while but that doesn’t mean he has taken to just pulling a Sherk on his opponants.
Another anti Tito point is the fact that a lot of his wins are old… well you could say the same about Wand really but everyone still loves him.
Ok we get it you don’t like Tito, fair enough but think you’ve got your anti Tito blinkers on a little tight.
Well, that’s where we disagree Kevin, on both accounts. I think this fight is pretty much the surest bet on the card, betting wise, eventhough I am a huge BJ fan- I can admit Sean Sherk is no pushover, and stands at least a 30% chance. Something which I certainly do not give mr. Jameson.
Machida is simply a different kind of fighter. A smart fighter, which values technique over anything else. Some people might find him boring, which is fair enough, but I, personally, find him to be amazingly inspiring to watch. Being as I train both BJJ and Shotokan karate, I can’t help but admire pretty much every aspect of his game.
Tito will stop him? What does Tito have that Soku didn’t? Oh yeah, a bit @ss mouth and a huge ego. No chance Kev, sorry.
a ground game!!! Soku has none!! cmon man, BJ is the surest bet, it’s jumped to _300!
Well Kevin, I have to disagree again. Even though Soku is known for his standup game, the guy is first and foremost a judoka and has a much better pedigree in the ground game than Tito. True, the ground game in Judo is somewhat limited, but IN THEORY he should definitely have a solid ground game to fall upon.
Tito? How can anyone even give him a chance? When was the last time he beat a fighter decisively? When was the last time he even looked remotely good in the octagon? Against an aging Ken Shamrock? Man… these arguments have been thrown around way too much lately, so I won’t bring them up again, but my personal gut feeling is that the Machida fight is a much more secure bet than BJ’s, and that’s while I am 90% sure BJ is going to finish off Sherk with a RNC in the 2nd round.
Guess we’ll see this Saturday, though I believe we’ll both be right with wins for Machida AND BJ
This guy is for REAL!
Lyoto Machida is a top 5 fighter in that Division. I believe if he finishes Tito Ortiz, I think you will see Lyoto Machida take on the winner of Rampage/Griffin at a later date.
I agree. I actually think Lyoto should be fighting Jackson befor Forrest. Lyoto is making a smart decision by not commenting on the Dana vs. Tito madness.
i know i’ll get trashed for this… but he’s got a kind of “chicken” style of fighting… he’s very evasive and doesn’t really go in and engage… he’s a technician but he’s not an engaging fighter… he’s in and out, in and out… and relies on his opponents coming after him… if everyone in the ufc fought like him no one would ever engage anyone else… for that reason alone i hope ortiz smashes his skull into the matt and pounds him out to a TKO victory… and then i hope he puts on a t-shirt telling Dana to go and shove his bald head up his own ass… can’t wait to see what t-shirt he actually does have lined up.
Machida is a counter-stiker, the most elusive counter striker I have ever seen. That is what sets him apart. His opponents get so frustrated that they can’t touch him, that they make a mistake and Machida capitolizes. Strategy and technique at its finest. If you pay close attention to his fights, you can see that he always knows what his opponent is going to do, and he knows exactly how to avoid and counter it. There is no other fighter that can perfectly mimic Machida’s style. If there was, that fighter would have an undefeated MMA record as well.
Chuck Liddell is a counter-striker as well, but since he has a mohawk and a beer gut, everyone loves him (plus he’s a KO artist as well…).
He’ll finish Tito. When Tito’s shooting in for a take-down, he’ll eat a solid knee or two before covering his head up like he normally does, and Machida will just pick him apart untill he drops like Liddell dropped him.
I semi agree mike, the reason people like chuck is because he’s exciting, as well as a ko artist. For me it has nothing to do with the mohawk! Machida is very talented, but boring. Tito can and will win this fight, and I’m not a Tito fan!
i gotta agree here machida fights similar to liddell in that he sprawls scrambles and strikes with his oponents like a counter striker! but hes better than liddell(although liddell has better scrambles and sprawls) if tito takes machida down machida is a bjj black belt under nogueiras(not sure if its them or one of the gracies) and wont be be easy to submit!
i see tito getting beaten
Tito will not win this fight!
Machida + BJ Penn = Easy Money at UFC 84
Keep in mind Countdown to UFC 84 airs tonight on spike Tv at 11:00… Should be some great interviews from BJ Penn, and some dumb, george-bushish responses out of Sherk!
BJ line keeps going up, it’s almost not worth betting ant more!!
liddell is more exciting than machida cause liddell is a counter-puncher… but he also stalks his opponents… and when he scents blood he goes in for the kill all the way… machida does neither… look at liddell vs anyone (the first tito fight is a great example)… he feels his opponents out and then when he’s on top he’ll stalk them and pound them out… he stalked wandi in their fight too. machida is just in and out his whole life.
i agree with everything mike said about him being a great technician… but if anyone else was like him no one would ever engage.
Good post Drew, I am glad he did not comment on the Dana saga as well. This is one reason why I like Machida. He is going to be a very difficult fighter to beat for the next 5 - 10 years.
I also look for him to stop fights more frequently in the future. He reminds me of Anderson Silva with the accuracy of his strikes. The Tito fight should be a good one. I hope Tito’s cardio is where he says it is because if not Machida will take advantage.
Training with the guy (Anderson) would definately have those advantages. And the people who are saying he has no ground game, I’m sure he rolls with at least one of the Nog brothers from time to time when Silva’s busy. lol
Slightly off topic, but where do people see Hamill in this division? Considering how he faired (injured) against Bisping in relation to Rashad’s performance against Bisping, I think he’s a bit overlooked.
He’s a better Wrestler and a better striker than Rashad…surely give him a big name to fight next?
Hmmmm. Better stiker than Rashad? That’s a close one. Hamill I’d give the strength/KO advantage, but I’d give Rashad the nod on being the more technical fighter.
Tell you the truth, I would really like to see Rashad vs Hamill. It would make for a very interesting fight. However, Rashad is at LEAST 6 spots ahead of Hamill in the rankings, so I would think that Rashad would need to lose a fight before being booked with Hamill.
Rashad is a Top 10 LHW, barely. Matt Hamill is not in the Top 10. Without putting together rankings right now (don’t have the time), I’d say that Matt is around 15 or so.
VM: That was a great post about Machida’s style. Good stuff….his footwork is a thing of beauty. Everyone talks about Chucks footwork, Machida’s is even better. I used to think he was over rated and boring but I have come to really appreciate and enjoy his unique fighting style.
He may be the hardest fighter to prepare for.
Mr NC-17: As for who is next in line for Rampage after he embarresses Forrest…I say Machida will get the next shot, unless wanderlei defeats Jardine, then I think the UFC can not pass up on Wanderlei vs. Rampage 3. Wanderlei wants it, the Fans want it, and Rampage is dying to get him in the cage…..As long as Jardine doesnt play Spoiler (which he may do)….I think we will get treated to wanderlei vs. Rampage 3!
word.
him strong like bull!
Machida Via Decision
Word.
Agreed… a very boring UD.
I want to see Tito drive Machida through the ground and finish with him with his patented ground and pound attack. If Tito is motivated enough I don’t see Machida having a shot!
If you saw the way Machida pounded Sokoudjou (a much stronger fighter than Tito), there’s no way Tito has a chance.
MikeD thats a dum comment, nowhere in the Machida/Sokoudjou fight was Machida pounding on Sokoudjou. And how would you know that Soko is stronger than Tito? Tito has been in there with the best, Soko had a 4-1 record so thats not saying much for Machida.
The last time Tito finished anybody with ground and pound ( other than Ken Shamrock) was almost ten years ago. Not likely to happen now.
IF is such a huge word. The word IF has been used for Titos last 3 years worth of fights. People are hoping for their golden memories of Tito rather than basing their judgement on the last 3 years worth of excuses.
I think it is perfect that Machida, calm and collected, isn’t phased by Tito’s gum flapping.
It will be funny to watch Tito grab the fence or if he gets really desperate hits below the belt or chew an ear if things don’t go his way.
remember… randy said that tito was physically very strong… he said he was stronger than chuck… now that is before randy got ktfo by chuck twice… but in the clinch/physically he said tito was stronger. i hope we see the tito of old with fire… i think if tito wants it bad enough… he can go through machida…
that’s a BIG if though.
Randy also spanked Tito on the ground, point made. Remember when…remember when… stop pretending and get over Tito
he still said tito was stronger… a fully fit tito is hard to handle.
That’s most people’s problem with Tito, is that he doesn’t ‘want it’ bad enough any more. Well, that and that he runs his mouth like the king of the world when he’s not even top 10. Tito wants to be wealthy and be a successful businessman. There’s nothing wrong with that, but fighting is how he keeps himself relevant. I would have a lot less of a problem with him if he would just come out and say he was only fighting to get greater brand awareness for his clothing line like Monstah Lobstah did with his restaurant on TUF 5.
Great point.
He’s not Mike Tyson….
VM Traslation: “All the talk going into this fight is about Tito vs Dana. Well, the fight is actually me vs Tito. And after the fight takes place, all the talk will be about me beating Tito’s ass.”
Lyoto just made the only comment he needed to. He stayed out of the fight but at the same time said exactly what Dana wanted to hear. Lyoto wants to beat Tito at his own game, he wants to beat Tito the way Tito likes to beat others. I bet Lyoto does it and Dana comes out to stomp Tito for the follow up.
Dana should do exactly that, but first he should master the Vince McMahon arm-swinging strut.
Actually…
machida is not training in northern brazil he is training in san jose california with American Kickboxing Academy, and i see him hitting the thai pads and working out from 12am -4pm and sometimes in the evening and DAMN!!! its like a friggin rifle shot everytime he kicks, hes got some mad power. interestingly ive met tito before and he seems alot bigger than machida and i think machida could make 185
How pathetic is the UFC??
There is a poll on UFC.com asking which fight fans are looking forward to the most on Saturday. Penn vs Sherk is winning, fair enough.
BUT they don’t give the option of Tito vs Machida!!! Every other fight inc pre-lims is on there.
Basically they were fearfull of a clear indication as to how important Tito is to the UFC. I would have voted for it!
It’s a shame one can’t vote for that.
It’ll be boring fight as hell though!
Machida is boring and Tito is boring, if I’m not asleep after the fight then I’m dead.
o yea… thats lame. what’s next? dirty refs?
I put my vote on blind refs.
blind refs are way better than refs that interfere too often.
Machida: you’re so BORING that you won’t even take advantage of the opportunity of hyping this fight up. Go ahead and tell us what you really think about Tito and maybe the fans who feel the same way will rally with you for your title shot. This guy is a plant. Can you imagine Machida headlining PPVs if he were to get a title shot or become champ? Meanwhile theres big things going on with dream and elitexc aliance. I’d rather watch a Kimbo main event than this guy, seriously. There’s nobody at bars spreading the Machida title shot buzz cuz nobody can relate to him or the way he fights. This guy doesn’t engage and it urks me.
Unlike Jacob, Machida’s fights draw interest because of his technical skill and precision, as opposed to running his mouth to drum up some contrived controversy.
Unlike Machida, Jacob has fought the best, held the belt, and drawn massive crowds. Having fought more UFC fights than anybody, I’m sure he’ll have an answer for Machida’s “skill”. Machida’s bad for business.
Jacob never beat Frank Shamrock, never beat Liddell and never beat Couture. Those are the biggest names he’s fought. Jacob is a one-trick pony who is ready to be put out to pasture. Machida will get the TKO, solidify his spot in the top 5, then get a title shot early next year.
I hate Machida and think he’s boring to watch (yet successful though…).
I so want to see Quinton vs. Lyoto.
-
Machida will be more than prepared for Tito (I think he’s 100% and ready to go any day), this fight wont last longer than halfway into the second round.
I liked the clip on the UFC site were Machida was sitting in his gym all worked and sweaty, Tito in the same clip was doing some easy ab-rolling.
Tito is more fun to watch, too bad he often lose and talks smack… hope Tito will take it but I can’t see Machida’s first lost is vs. Tito… not in a million years.
Ive got my money on machida. He will be too much for Tito everywhere and totally dominate him.
Tito is not up there anymore and Machida is one of the futures biggest stars.
For all the people saying he is boring must just wanna see bar room brawling style fights. This guy is an intelligent fighter who thinks on his feet and is very different and technical in what he does.
His first fight was his most “boring” and that was because he is on the biggest stage in the worls and wants to make a good impression, not to mention lose his undefeated record. This is normal and nearly everyone gets UFC jitters. Remember Rampage’s first fight!
Go Machida!!
Tito would have ko’d Randy in the stand up in that fight with his muay thai clinch.. u remember the Machida vs Nakamura fight? he didn’t even finish Nakamura.. Sokodjou is still too green on the ground Tito would never let someone sweep him like that..
so a world judo master isnt as good at stopping sweeps as tito is?
come on ! tito is finished his last good fight was against vitor belfort the roid monkey! you saw how bad tito was when rashad and forest settled in!
machida by strangulation
what are you talking about?
- forrest took more beatings in the 1st than karate kid did in the whole trilogy!
- rashad was being choked out at the end of the 2nd!
Machida via long boring decision but i do hope Tito throws in something exciting or gets top position for a while, but i think Lyotto is to evassive to get taken down and would rather stand and trade then get caught up in a ground war.
Days in the Ocatagon continues. In this week Machida is conflicted with the bad blood between Tito and Dana and doesn’t want any part of it. Mean while Tito is working on a new insulting t-shirt for his last show. While Dana trys to figure out what to do if Tito wins his Final Bout.
Catch the Season finally Live on Sat may 24.
Brought to you by Dana’s club for men. Im not only a client im the president+++.
Machida by anyway he wants. you guys are fools to believe otherwise. I LOOOOOVEEE tito, but he is overmatched here.
That is good to hear about wanting to beat Tito at his strength, but we will see if he backs up that talk, I hear fighters all the time say that, and then sprawl like hell.
This would be interesting though, I would love to see Tito and Machida in a groundd war. Only way Tito will have a chance, I believe it will be more exciting, and more competitive on the ground then it will if these two stand.
Will someone please tell me.. When’s the last time tito dominated a top 10 fighter?…….. Evan Tanner in 2001
WAR MACHIDA!
Thanks for having a bit of common sense, braveheart. My point exactly. Tito is washed up.
Man seven years ago…
By far the most intriguing fight. The most important fight of Tito’s career. The best thing he can do is stop Machida, dig that grave, bury his ass, and staredown Dana!
It come down to willpower.
Machida has more weapons overall. I was shocked as what he did to Sokodjou.
IMO Machida by TKO.
Wow.
What happens if Tito wins? Will all the naysayers here have the balls to man up and admit they were wrong?
Hmmm…
I dont know how people think machida will finish tito. Machida couldnt even finsh david heath or sam hoger(who are both out of the UFC because they suck)with his “magical footwork”, “being like a ghost” or any other flashy words you use to make him sound untouchable. What next, are you going to tell me that machida can fly. Lyoto doesnt have enough power to tko tito. Alot of people on here think Machida is a god….cough cough john and violentmike. The truth is I feel tito is redevoted and will suprise alot of people win, lose or draw. But this saturday think Machida will have his first loss 12-1. There, BITE ME!
And Tito Ortiz is an evolved Mixed Martial Artist.
Seriously, if you are figting Tito Ortiz, and you are able to avoid his pathetic double leg takedowns, then how else can he possibly beat you? Tito needs to lay on top of you for more than one and a half rounds to get a win. That’s not going to happen against Machida. Plus if the fight goes the distance, there is NO WAY Tito gets the win.
dana would not give tito a fight he thinks he can win, especially in his last fight. there’s no way dana would give tito a win in his last fight before leaving the company. he knows tito will talk a lot of smack, so what better way to get the one-up on him by pointing out the fact he lost his last fight in the ufc?
Theres a difference between what dana says and whats really going to happen. Just like when chuck lost to rampage and then fought jardine and lost. I’m sure since they are good friends with benafits dana thought chuck was going to win for sure but look what happened….upset!
I want Tito to win although I actually don’t find Machida’s style boring at all like a lot of people. I really like him. I hope he does well and beats most dudes.
But stylewise this is a bad match up for Tito for sure. So I hope to see him adapt and get a victory. But we all know that he ain’t gonna beat Machida in the stand up even though Tito has good and underrated defensive skills.
I’d love to see Tito pull off a submission win but that’s as unrealistic as expecting him to knock Machida out.
Unfortunately, the only way I see Tito winning is by unanimous decision. And that’s by commanding top position. There’s a chance he could pound Machida out, but as elusive as Machida is, even on the ground, I don’t see it.
Nor do I see Tito getting KO’d, so Machida has an even higher chance than Tito in getting a decision win.
I agree with everyone Machida is such a boring fighter so it will be intresting to see how this fight plays out. Machida layingon tito for all 3 rounds or tito laying on machida for 3 rounds.
Machida will win by submission in the second round, after giving Tito a lesson in counter-striking and evasion for the first round. Machida will either take Tito to the ground with a body lock and trip, or Tito will take him down and get quickly swept.
Machida its a good idea that you step back and say nothing cause it will cause you more pain come this saturday,tito will win,dana will hate it period enough said!!!
I’d like to summarise the commentary to date:
A Light Heavy Weight showdown between three key parties in the most glamorious weight class the UFC has to offer.
*Tito(Veteran, huge fan base, has been distracted over the past few years and his performances have shown it): has to be hungary, will need to pull out everything to win, for him it’s do or die, a career shaping moment, can Tito recapture his form and hunger. This is what legends are made of. He’s a ground and pound specialist who will need to show some improved standup and variability. Tito will have to work a differernt game plan to win because moving fwd and pressing on Loyoto will only end up in big time defensive strikes as we’ve seen in Loyoto’s past few wins. How will Tito respond?
*Machida(a genuine top 4 prospect, polarises people with a style that is beautifully technical, has been accused of being boring but always skilled): Will fight defensive, will be elusive, will be a brilliant technician, will float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, will be measured sensible and emotionless. He is strong on his feet, has a great sprawl and can work on the ground on both sides. He will get a shot at the title after Griffin vs Rampage. This is his chance to earn a shot at a belt. Like it or not, it is also his biggest test in the octagon to date.
*Dana: His position is clear. The UFC website has polls on all fights EXCEPT, Tito vs Machida. In his mind Dana has as much if not more riding on this than either fighter. This is all about him. Who has the greater will power? This is not about $$$ (Dana’s got plenty) it’s about respect.
Tito? who by winning will cement himself as a true MMA/UFC legend and will be reconsidered as a top 5 prospect. Not to mention feeling that he has stuck it right up Dana and set him self up for a payday where ever he may go.
Dana? If Tito loses Dana will have every right to eject him from the UFC and will have vindicated his rants about Tito’s downward slide and loud mouth. The fans won’t like it but if he loses they’ll surely thin out away.
In conclusion, this is a dead set face off between three of the biggest names in MMA to date. Tito, Machida and Dana. There is little doubt that this match has drawn more commentary than any fight in the past 12 months and is set to be an absolute war zone in and out of the octagon.
No fight this year will cause more cheers and tears.
Bring it the f…k on!!
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
That’s just mean Mania. That took me 45 minutes to write….
The world needs to hear it…..
I love u guys