Now that Lyoto Machida has won the UFC light heavyweight title, there's a growing sense that we're headed into -- in the words of Joe Rogan -- a Machida Era: A time when Machida simply dominates the light heavyweight division and defends the belt several times in a row.But as great as Machida is, everyone can be beaten. So which fighters would have a chance of beating Machida at 205 pounds? My list is below.
1-2. Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva: I'll lump these two together because I think they're the two fighters who would have the best chance of beating Machida at 205, and because the fights would never happen. Fedor, who dominates the heavyweight division despite weighing a pudgy 230, could certainly make 205 if he wanted to, but he doesn't want to -- and, of course, there's the little matter of him not fighting in the UFC. Silva, who dominates the middleweight division and is about to make his second foray up to light heavyweight, would have a solid shot of beating Machida, but they're good friends and have said they have no interest in fighting each other. So barring something totally unforseeable happening, Machida is never going to face the two opponents who would have the best chance of beating him.
3. Shogun Rua: Of the fighters who might actually challenge Machida in the not-too-distant future, I like Shogun's chances the best. He's a dynamic striker who's quick enough to move in and out against Machida, and although he only has one career win by submission, he can win a fight on the ground if he needs to. I think Shogun-Machida is a fight we might very well see in 2010, and it's a fight every fan would love.
4. Forrest Griffin: Griffin would have a reach advantage over Machida, and his ability to strike from the outside and take fights to the ground might frustrate him. The UFC would certainly love to promote a Griffin vs. Machida fight.
5. Rampage Jackson: Jackson will get the first crack at Machida, probably in December, and he definitely deserves to be considered the No. 1 contender. But as great as Jackson is -- and I don't think there's any doubt that he's one of the greatest light heavyweights in the history of the sport -- I think his style plays right into what Machida wants his opponents to do.
6. Randy Couture: This one sounds a little crazy at first, but even though Couture fights at heavyweight now, he could easily get back down to 205, and he's such a great game planner that he'd come up with a way to use his superior wrestling to frustrate Machida. I don't think he actually would beat Machida, but I'd love to see what Couture would come up with if he tried.
7. Dan Henderson: Henderson, like Couture, is a gifted wrestler and a smart, experienced fighter who'd come in with a good game plan. It's hard to see Henderson being quick enough to hurt the elusive Machida, though.
8. Renato "Babalu" Sobral: Babalu's Brazilian jiu jitsu skills would give Machida a difficult test on the ground, although I don't know how Babalu would get Machida down there.
9. Rashad Evans: I didn't pick Evans to win on Saturday night and I certainly wouldn't pick him to win a rematch, but I do think that if he got a second chance, he'd come in with a much better, more aggressive game plan, and maybe find a way to win the fight on the ground.
10. Jon Jones: Obviously, the 21-year-old Jones has a long way to go before the UFC would even think of giving him a title shot. But when I picture the type of fighter who could give Machida trouble, I picture a superior athlete with a wrestling base who's good at taking his opponent down. That pretty well describes Jones, who showed off some of the best throws I've ever seen in his UFC 94 win over Stephan Bonnar.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I agree that Fedor would beat him, at 204 or otherwise, Anderson Silva doesn't. silvas best quality is negated by Machida - footwork. Silva would have no positioning advantage, and this really would be a boring fight. They both get their advantage from positioning/footwork.
Shogun. Heres the guy that can beat Machida. The rest don't have much of a chance.
One of the most amazing things about Fedor is that he completely dominates the heavyweights even though he's smaller than a lot of light heavyweights. It's fun to think about what he could have done if he had been fighting in the UFC all this time. I think they might have moved him back and forth between heavy and light heavy and he would have had classic fights with Liddell and Couture and Tito at light heavy in addition to being the heavyweight champ.
i would take Keith Jardine it sounds weird but Machida is a unorthodox counter fighter so why not throw a unorthodox agressive fighter in there
Shogun has been more unimpressive lately than anything to make a call like that. Hes fixed his injuries sure... and he knocked out a guy whos already been read to death and made predictable.
Shogun has ugly jerk-and-bounce footing late rounds and his chin is utterly exposed when hes tired. I dont think hes skilled enough to beat Machida but if his gameplan is to do what everyone should be doing to Machida "hard pressure and aggression" he could have a very good chance to win. If he does a standup war, hes done rd 1. Box a brawler and brawl a boxer. The same holds true against this evasive Karate machine.
Wanderlai and Rampage are Pride fighters and a pride fighter is going to beat Machida. Weather its a lighter Noguera(perfect against Machida) or an explosive/aggressive fighter like Wanderlai or Rampage.
I do find the Randy Couture idea intriguing
did not think of that one. You should ask Randy if that be a fight he would be interested in.
Only thing is I think he only has 1 fight left on his contract. I do not think Dana would give him a chance to the title unles he his under contract
Out of the fighters listed, Fedor would definitely have the best shot. A fight with Shogun would likely play out similar to Machida's bout with Thiago Silva. Couture would have no way of dealing with Machida's superior lateral movement and any takedown attempts would likely be stuffed. People seem to forget that Machida also has great Jiu Jitsu; no one has ever successfully passed his guard, though BJ Penn came close by moving to half-guard. Anyways, if Rampage wants to win, he will need to rework his fighting style. His boxing and chin won't carry him to victory. He should look to improve his wrestling and footwork, since he fights flatfooted right now. He needs a technical game plan.
Shogun is a much better fighter than Silva.
It's a tough call making this list. For example, I'd pick Evans to beat Rampage in a matchup. Page has heavy hands but Evans stand up is just better imo. Evans KO'd Griffin, I'd see Machida KO'ing Griffin too, but more quickly.
I would take Jon Jones to beat Machida, but let Jones fight Shogun first, then the winner fights Machida.