Filed under: UFC
It’s been said a million times that Lyoto Machida has a unique style in mixed martial arts, and that’s certainly true. But Machida showed in his knockout victory over Randy Couture on UFC 129 that even more significant than a unique style is his unique talent: Machida can do things inside the Octagon that no one else can do.
Think for a moment about what it really means to say that Machida has a unique style: It doesn’t mean that he’s aware of some secret method of fighting; the style he employs is based on karate, which is studied by millions around the world. What it really means is that what he can do with karate is different from what all those other millions of karate students can do.
That’s about talent. That’s what makes Machida special.