Lyoto Machida just stepped off the scales a few minutes ago, and nothing looked abnormal. Jon Jones looked his usual fit self and there seemed to be no issues. There’s a rumor going around from Sherdog’s Jordan Breen that Machida is battling a cold, fl…
Lyoto Machida just stepped off the scales a few minutes ago, and nothing looked abnormal. Jon Jones looked his usual fit self and there seemed to be no issues.
There’s a rumor going around from Sherdog’s Jordan Breen that Machida is battling a cold, flu, pneumonia or some other condition of that nature. Breen mentioned it in his pre-event chatroom and it was picked up by BloodyElbow. Here’s Breen’s quote from his chat.
At this point it’s nothing more than speculation, and Machida is normally a reserved individual, so fans shouldn’t read anything into him straying away from the media.
Machida doesn’t use an overly aggressive style so if he is in fact battling a sickness, it may not impact his fight tomorrow as much as it would someone else.
With that being said, we’ve seen how being sick can drastically alter a fighter’s ability inside the Octagon, with a recent example of Roy Nelson battling his condition in his bout with Frank Mir at UFC 130.
If Machida loses, I don’t believe we will hear anything about being sick, as Machida is never one to make any excuses for a loss. And it will likely be used as anti-Jones material should the Brazilian win.
As always, be sure to stay with Bleacher Report all weekend for your full UFC 140 coverage.
The little hype around UFC 140 has centered on two puzzles: Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida. Jones and Machida are two of the most unique fighters in the entire UFC. What may be flying under the radar is the other main event, a rematch of heavyweights, Fra…
The little hype around UFC 140 has centered on two puzzles: Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida. Jones and Machida are two of the most unique fighters in the entire UFC.
What may be flying under the radar is the other main event, a rematch of heavyweights, Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Despite the rankings, Mir is a top five heavyweight and is riding a two-fight win streak since the debacle against Shane Carwin.
Nogueira, meanwhile, has us all saying, “He’s back!” for the 1,000th time in his career after a knockout victory against Brendan Schaub.
Their first match was nothing short of a squash match as Mir showed his improved boxing skills and floored Nogueira. It was later revealed that Nogueira was suffering from a severe staph infection, something Mir believes had no part in the final outcome.
The brash heavyweight will have a chance to prove that correct if he can defeat the legendary Nogueira at UFC 140.
While all eyes will be focused on the spectacle of styles in the main event, it could be Mir and Nogueira who end up stealing the show.
As the old saying goes, “Styles make fights.” In the case of Jones and Machida, though, styles don’t make fights.
Machida is known to be one of the most elusive fighters in the UFC. Like Chuck Liddell of old, he lures his opponents into his web of traps and pounces on them with lightning-quick agility.
Just when his opponents feel like they’re in range to tag him, Machida quickly bounces out.
Jones has shown to be particularly methodical in his approach lately. He won’t rush in. Greg Jackson has likely told the young champion to resist the urge to chase Machida around the cage.
This could lead to a virtual stalemate that would be the equivalent of trench warfare—neither side will want to make a move.
Mir and Nogueira will not suffer from the inability to confront each other. Mir will be confident in his striking now that he knows he has bested “Minotauro” once before on the feet.
Nogueira will likely want to squash any confidence Mir has and prove his striking is superior. “Big Nog” has never been known to be scared of standing in the pocket as well.
Finally, I think this fight will outshine Jones vs. Machida based on the possible outcomes.
The majority of fans will celebrate like it’s New Years if their hero, Nogueira, floors Mir with a powerful punch. Even an ugly decision will be treated like the second coming due to the fact fans hate Mir so much.
What would be even more impressive is if one man manages to tap the other out. Both have esteemed credentials as far as Brazilian jiu-jitsu goes and are dangerous in any position on the mats.
If Mir proves the first bout was no fluke, then the fans still win. Another heavyweight title challenger will emerge to follow in the footsteps of Brock Lesnar or Alistair Overeem.
A pair of exciting bantamweights are set to square off at UFC 143. The rumored bout between Renan Barao and Scott Jorgenson is in the works, according to MMAmania.com. Barao comes into the bout riding a 28-fight unbeaten streak and is coming off an imp…
A pair of exciting bantamweights are set to square off at UFC 143. The rumored bout between Renan Barao and Scott Jorgenson is in the works, according to MMAmania.com.
Barao comes into the bout riding a 28-fight unbeaten streak and is coming off an impressive UFC debut against Brad Pickett in England. In that fight, Barao came out with fists of fury and knocked Pickett to the mat. He then latched onto Pickett’s back like Spiderman and sunk in a rear naked choke for the win.
Meanwhile, Jorgenson is riding a win streak of his own, having won two bouts in a row after losing a decision to current champ Dominick Cruz.
Both men are electrifying once the cage door closes and are sure to put on an entertaining bout.
Jorgenson is one of the grittiest contenders in the bantamweight division and has KO power to go with some impressive grappling skills.
Barao’s ground skills are nothing to slouch at either. He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from the Nova Uniao camp and trains with Jose Aldo among other top competitors.
In the bout with Pickett, Barao came out aggressively and didn’t seem to be affected by the limelight of the UFC. Many fans were calling for Barao to skyrocket up the rankings and into title contention following his impressive showing.
It looks as if fans will get their wish when Barao meets Jorgenson at UFC 143. Both men have the credentials to warrant a title shot and, with so few challengers available, the bout could be a title eliminator.
Diego Brandao is the featherweight winner from Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter. Brandao beat a slew of good fighters to win the title of “Ultimate Fighter,” and did so in impressive fashion.Brandao didn’t let any of his opponents escape the opening f…
Diego Brandao is the featherweight winner from Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter. Brandao beat a slew of good fighters to win the title of “Ultimate Fighter,” and did so in impressive fashion.
Brandao didn’t let any of his opponents escape the opening frame and simply demolished anyone who had the unfortunate pleasure of being locked in the Octagon with him.
We knew Brandao had punching power coming into the finale, what we weren’t privileged to see on the show was his impressive jiu-jitsu game.
Brandao showed a new facet of his game by pulling off what I would call the submission of the year in the UFC.
After rocking opponent Dennis Bermudez, Brandao found himself on the defensive as he was floored by a short right hool from Bermudez.
Brandao struggled to keep Bermudez off him but Bermudez was persistent and stayed on top of him, not letting the Brazilian rest.
In one of the greatest turn of the tides seen in a UFC fight, Brandao went from nearly being finished to nearly snapping Bermudez’s arm in half.
Now that Brandao has the TUF title to his name, he’s likely to see an increase in not only media attention, but also in opponent caliber.
Brandao could find himself “in the mix” sooner rather than later given his talent and the fact UFC president Dana White was so impressed by him throughout the show.
The Brazilian will need to work on his striking if he wants to compete with the upper-echelon of UFC featherweights.
He has the power, but now he needs to refine and harness it into a technical striking game. While he has the one-punch knockout power to turn any opponent’s lights out, he could be so much better by setting his power shots up with crisp combinations.
Controlling his aggression will also be key to his success. The reason he found himself in a position to pull off the armbar like is because he rushed in and got caught.
Against someone of a higher caliber, that one punch could’ve been the end of the night for Brandao, or a better fighter could’ve finished that fight.
But given the amount of potential Brandao has shown, and the fact he has “the mastermind” Greg Jackson as coach and trainer, is there any reason to doubt Jackson’s MMA has another future champion under its roof?
Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s return to the UFC didn’t go as planned. Instead of putting on the grappling clinic most of his fans wanted, Miller proved to be not much more than a moving punching bag.Miller was candid in his post-fight interview, apologizing …
Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s return to the UFC didn’t go as planned. Instead of putting on the grappling clinic most of his fans wanted, Miller proved to be not much more than a moving punching bag.
Miller was candid in his post-fight interview, apologizing to his fans and admitting to getting tired.
It wasn’t some sort of top-secret information that Miller gassed, but it was nice to hear a fighter refrain from making any excuses.
In a bout that was aimed to launch either winner into title contention, according to Bleacher Report, Miller may find himself out of the UFC, let alone outside the title picture.
Besides the ire of Dana White, “Mayhem” has a number of reasons as to why he is miles away from speaking about the UFC middleweight title.
Jason “Mayhem” MIller returned to the Octagon at the finale for The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 and took on rival coach, Michael “The Count” Bisping.Many people believed “Mayhem” would bring the fight to the mat and swarm Bisping with a relentless …
Jason “Mayhem” MIller returned to the Octagon at the finale for The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 and took on rival coach, Michael “The Count” Bisping.
Many people believed “Mayhem” would bring the fight to the mat and swarm Bisping with a relentless ground assault.
Outside of the opening frame that saw Miller fail to do any damage after getting the takedown, fans were left with a knot in their stomach as Bisping ripped punch after punch through Miller’s mid-section and face.
It was clear to me that Miller was already becoming gassed inside the opening frame. He shied away from crediting his tiredness to an adrenaline dump or lactic acidosis, but something clearly was not right with “Mayhem.”
If you go and find some of his training footage, you would know Miller came into the bout in good condition. I was tired from just watching some of the footage.
The last time we saw Miller in a high-profile fight like this was the bout against Jake Shields. Miller had some success and came within seconds of submitting the grappling ace but eventually fell victim to Shields’ grinding style.
His fate was the same against Bisping as “The Count” unleashed a constant flurry of punches that had Miller’s face swollen and bruised like a bad grape.
After his disastrous performance, where does “Mayhem” go from here?
He wasn’t ranked high on anyone’s rankings, and he hasn’t beaten anyone of note in years.
If it were anyone else, the UFC would be putting them on prelim fights on Facebook. But “Mayhem” is a victim of his own success.
He’s too well-known and liked to be pushed that far down on the card, which means he’s going to be fighting upper-level talent when he shouldn’t be.
His grappling skills are great, but as we saw against Bisping, he has trouble with the wrestling part of being a grappler and his striking still needs a lot of work.
“Mayhem” should be on Facebook or on either of the preliminary bouts to appear on TV, but the UFC knows they have a walking, talking, set of dollars and they can’t let their investment go to waste.
Lyoto Machida just stepped off the scales a few minutes ago, and nothing looked abnormal. Jon Jones looked his usual fit self and there seemed to be no issues.