Although he fell short at regaining the UFC light heavyweight title, Lyoto Machida’s performance against Jon Jones has the Brazilian confident about a rematch in the future. Machida utilized footwork and his angles to get inside of the champion an…
Although he fell short at regaining the UFC light heavyweight title, Lyoto Machida‘s performance against Jon Jones has the Brazilian confident about a rematch in the future.
Machida utilized footwork and his angles to get inside of the champion and catch him a few occasions to win the first round. However, the second round saw Jones use his wrestling skills to take down and control his opponent, before applying a standing guillotine to earn the submission victory.
While speaking to FightersOnly.co.uk, “The Dragon” said the loss is a little disappointing, but he intends on focusing on his next fight in order to reach his goal of becoming a UFC champion once again.
“I lost but I still have three more fights at UFC and now my main goal is to be the champion of the weight class and bring the belt back to Para,” Machida said.
The recent loss has some fans suggesting the idea that Machida transitions to the middleweight division due to being undersized at 205 pounds. The Brazilian entered the bout looking more muscular and stronger than in his previous bouts, as he added 20 pounds of muscle while preparing for the 24-year-old Jones during training camp.
However, Machida intends to remain competing in the light heavyweight division for the time being, but he did not rule out the possibility of moving to 185 pounds.
“Now, I don’t want to change—but if I am not the light-heavyweight champion it really could happen.”
The loss has also gained Machida a bigger fan base because of the overwhelming support he received following the bout. He was grateful and appreciative towards their support.
“I wanted to thank the fans for the support. I know we gave our best and I know we did our best,” he said. “I am a professional and it is part of my career: to win or to lose. I hope the next time we can celebrate together!”
(“My God! The utter lack of humor in this contest was powerful enough to tear my skin!”)
Oh crap, I forgot all about this. So who was able to turn agonizing heartbreak into comedy? First, your finalists:
bitteralex: I wonder if it FEELS like a goat’s vagina?
Machiavelli: Lesson learned; Machida will definitely remember to take a carrot with him the next time he goes to pet the buses.
mikeraphon: I need a rematch like I need another hole in my head.
Rear Naked Poke: Round 5 just released the new Lyoto Machida Coin Bank, available this December.
Big Daddy Duker: A true practitioner of Machida Karate will never make noise while sneezing…no matter what the cost.
HabitualLineStepper: I’d better cover this up before I end up in the backseat of a car with Hendo and Brad Penny.
And now, the winner, because every contest needs one:
(“My God! The utter lack of humor in this contest was powerful enough to tear my skin!”)
Oh crap, I forgot all about this. So who was able to turn agonizing heartbreak into comedy? First, your finalists:
bitteralex: I wonder if it FEELS like a goat’s vagina?
Machiavelli: Lesson learned; Machida will definitely remember to take a carrot with him the next time he goes to pet the buses.
mikeraphon: I need a rematch like I need another hole in my head.
Rear Naked Poke: Round 5 just released the new Lyoto Machida Coin Bank, available this December.
Big Daddy Duker: A true practitioner of Machida Karate will never make noise while sneezing…no matter what the cost.
HabitualLineStepper: I’d better cover this up before I end up in the backseat of a car with Hendo and Brad Penny.
And now, the winner, because every contest needs one:
TrapDoor: ”Not now, Segal…just…not now.”
Well I liked it! TrapDoor, if you want to claim your copy of Straw Dogs, send an e-mail to [email protected] with your name and address and we’ll get it shipped off to you soon. Thanks to everybody who played.
Following UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ impressive victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, the 24-year-old has either been loved or hated by MMA fans.The type of success Jones has found within the past year has incl…
Following UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones‘ impressive victory over former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, the 24-year-old has either been loved or hated by MMA fans.
The type of success Jones has found within the past year has included becoming a UFC Champion and defending the light heavyweight title twice—the first to do so since Chuck Liddell held the title from 2005 to 2007.
Many have been quick to find any reason to dislike the dominant champion, and there isn’t much to not like him for. He has been respectful to each of his opponents following his victories, including his most recent.
Jones gave praise to his opponent following the victory via Twitter.
“Lyoto, they don’t do men like you, champions. You’re a truth warrior and a champion in life. It was an honor to be on the same cage as you,” wrote Jones, in Portuguese.
Jones had his toughest test to date this past weekend, and his Brazilian opponent even won the first round against him in many fans’ eyes.
Jones was able to get Machida down in the second round and cut him open with a vicious elbow. It was the beginning of the end for Machida, and Jones choked him unconscious with a guillotine choke soon after.
With his latest victory under his belt, Jones has gone 4-0 in 2011 with wins over Machida, Quinton Jackson, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Ryan Bader. Many have called it the best single year for any fighter in MMA.
There are times when being an MMA fan is awesome.Like this past Saturday, at a sold-out (I think) Air Canada Centre, when Little Nog crumpled Tito Ortiz with that knee and every Brazilian within 50 feet of me (and there were more than you’d think…
Like this past Saturday, at a sold-out (I think) Air Canada Centre, when Little Nog crumpled Tito Ortiz with that knee and every Brazilian within 50 feet of me (and there were more than you’d think) exploded.
Or when Frank Mir made the impossible happen in just a few minutes, breaking “Minotauro’s” arm and dropping around 15,000 jaws in unison (said Brazilians included).
Or when Lyoto Machida stumbled Jon Jones in the first round of their fight and you thought maybe, just maybe, he was going to be the guy.
Or even, hard as it was, when “The Korean Zombie” knocked out hometown hero Mark Hominick in the time it takes you to read this sentence. Man, that was a hard one to stomach. Fun fact: the top three fastest KOs in UFC history have all been delivered to Canadians. We are truly a polite people, not bred for violence and bloodsport. Just don’t mention it to that Georges guy.
Yes indeed, there are times when being an MMA fan is just awesome.
Then there are times when it blows harder than that storm George Clooney got caught in that one time when he was rocking the crazy beard. Times like when you go online, still buzzing from a night of awesome fights and arena beers and see the topic of conversation has shifted, as always, to b*tching about Greg Jackson.
In case you’re not up on MMA fans latest contribution to Team Jackson’s complaint box, I’ll fill you in.
Post UFC 140 main event, Jackson instructed a victorious Jones to “check on” the recently choked out Machida in order to “get himself some fans.” To some MMA fans, this is further proof that Jackson is phony. Or uncaring. Or calculating. Or something. It’s hard to tell with these guys.
Let me reiterate in case you were skimming: Jackson is in hot water with fans because he instructed his fighter to check on his opponent. Yes indeed, these are strange times we are living in.
The issue here is the language Jackson used. “Get yourself some fans.” Sounds slightly cynical, right? If only he had said, “Check on Lyoto because it is our solemn duty as martial artists to check on our opponents after we cause them to flop to the mat like a carp,” we wouldn’t be in this situation now.
Folks, Jackson needn’t concern himself with Machida’s well-being. That’s the ringside doctor’s job. That’s the referee’s job. That’s the athletic commission’s job. That’s the job of Machida’s cornermen.
Jackson is paid (and quite well, I’d imagine) to offer counsel, training and advice to Jones. That’s his job. That’s why he’s collecting a cheque.
What his job is not, however, is to be a constant beacon of Bushido bon mots, nor to dispense advice based on the internet MMA fan’s definition of a “true martial artist.” He’s a professional who is there to advise his client. He did that, and offered a young fighter sage advice in a charged moment. And yet the haterade flows like cheap beer at a frat party.
And besides, why are all you guys getting so hung up on “going to check” on someone? I mean seriously now, what difference does it make? I know Jones once stopped a mugger and all, but if Machida were seriously injured as a result of Jones’ choke, what difference would his “checking on” him really make?
For that matter, what does “checking on” a fighter really do, except take up space that EMTs or commission officials should be in?
And for what? A token gesture at best, designed to show fans what a good guy you really are. Old sensitive you, who just strangled a man until he blacked out, but had the good manners and decency to go over and pat his unmoving form a few times. Maybe you asked “are you alright?” to his unresponsive face before being shooed away by the officals. What a paragon of virtue you are. I want to be just like you when I grow up.
Jackson told Jones to check on Machida to “get some fans”? Folks, everyone checks on their opponent to “get some fans.” Or, more accurately, to keep their existing fans—Jackson modified the advice in Jones’ case in light of his (well-nigh inexplicable) plummeting popularity.
Or do you seriously expect me to believe that, in an ideal scenario, fighter X went over to check on fighter Y because, if he discovered something was wrong, he planned to immediately jump into action, give said fighter CPR, and set his broken arm in a makeshift sling made out of a jock strap?
The real shame is there are so many things to talk about coming off of this past Saturday’s UFC 140. It may have been the best card of the year, and provided headline news with every fight on the PPV card. Except for Ebersole vs. Patrick, of course, where the only real news is that Ebersole’s chest hair now has corporate sponsorship.
Instead, we’re back to bitching about Jackson.
Only it’s tired now. It’s sad. It’s not even “so bad it’s good.” You guys were more fun when you had greasegates and nipple twisting to b*tch about.
From Big Nog’s arm to Tito’s ribs, UFC 140 gave us more than its share of brutal moments. In case you forget what a nasty business this sport can be sometimes, take a look at the above post-fight photo of Lyoto Machida, who got split open, choked asleep, then unceremoniously dropped onto the canvas by Jon Jones. Enjoy your new scar, buddy. This guy knows what I’m talking about.
Your mission: Come up with a clever caption to the photo above, and submit it to the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday who will receive a copy of Straw Dogs, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray next week, and makes a perfect holiday gift, as long as you’re giving it to somebody who appreciates over-the-top violence. On second thought, you may just want to keep it for yourself…
From Big Nog’s arm to Tito’s ribs, UFC 140 gave us more than its share of brutal moments. In case you forget what a nasty business this sport can be sometimes, take a look at the above post-fight photo of Lyoto Machida, who got split open, choked asleep, then unceremoniously dropped onto the canvas by Jon Jones. Enjoy your new scar, buddy. This guy knows what I’m talking about.
Your mission: Come up with a clever caption to the photo above, and submit it to the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday who will receive a copy of Straw Dogs, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray next week, and makes a perfect holiday gift, as long as you’re giving it to somebody who appreciates over-the-top violence. On second thought, you may just want to keep it for yourself…
Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:
“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”
Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:
“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”
Okay. Not sure how “conduct yourself like a public figure” becomes “get some fans” in Jackson’s mental shorthand, but either way it’s good advice, especially when you’re fighting in front of a crowd that seems to hate you. The question is, why would Jones need to be reminded? Jackson has an answer for that too:
“Jon is a really good guy. Everybody is just attacking his character because that’s what you have to attack when you can’t attack somebody’s fighting. It’s not that he was a bad guy. You just literally go crazy. None of these guys outside of the cage could understand that after the fight, you’re in the zone, man. It’s such an intense camp, especially for Jon, month after month, fight after fight.
“Let’s take B.J. Penn for an example. He’s actually a really nice guy; he walks around licking blood off his gloves all the time. Chuck Liddell is one of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet, but when he knocks you unconscious, he runs around screaming and pumping his arms. That’s not normal behavior. So my job with Jon is to remind him. When the referee said break, he broke, and then he was still there in that zone. I was like, ‘Now, it’s time to relax and calm down and check on the guy.’ I should have said, ‘Remember you’re a public figure.’ But like I say, ‘Go get some Donald Cerrone,’ I said, ‘Go get some fans.’”
Checking on your fallen opponent is one of the unwritten traditions of MMA, but when you’re in the midst of celebrating a major triumph, it might not always feel natural to get down off the cage, put on a concerned face, and pat the other guy on the shoulder as he’s waking up from his nap. It’s a ritual, and not always a sincere one. And fans don’t like to be reminded of that.
So here’s a hypothetical question. What if Jon Jones and Greg Jackson really didn’t care that Lyoto Machida was sitting on a stool with a deep gash in his forehead, foggy from being choked out, and emotionally devastated from the loss: Does that change the way you already felt about them?
Although he fell short at regaining the UFC light heavyweight title, Lyoto Machida‘s performance against Jon Jones has the Brazilian confident about a rematch in the future. 
