Tag: Shogun Rua

Machida Training with Steven Seagal (VIDEO)

Lyoto Machida is taking a cue from teammate, UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva and adding Actor/Martial Artist, Steven Seagal to his team of trainers in preparation for his UFC 123 Lightheavyweight Main Event fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In the video below, Seagal offers several techniques to add to Machida’s arsenal and advises him […]

Lyoto Machida is taking a cue from teammate, UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva and adding Actor/Martial Artist, Steven Seagal to his team of trainers in preparation for his UFC 123 Lightheavyweight Main Event fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In the video below, Seagal offers several techniques to add to Machida’s arsenal and advises him where he went wrong in his bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua which lost him the UFC Lightheavyweight title, though it appears Seagal may be offering a bit of bad advice with a few illegal moves including throat punching.

Anderson Silva was dominated by Chael Sonnen in his last fight, but maybe that had more to do with PEDs than with Seagal. We shall see what Machida does with what Seagal has taught him…


State of the UFC Light Heavyweights

Filed under: UFCNovember is a month without any title fights, which makes it a good time to take a long view of the future title picture in each weight class. Today we look at the light heavyweight division.

The light heavyweight division is both the …

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November is a month without any title fights, which makes it a good time to take a long view of the future title picture in each weight class. Today we look at the light heavyweight division.

The light heavyweight division is both the UFC’s most talented weight class and — right now anyway — its most frustrating. There are so many good fights that can be made, but the championship belt is tied up because the champion, Shogun Rua, is recovering from knee surgery.

It’s been almost a year and a half since anyone other than Shogun and Lyoto Machida has fought for the light heavyweight title, and it’ll probably be another six months or so until we see Shogun defend his title again. So as we look at the light heavyweight division, we’re looking at a division with a wealth of contenders but a shortage of title fights.

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Penn Falls Out

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Rankings, OverallWith his second straight unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn is no longer one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

He’s long been considered one of the truly elite fighters in mix…

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With his second straight unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar, B.J. Penn is no longer one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

He’s long been considered one of the truly elite fighters in mixed martial arts, but the soon-to-be 32-year-old Penn has looked in his two fights this year like he has slowed down. Penn is the greatest lightweight ever to fight in MMA, but even the greatest decline eventually.

So Penn isn’t in my pound-for-pound Top 10 anymore. To find out who is, read on.

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Anderson Silva Slips

Filed under: UFC, WECThere’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved A…

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There’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved Anderson Silva to the top. But on Saturday night we watched the worst performance of Anderson Silva’s UFC career, and although Silva pulled off a brilliant submission to win the fight, he struggled enough through the first four and a half rounds that he deserves to drop in the rankings.

Find out who’s No. 1 now, and how far Silva fell, below.

Midseason MMA Awards: Best Knockout

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, BellatorThere may have been more surprising knockouts, more spectacular knockouts or more exciting knockouts, but there has been no more impressive knockout so far in 2010 than Shogun Rua connecting with Lyoto Machida in …

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There may have been more surprising knockouts, more spectacular knockouts or more exciting knockouts, but there has been no more impressive knockout so far in 2010 than Shogun Rua connecting with Lyoto Machida in the first round of their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 113.

Just think about how difficult it is to land a clean, hard shot to Machida’s head. Right up until that very moment when Rua’s right hand hit Machida’s temple, Machida had been the UFC’s hardest fighter to hit. Whether you loved or hated his elusive style of fighting, you knew Machida was devastatingly effective at avoiding damage.

And then Shogun came along. After losing a very close decision to Machida last year, Shogun wanted to take it out of the judges’ hands this time around, and that’s what he did, winning the light heavyweight belt by tagging Machida with by far the hardest punch anyone has ever hit him with and then pouncing and finishing him with a few more punches on the ground. It was the best knockout in mixed martial arts so far in 2010.

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Emperor’s Reign Ends

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Rankings, OverallFedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not …

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Fedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not at the top anymore, after Fabricio Werdum submitted him in just 69 seconds on Saturday night.

But is Fedor still in the Top 10? Not on my list.

Some people would say Fedor’s body of work merits inclusion in the Top 10, but this isn’t a list of the greatest fighters of all time, it’s a list of the greatest fighters right now. And the soon-to-be 34-year-old Emelianenko, even though he is the greatest fighter of all time, isn’t one of the 10 best right now. My list, the first one I’ve ever put together without Fedor on it, is below.