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Machida vs. Munoz: Complete Guide to UFC Fight Night 30 Fight Card

Lyoto Machida has spent his entire UFC career in the light heavyweight division. A 205-pound championship and 11 UFC victories later, “The Dragon” will now set his sights on success in a new weight class.
At UFC Fight Night 30, Machida will drop down t…

At UFC Fight Night 30, Machida will drop down to 185 pounds. Welcoming the Brazilian to the middleweight division will be Mark Munoz, who is currently ranked No. 5 among 185-pound contenders competing under the UFC banner.

Beating Munoz would instantly turn Machida into a title threat in his new division. The question is: Would Machida pursue that middleweight title should friend and teammate Anderson Silva reclaim it by beating Chris Weidman at UFC 168?

Before that scenario is considered, UFC Fight Night 30 has to happen. In preparation for Saturday’s event in Manchester, England, here is a complete guide to the fight card.

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UFC Fight Night 30: 5 Reasons to Watch

Following an event like UFC 166 is like lighting off a bottle rocket right after nine pounds of M-80 explosives just deafened the block.
But as improbable and unlikely as it is to match the intensity and raw carnage displayed in Houston, Texas no more …

Following an event like UFC 166 is like lighting off a bottle rocket right after nine pounds of M-80 explosives just deafened the block.

But as improbable and unlikely as it is to match the intensity and raw carnage displayed in Houston, Texas no more than a few days ago, UFC Fight Night 30 this Saturday has all the ingredients to deliver the goods.

You’ll just have to put Diego Sanchez’s eyebrow disaster behind you, pull up a chair and enjoy the show.

Here are five reasons why this weekend will be yet another successful showing for Dana White and UFC brass.

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UFC Fight Night 30: Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Munoz Betting Odds & Predictions

With one of the greatest events in mixed martial arts history in the books, it’s time to turn our gaze towards Manchester and this Saturday’s “UFC Fight Night 30: Machida vs. Munoz” fight card.
The event, which airs on Fox Sports 2 (formerly Fuel TV), …

The event, which airs on Fox Sports 2 (formerly Fuel TV), is notable for one specific thing: the middleweight debut of former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

The event was originally scheduled to feature a main event between Michael Bisping and Mark Munoz. But a severe eye injury to Bisping forced him to withdraw from the fight. Machida was slated to face Tim Kennedy at the Fight for the Troops event in November but was pulled from the card and inserted into a fight with friend and training partner Mark Munoz.

As is typical with most free television cards, the rest of the card doesn’t exactly feature the biggest names in the sport. With that in mind, I’m focusing my betting preview for the event on the top three fights. After we take in-depth looks at those bouts, I’ll give you predictions for the rest of the fights.

As always, I won’t be recommending a betting play on every fight; my goal here is to help you maximize your value, and if I don’t see good value in a fight, I won’t suggest you make a play on it. But there are a couple of possible plays on this card, so let’s get started.

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UFC Fight Night 30: How Can Mark Munoz Get to Lyoto Machida?

The card has been chopped and changed, and swapped around, but the main event for UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, England has now been filled. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” Mark Munoz, will take on Lyoto Machida, who is making his middleweight deb…

This is not an easy matchup for Munoz. Taking on the elusive Brazilian will be a challenge.

Munoz has an exceptional wrestling pedigree, and in his fights he’s a grinder who looks to take things to the mat and proceed with strikes. That’s likely to be his game plan going into this fight. However, no one has used that strategy successfully against Machida before.

The real question going into the fight is whether or not Munoz can get close enough to “The Dragon” to take him down.

Machida is the most elusive and difficult-to-grapple-with fighter in the division. He’s also used to dancing circles around accomplished wrestlers; a list which includes Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Ryan Bader, Rashad Evans, Jon Jones and Phil Davis.

Those last two were fights he lost, but even then, both Davis and Jones struggled to put Machida on his back. He’s proven time and again that he has some of the sturdiest takedown defense and quickest feet to easily neutralize the style of game Munoz will bring.

What’s more, both Davis and Jones had reach as an advantage, helping them close the distance on Machida. But Munoz is slightly smaller. Worse, he’s never shown the explosive takedown ability that can cut the distance on a man like Machida.

We’ve seen the shortcomings in Munoz’ wrestling in his fight against the much bigger, Chris Weidman.

Still, that was a year ago, and you’d hope that Munoz would have patched some of those holes in his game—not that he’s likely to face many takedown attempts coming from Machida.

What could ultimately slow Machida down is the weight cut. This is unknown territory for the Brazilian, and whether he can keep things standing and pick Munoz apart depends on how strenuous the weight cut is for him. Otherwise, for Munoz to get close to him, he would require a willingness to trade in the pocket and hope he can find a way into the clinch or score a takedown from there.

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UFC Fight Night 30: Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Munoz Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will look to build his legacy in a new division at UFC Fight Night 30 on Saturday, where he’ll make his 185-pound debut opposite Mark Munoz.
Machida was still one of the top fighters in the world…

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will look to build his legacy in a new division at UFC Fight Night 30 on Saturday, where he’ll make his 185-pound debut opposite Mark Munoz.

Machida was still one of the top fighters in the world at 205 pounds, but a controversial loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163 prompted the Brazilian to look for a quicker path to his next title shot. He believes he’ll have to do less at middleweight than he would at light heavyweight to fight for another UFC championship.

Having only lost to champion Chris Weidman over the past three years, Munoz will be a good test to see where Machida stands in the 185-pound class. Also a former light heavyweight, Munoz is a Top Five middleweight right now, so a win over him would immediately place Machida in the running for a title shot.

What are Machida‘s chances of picking up an important win in his first appearance as a UFC middleweight?

Here is a look at how “The Dragon” matches up with Munoz in all areas.

Stats courtesy of UFC.com.

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Lyoto Machida Only Took Fight with Teammate Mark Munoz to Keep UFC Happy

Lyoto Machida didn’t want to disappoint the UFC.
The former light heavyweight champion has agreed to a middleweight bout against Mark Munoz, his training partner and friend, at UFC Fight Night 30.
Munoz, who was originally slated to f…

Lyoto Machida didn’t want to disappoint the UFC.

The former light heavyweight champion has agreed to a middleweight bout against Mark Munoz, his training partner and friend, at UFC Fight Night 30.

Munoz, who was originally slated to face Michael Bisping, was left without an opponent when an injury forced Bisping to pull out of the bout. Seeing as the loss of Bisping left a gaping hole in the main event, the UFC called for Machida to forgo his upcoming bout with Tim Kennedy and fight Munoz instead.

Machida accepted the fight after much consideration. During an interview with MMAFighting.com, he claimed his decision was based on furthering his position in the middleweight division and not upsetting the UFC:

I thought for a while about it (when UFC offered the change), but I didn’t want to disappoint and frustrate the UFC. The date wasn’t that bad. I was already training hard for my fight, so I decided to take it. They were both main events, but this is a better one because Mark Munoz is better ranked and it’s not a (Fight for the Troops) card.

In speaking with Bleacher Report’s Duane Finley, Mark Munoz admitted that he was surprised when Machida’s name came up as an opponent. The two were planning to train with one another for their upcoming fights, but Bisping’s injury threw a major monkey wrench in the UFC’s plans.

“It is kind of a crazy turn. I didn’t even know [Michael] Bisping was hurt, and then all of a sudden, I’m fighting Lyoto Machida in three weeks,” Munoz told Bleacher Report. “I’m down to fight anyone at any time, but I have to admit, the whole thing kind of surprised me because it all came in at the same time and was very last minute. But that is the nature of this game, and you have to be ready for anything.”

The notion of friends fighting has been a hot topic over the years in MMA.

It’s ludicrous to make a comparison between MMA and other sports in regards to the business-like nature of competition. Quite frankly, it’s asking a lot to try to convince someone to punch and elbow another human being whom they care deeply about.

While there is some relationship with Munoz, Machida’s bond with “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” isn’t nearly as strong as with Anderson Silva. The two MMA icons have vowed never to fight one another. During a Q&A Session with fans, via MMAFighting.com, Silva had even gone as far as threatening to retire from the sport if pressured into fighting Machida.

UFC president Dana White has grown increasingly agitated over fighters refusing to fight one another.

If anything, Machida’s decision to throw him a bone and take the fight with Munoz should call off the dogs at least for a little while.

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