Issue 044

December 2008

Controversial light heavyweight Lyoto Machida polarises opinion like few fighters, but not by his remarks, outbursts or other forms of behaviour. The Brazilian has sparked endless arguments among MMA fans due to his unique style of fighting.     

STATISTICS

Record: 13-0-0

Nickname: The Dragon

Fights out of: Belém, Brazil

Height: 6’ 1”

Age: 30

Category: Light heavyweight

Fighting style: Karate, BJJ

In MMA since: 2003

Continually referred to as ‘elusive’, Machida has developed a style that is masterful to some and plain infuriating to others. An exponent of the traditional strategy of ‘stick and move’, Machida could - depending on your viewpoint - be seen as a clinical striker who picks his opponents apart, or as a boring fighter who refuses to engage his opponents properly.  

Whatever fans make of his style, the results speak for themselves. Undefeated after 14 contests, Machida holds wins over numerous top-level fighters and is considered to be among the best fighters in his weight division.

Mind

An extremely calculating and cerebral fighter, Machida is known as a very stylish fighter who never allows himself to get drawn into a brawl. Instead of trading, he prefers to pick apart his opponents with strikes to create openings for takedowns or submissions. In all of his outings he has appeared extremely focussed and has never exhibited any sign of nerves.   

Feet

Thanks to Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, Lyoto will forever be known as ‘elusive’. This is due to his excellent footwork, which he uses to move in and out of range at a pace many opponents struggle to keep up with. Again showing his karate background, Lyoto’s movement is quite linear, yet he also cuts angles much like a boxer would to confuse and frustrate his opponents.   

Left hand

Fighting out of a southpaw stance, one of Lyoto’s best weapons is his left cross, an extremely fast and accurate attack that he throws with little to no telegraphing. As he comes from a traditional martial arts background, this technique is a refined version of the reverse punch, a very common attack in karate competition.

CAREER SNAPSHOT

2003

Makes his MMA debut against unheralded former pro wrestler Kengo Watanabe, also beats both Stephan Bonnar and Rich Franklin by TKO.    

2004

Takes on K-1 kickboxers Mike McDonald and Sam Greco under MMA rules in Japan  

2005

Infamously fights BJ Penn at ‘heavyweight’ – Penn weighed 180lb to Machida’s 222lb.  

2006

Fights in the USA for the first time in the now-defunct WFA.  

2007

Picked up by the UFC, Lyoto fights four times in 2007, defeating the likes of Sokoudjou and Kazuhiro Nakamura.  

2008

Comfortably defeats Tito Ortiz over three rounds, placing himself as a top light heavyweight in the UFC.