Hawkius Maximus 0 Report post Posted March 9, 2009 Using Yoshihiro Akiyama in Las Vegas does not compute. If there's one guy who'll get you a good showing in Japan or Korea, it's Akiyama. It seems like...such a huge waste. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Well they have no shows in Japan or Korea for awhile (if at all) so it would be stupid to have him sit on the sidelines till then. That card is shaping up to be tits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lei Tong 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Breen already went into detail about why it would be wasteful for them to try and run shows in Japan right now, despite their desire to prove they can do so. I have link, to show? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 The top 4 for UFC 100 is insane. They can put any fight on there to complete the card and it's probably going to be the best card in years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 UFC 98 Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida As days go by this seems to be the way things are leaning. Sherdog has a story on its main page about Rashad and in it he says he expects that Rampage won't be ready to go in time. I've also read some stories at various sites that say even though he wasn't medically suspended that Rampage's hand is hurt and, if you saw Dana's blog for the show, his jaw needs some time to heal too. Couple that with UFC removing the banner from their main page advertising Evans vs Jackson for the May show and it looks like Lyoto might finally get his shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 I've never been more stoked for a fight that has an extremely high suck potential. Rashad, for all his talent is a slow starter and we all know he's not going to chase Lyoto down like Thiago did. Lyoto, as we know is for the most part a counter fighter but if Rashad isn't bringing it to him he'll be more then content to sit back and wait for his chance. Also factor in that this is Rashad's first defense and Lyoto's first shot so this could very well be 5 rounds of guys fighting to not lose instead of going out there in search of a win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Hey, don't get me wrong I'm excited simply because I never thought I'd live to see the day where Lyoto gets a title shot. It's just coming against the wrong kind of fighter because, as round one against Chuck showed, Rashad has no qualms about being boring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Lyoto always has a smart strategy and this one is simply going to be a points game. He'll wade in and our, countering and trying to use his footsweep/trip takedowns on Rashad. I don't see Machida being agressive, if at all, until the later rounds unless Rashad forces his hand early on. And if Rashad does there's a good chance he gets Silva'd. It's an interesting fight for a lot of reasons and that's why I'm excited but I'm not going to ignore the very real chance that this could be a horrible fight in terms of entertainment value. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 I think this fight boils down to Rashad being able to take Lyoto down. If he can do that, I think he's got the fight in the bag. If he can't I think he gets eaten alive standing. I'm generalizing here but whatever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Lyoto is a nasty black belt. Why would Rashad take him down and risk that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Lyoto is a nasty black belt. Why would Rashad take him down and risk that? Lyoto's ground game especially off his back is pretty much unproven. Tito almost was able to catch Lyoto in a triangle choke... Plus I can see Lyoto's BJJ in MMA being much better then Forrest Griffin's so I doubt he can throw anything at Evans from the bottom that he hasn't seen before. You don't want someone like Rashad on top of you, who can finish you with a single shot. His ground and pound is nasty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 It's unproven which means it could be a lot better then we know but I don't see Lyoto threatening Rashad with anything off his back. Forrest has a solid, active guard with longer limbs then Machida and Rashad had no problems doling out punishment from on top. I doubt he'll be shook by Lyoto. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Forrest kinda went retarded when he was on his back against Rashad, though. I wouldn't take Machidas jitsu lightly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 How should we take it then? In his entire UFC career he was on his back for literally two seconds from a Sokodjou takedown and he quickly swept him. Past that he's never been put on his back in the UFC and I've seen all of his fights outside UFC save two or three and in the ones I saw (Franklin, Penn, Bonnar etc) he didn't fight off his back there either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 I just don't think its right that we should compare Machida's BJJ to what Forrest did. Despite the fact that he is never on his back, I doubt a lot of people would consider Forrest on Machida's level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Forrest kinda went retarded when he was on his back against Rashad, though. I wouldn't take Machidas jitsu lightly. Getting punched in the face by someone who hits as hard as Rashad, makes you go "retarded"... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Before he was getting punched in the face. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 I just don't think its right that we should compare Machida's BJJ to what Forrest did. Despite the fact that he is never on his back, I doubt a lot of people would consider Forrest on Machida's level. This is MMA, not a BJJ contest. Forrest's BJJ is strictly for MMA, and he is great at it. There are not many BJJ Black Belts who can translate their BJJ into MMA as good as Forrest can. Would they smoke Forrest in a BJJ match? Yes. But like I said this isn't a BJJ contest, this is MMA. Look how Forrest was able to outgrapple Jeff Monson, who credential-wise is a much better grappler then Forrest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 Before he was getting punched in the face. Explain to me how he was acting "retarded" on the ground before getting punched in the face? Because I seemed to remember as soon as Rashad got him to the ground he landed a punch right away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Your Paragon of Virtue 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 There's no reason to believe that Machida's ground game off of his back is shit once he gets hit. That's an assumption people are making based on not a whole lot. For MMA I would say his ground game is better than Forrest's. He hasn't shown much off of his back, but at least top position he has shown good striking and defense. This is all nitpicking by the way. Lyoto's never really shown a weakness and people are trying to find one. His ground game has looked good from top and bottom. I've never seen him get mauled like Forrest did against Tito. The worst thing you could say was he was almost caught in a triangle by Tito, but I think that's more of a case of people underrating Tito's guard than anything else. He's not gonna have to worry about that with Rashad. He could put him on his back, but I doubt he will anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 10, 2009 TUF 9 Finale- June Clay Guida vs Diego Sanchez Anthony Johnson vs John Howard Joe Stevenson vs Nate Diaz This fight confuses me. My first instinct was "Well, there's Joe's last UFC fight" but then I think "Huh, don't they realize that Joe can just Guida his way to victory?". Certainly not a bad fight in terms of entertainment potential. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawkius Maximus 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 I'm not so sure Lyoto will try to "outpoint" Rashad. He said an interesting thing after killing Silva. He's consciously improved his aggression. That's why he was creating so many holes from Silva. Granted, they were THERE, but he was actively attacking them. Lyoto at some point realized that UFC wanted him to be more aggressive and more of a finisher. He's apparently changed up his camp and worked on it. And I'm not sure Rashad can get Lyoto down. There's a reason Lyoto's only touched the ground for a short period of time even agains top level Judo guys. He's got an incredible sprawl. Rashad's focused more on his standup himself these days. If anything, I see a boxer/kickboxer versus Karate fight more then anything. Lyoto keeps his standing guard, Rashad dances around looking for an opening. Whoever lands the first bomb will probably decide the fight. They are both elusive as fuck though. Even if it does end up being a boring fight, I'm excited to see it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Maybe they wanted to go Lauzon-Diaz and Joe tore his ACL, so they just inserted Joe Daddy. It is an intriguing fight in that neither guy can afford to lose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 UFC 99- June, Germany Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy Cain Velasquez vs Heath Herring Justin Buccholz vs Terry Etim Mike Swick vs Ben Saunders Caol Uno vs Spencer Fisher Mustapha Al-Turk vs Todd Duffee Denis Stojnic vs Stefan Struve Paul Taylor vs Peter Sobotta Dennis Siver vs Dale Hartt Hartt via Siver leg breakage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Why is Davis/Hardy in Germany and not in England? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Well, in a piece I read about Davis he said that he's sick of fighting in the UK and getting matched up against English fighters because he's the villain and it wouldn't be fair to Hardy if they were to fight in Ireland due to Davis's popularity there so he feels that Germany is a good middle ground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Rampage is getting surgery on his jaw. Looks like it's officially Machida. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord of The Curry 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Rampage is gonna go from talkin' shit on Rashad to cheering for him. 2009: Year of The Dragon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Rampage is getting surgery on his jaw. Looks like it's officially Machida. It is: It's official - new main event for UFC 98 UFC confirmed today that Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida will be the main event of UFC 98 on 5/23 in Las Vegas due to Quinton Jackson needing surgery from a jaw injury suffered in December. Jackson went into his last two fights with the injury, suffered in training before his fight with Wanderlei Silva. Jackson went through a medical exam in Las Vegas yesterday to determine the extent of the injuries and whether he would be able to fight on the show, and it was discovered he had both torn ligaments in his jaw as well as a hyperextended left elbow, according to White, who spoke with Kevin Iole this morning. Jackson is undergoing surgery next week. Jackson will get the first shot at the Evans vs. Machida winner later in the year. Jackson believes he suffered the injury from an uppercut from training partner Hector Ramirez. Count me in as someone really looking forward to Rashad vs. Machida. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Niggardly King 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 YES Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
