If they had never fought, would you consider Evans a bad match-up for Machida?

Lyoto gon' Lyoto, and he's always gonna be a bad match up for just about anyone. Rarely do I see it as the opposite.
That being said, i'll probably consider it a closer fight on paper, than most people. But i'd still favor Machida.
 
I had Machida winning
 
I think Rashad may think twice about talking shit against the cage this time and he may do better because of that, but I still think he loses the fight. He's perfect for Machida.

Holy fucking shit dude you got the same sig as me...

mang
 
I don't think Rashad's wrestling is good enough to be considered a bad matchup for Machida. I'm honestly not sure anyone's is. Machida's TDD and stand-up is so good there's almost no such thing as a bad matchup for him. I'd like to see him and Sonnen at 205 because Sonnen's wrestling is as good as it gets (and he'd press it more than Jones did), so if Sonnen couldn't take him down then I think you'd have to say his TDD is the greatest of all-time.
 
if machida started actually engaging he would have done what he did to rampage in the third round all 3 rounds, only shogun in great shape with kicks and jones really showed how to beat machida and those two have unique styles
 
Not at all. I find Machida is the only guy at LHW who isn't originally a wrestler but can hang with them not because he has learn how to wrestle but his karate style.
 
Good matchup on paper. Both have fast hands, but Machida's striking is more technical. Would like to see a rematch, not sure that it ends the same way.
 
I think rashard uses his wrestling a lot more since machida ko'd him.
He is better suited today however he still has a bad chin which machida could expose
 
I still feel Machida would catch Rashad and possibly finish him again.

This. That being said, I'd give Rashad a decent shot. He has the speed and footwork to land on Machida and the power to hurt him if and when he does. Neither guy has the greatest chin, though, and I think Machida would probably land first. Don't think he would finish Shad again, but he could take his heart out of the fight just like Jones did with the elbows.
 
This is an interesting to consider since Rashad has asked for a rematch.
In retrospect this question may sound silly. But try to remove the memory of their fight from your mind...

Machida has a special fighting style. However, he seems to fight at his worst against guys that can pressure him against the cage and limit his movement. Like by covering space and staying active on the feet while not giving counters. I imagine Rashad can to this with active footwork and his good reach.

Even Tito Ortiz was succesful in doing this. Machida's natural response to this is the knee to the plexus. Against a fast wrestler like Rashad that could land him on his back.

Also consider the fact that there's more tape on Machida (losing), which can help develop a good game-plan.

inb4shadface

tl;dr: Forget their first fight and imagine if they fought now, would you consider Rashad a bad match-up for Machida?


I remember thinking stylistically rashad can't take machida down so he's fucked.
 
Machida's footwork makes shooting in on him really difficult. And when he does get tied up he's one of the best at LHW at avoiding the ground. Don't think Rashad's newfound overhand right/double leg two-way guessing game will work too well against Machida.
 
Even if they never fought in the first place, I'd still favor Machida considerably.
 
Lots of people were saying that Rashad wrestling and boxing was going to expose Machidas karate and TDD.

I expected the fight to be close and not one sided like it was.
 
Rashad is too much of a counter puncher to beat Machida or Anderson...he can beat either of them if he went balls to the wall and relentlessly tried to take down and/or set up strikes using TD attempts...he just doesn't have the chin to do that.
 
I thought Machida was a bad match up for him the first time, his TDD is really good and his stand up is a few clicks above Rashad in speed. I'd expect a slightly more competitive version of their first bout, as Rashad has improved quite a bit since then.
 
When Rashad won the title I don't think many expected him to hold on to it for long. When machida won remember the "Machida era" ppl thought he was gonna run the division.
 
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