Lyoto Machida: First impressions??

He's one of the two guys with GSP who made me watch MMA because I was a karate guy and they had karate background. It's not his most famous KO, but when the UFC put an unofficial LHW tournament with Machida vs Bader and Shogun vs Vera to determine the next challenger, it was karate vs wrestling and karate won. It was great. Lyoto bless.

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HHJ said:
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It took a while for most of the MMA fans to warm up to the guy's unique style,but I was a fan from day 1. His run to the title had guys lookin absolutley ridiculous,and his style was effective long after he lost the title.

What was your first impressions of him and what are your favorite matches/ko's of his?
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He was there when I was just learning about the sport so I sort of just assumed they were all bad ass like Lyoto. In hindsight I realise he was a one off
 
Anyone who did sport karate as a kid was excited about Lyoto because his stance and attacks looked just like pointfighting. except he actually connected and put people down.

it was the "one hit one kill" philosophy made real. Ikken hissatsu

That said, Lyoto could also be really frustrating to watch with his "elusive" movement (i.e. avoiding the fight)

Everyone remembers his highlight finishes, but they forget about how boring it was to watch some of those decisions
 
I liked him from the start.
His discipline, focus, unique style.
And him being a Spiritual Warrior as well as great MAartist and MMArtist.

I knew from the beggining he was Anderson Silva level talent and will be champ.
But hoped for a much longer reign, of course and didn't expect a KO loss from Shogun in rematch.
I won a lot of bets against my buddies with betting on Machida.
Most notable fight for me was a masterclass against Thiago Silva.
He was a hot undefeated 13-0 prospect , brutish with KO power and a lot of finishes,
but i knew, Lyoto will take him to school ... which he did

 
Super impressed by his performances against Bonnar and Franklin. By that time, his opponents didn't know what to expect.. But even during his UFC days he still managed to grant us some great HL reel KOs..

I have a slight preference for WB more "dynamic" and fluid karate blended style, but i have so much admiration for Lyoto and the way he put Shotokan Karate style back on the map.

A very imporant fighter in UFC history imo
 
HHJ said:
QualifiedDelightfulGibbon-max-1mb.gif


It took a while for most of the MMA fans to warm up to the guy's unique style,but I was a fan from day 1. His run to the title had guys lookin absolutley ridiculous,and his style was effective long after he lost the title.

What was your first impressions of him and what are your favorite matches/ko's of his?
Click to expand...

Liked the different style. Karate is cool if you watch a good practitioner (Andy Hug was awesome as an example). Machida & Bonnar was cool as was early days fight for both of them as well as the first Jungle Fight event. Even drinks his own homebrew piss...hardcore old school stuff!
 
HHJ said:
QualifiedDelightfulGibbon-max-1mb.gif


It took a while for most of the MMA fans to warm up to the guy's unique style,but I was a fan from day 1. His run to the title had guys lookin absolutley ridiculous,and his style was effective long after he lost the title.

What was your first impressions of him and what are your favorite matches/ko's of his?
Click to expand...
I was mad at him for beating sokoudjou and stealing my money
 
HHJ said:
QualifiedDelightfulGibbon-max-1mb.gif


It took a while for most of the MMA fans to warm up to the guy's unique style,but I was a fan from day 1. His run to the title had guys lookin absolutley ridiculous,and his style was effective long after he lost the title.

What was your first impressions of him and what are your favorite matches/ko's of his?
Click to expand...

This fight was my first impression of Machida, and honestly my interest was in Sokoudjou, early twenties had finished Arona and one of the Nog bros. Another beast, possibly the original, from Camaroon.
rameau-thierry-sokoudjou-2.jpg


The African Assasin, least we not forget


sokoudjou333.jpg


However Machida was also touted as a fukin ninja that couldn't be hit. Very compelling fight. The finish of that fight and Lyotos raw unrehearsed reaction in victory, in that moment, how could you not be a fan?

My favorite Machida KO

D1iHqvT.png
By a country mile

Awesome Goldberg commentary @ 08:23
" ...you almost want to watch Sokoudjou...and soak it in. "

And @ 8:27
Golberg: " ...catches a quick jab"
Joe: " That was a straight left "
Golberg: " Yea it was, pardon me "
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2c4deb3aeac2aba044f86b8987c35491



Lyoto-Machida-bows-to-KOd-Vitor-Belfort-at-UFC-224.jpg


Machida bless

Edit to add my favorite Machida KO is obviously Rashad, I inserted that into my post in the wrong place @HHJ. African Assasin wqs yoked out in that fights finality, and he blacked out before he tapped out like a fukin warrior.
 
Last edited:
MMonk said:
I liked him from the start.
His discipline, focus, unique style.
And him being a Spiritual Warrior as well as great MAartist and MMArtist.

I knew from the beggining he was Anderson Silva level talent and will be champ.
But hoped for a much longer reign, of course and didn't expect a KO loss from Shogun in rematch.
I won a lot of bets against my buddies with betting on Machida.
Most notable fight for me was a masterclass against Thiago Silva.
He was a hot undefeated 13-0 prospect , brutish with KO power and a lot of finishes,
but i knew, Lyoto will take him to school ... which he did

Click to expand...

That final sequence was nuts.
 
And the one time that coward had the chance to fight someone who would hit him back he laid on his back like a bitch.Screenshot_20230408_095129_Chrome.jpg
 
Old timers here will remember the almost daily "Who is Lyoto Machida?" thread from the days before he was in the UFC. There wasn't the million MMA websites and Youtube videos then to get information about MMA but there was this guy with a win over the GREAT BJ Penn and champion Rich Franklin, so the question had to be asked.. WHO WAS HE?
 
TheTickG said:
I was impressed that he knocked out Rich Franklin. Pretty sure the UFC was pissed about it since they were planning to build Ace up as a star.
Click to expand...

To give you an idea of the UFC effect, I remember tons of people were making excuses for Franklin by claiming he was "green" when he fought Machida. It was literally Machida's 3rd pro fight while Franklin had 16 fights, & Franklin had already fought in the UFC & already had wins over 5 UFC fighters (Dewees, Tanner, Eastman, Fulton, Brink). A win over Tanner was a big deal at the time, Tanner's record was 27-3 going into the Franklin fight so its laughable that Franklin was "green" but not Machida (only had 2 fights before Franklin)

Casuals might have taken a while to warmup to Machida but he actually had a good sized Sherdog fanbase, even before the UFC
 
The Tito fight was my first introduction to him. That was right after Tito had a draw with rashad so I was expecting a good fight. He basically got dominated and machida’s trip takedown on Tito was awesome. Looked like he could put him away with that arm crucifix had time not ran out in round 1.

My favorite fights of his are interesting because it includes one where he lost. Machida vs Weidman was one of my favorite title fights ever. I had it 49-48 Weidman. Machdia vs shogun 1 I believe he won and is one of my favorite striking matches of all time. Guys were so evenly matched. Machida vs moussasi is another one that stands out. He was landing so many nice high kicks and evading Gegards patented jab. 50-45d him.

also find it cool he’s doing pretty well in all time polls. BCF8A0C5-AB42-4621-8B62-5EC6E9360D60.png1A1963B5-0AD0-4F95-BAD7-A7384DA797C1.jpeg
 
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