Lyoto Machida vs Eryk Anders headlines UFC Belem (Poll)

[pick999]

anders im sick of hearing his name

 

[RampageFaction]

All I know about machida is his last couple fights. Terrible fighter. Dont know why he hasnt been cut yet.

If all you about Machida are his last couple of fights, then that's why you don't why he hasn't been cut. He's a former champ, definitely past his prime but still a great fighter, and he puts butts in seats especially in Brazil. He's still an asset to the UFC in spite of losing 3 straight. One of those losses was to the former champ and one was to a title challenger to put a little context to it.

 

[Brit_Brawler]

That guy should’ve been careful what he wished for. I see lyoto ending him worse than he did Rashad Evans .

 

[Organic Damage]

Machida just got KO'd viciously. Let's have him fight 90 days later

At this point it doesn't matter. His chin is never recovering to the point where he should continue fighting.

Which is a shame because even with a nominal chin he should be able to out-footwork and counter a green guy like Anders all day long.

 

[dragonclaw]

As somebody with insider info on the situation, let me suggest that if you appreciate Machida and watching him fight, you'll want to tune into this one.

It's special.

I'm not at liberty to say anything else.

 

[Mondo Freaks]

gawd Machida, please don't get slept again

 

[Sapphorous]

Roll Tide. Machida just doesn't have it anymore, regardless of who he faces really. Let alone such explosive opponents. Don't know why they keep giving him all these five rounders in a row, all it's done has upped his chances of getting finished each time lol

 

[BKB92]

Great fight. Lyoto has a stylistic challenge in a heavy hitting striker and Anders has a chance to cement himself as a top level contender.

 

[Arkridge]

As somebody with insider info on the situation, let me suggest that if you appreciate Machida and watching him fight, you'll want to tune into this one.

It's special.

I'm not at liberty to say anything else.

"Insider info"

 

[IcemanFan75]

I'm not familiar with Eryk so I looked him up. Dude is 10-0 with 6 knockouts. With Lyoto's chin not holding up well in recent fights, I don't like this fight for him. A win over him isn't going to do much for Lyoto, while a loss would be devastating to career, which is already hanging on by a thread at this point. I love Lyoto, so I hate to say it, but I think it's time for him to retire if he loses this fight. He had a great career and I don't want to see him take any more brain damage.

If he does continue after this fight win or lose, I'd prefer to see him go back up to LHW. He lost his speed advantage when he moved down to MW, which makes his fighting style much less effective because he gets hit and countered. At LHW, he'd be the quicker fighter again, which would allow him to more effectively implement his style. He won't beat guys like Gus or DC, but I could see him beating guys like OSP, Manuwa, etc.

 

[blitzk]

Horrible match up. What's it to gain for Lyoto?
I do believe Machida can beat Anders by being the better fighter, but one touch and he's done.

Who's running this shitshow nowadays?

 

[The_Renaissance]

Anders is nowhere near ready. Machida via TKO, first couple of rounds.

 

[ironfist05]

I'm torn here.
I'm glad Machida is fighting an easier opponent (Brunson, while probably the kind of guy Machida would have eaten up a few years ago, still has a lot of power and is refining his standup), but I'm still worried about him here. I'll reluctantly pick Machida just because I think he's at another level, even in his age, but I wouldn't be surprised if he loses in an ugly fashion.

If Machida loses this, he should retire for good. I wish he had fought Jotko instead. Anders seems to have at least some power, Jotko doesn't really.

 

[007]

If Lyoto drinks his pee I pick him

 

[CieloLuce]

Stop giving Lyoto power punchers the dude has lost a step.

 

[Ah Man]

I'm not so sure.

Natal isn't some super elite fighter or world beater but he only loses to pretty solid guys in the past 6 or 7 years since coming into his own.

If you beat Natal I think you'e ready for fringe top 10 or somebody barely outside the top 10, especially if you finish Natal.

I half-agree. You obviously have a much higher opinion of Natal than I did. Acknowledging the limitations of Fight Matrix rankings, Natal was the #30 MW when Anders beat him. Herman was #42 when he beat Natal. Camozzi was #35 when he took Natal to a split decision, and Hall was #29 when he did the same. Bump those up around 10 to exclude guys not in the UFC, and you have a decent approximation of what their UFC rankings should have been. Anders should be fighting a fringe top-15 guy, not fringe top-10, which is a big difference in a weight class that drops off as quickly as MW does.

That's the part I disagree with, but I also think Machida is, at best, a fringe top-15 guy. UFC has him at 14, not including the champion. Fight Matrix has him at #36, lower than Anders. Yeah, it's true that the guys Machida has lost to would mop the floor with the guys Anders has beat, but Machida will be winless for over 3 years when this fight takes place, with a style that tends to age poorly. Competitively, the fight makes sense. From a business standpoint, they're obviously hoping to either get Machida an impressive win to rebuild his stock or capitalize on his name value to build a guy with more long-term value. That makes sense too. The only puzzling thing about the fight is that it's somehow a main event. I love Machida as much as the next guy, but a guy who hasn't won in over 3 years against a guy who has never won against anyone relevant period is not a main event, even for a small UFC show.

 

[Meathead Jock]

A good matchup based on the poll results!

 

[South-East]

Boring, boring Machida

 

[Mask Of Winters]

Lyoto ends the hype

Yes he does. His own hype, that is. After he loses this one things will finally be at the point where nobody even remembers he was ever good.

Seriously, how far has a former legend fallen when he's facing former college football players 90% of the casuals have never heard of?

 

[djason1988]

All I know about machida is his last couple fights. Terrible fighter. Dont know why he hasnt been cut yet.

He went undefeated on his way to claiming the lhw title and took out some big names on the way. Paved the way for other karate stylists like Wonderboy