Lyoto Machida's 10 fight LHW run from May 2008 and Feb 2013 is one of the best runs in MMA history

[Jon Stark]

When you factor in win/loss ratio, quality of opponent, match significance and performance it's hard to find a better 10 fight window than Machida's here and arguably just one at LHW which is Jon Jones February 2011 to January 2015.

All in all, he accomplished a record of 7-3 with 4 of those wins being by brutal KO.

He fought 7 current or former UFC champions and 9 of 10 of his opponents have held gold in other promotions.

4 of the 10 fights were for the championship where he went 2-2.

Although the last few years of Machida's career have been frustrating for his fan base and undoubtedly himself and those close to him, his accomplishments are very impressive and probably won't be replicated by many moving forward. I'd like to see him fight a few more times against other legends of the sport such as Bisping, Evans rematch, Belfort and possibly a trilogy match with Shogun before hanging them up for good. Here is a full list of his record during this streak.

Win 19–3 Dan Henderson Decision (split) UFC 157 February 23, 2013 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, United States

Win 18–3 Ryan Bader KO (punch) UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera August 4, 2012 2 1:32 Los Angeles, California, United States

Loss 17–3 Jon Jones Technical Submission (standing guillotine choke)
UFC 140 December 10, 2011 2 4:26 Toronto, Ontario, Canada For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Night.

Win 17–2 Randy Couture KO (crane kick) UFC 129 April 30, 2011 2 1:05 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Knockout of the Night.

Loss 16–2 Quinton Jackson Decision (split) UFC 123 November 20, 2010 3 5:00 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States

Loss 16–1 Maurício Rua KO (punches) UFC 113 May 8, 2010 1 3:35 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Win 16–0 Maurício Rua Decision (unanimous) UFC 104 October 24, 2009 5 5:00 Los Angeles, California, United States Defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Win 15–0 Rashad Evans KO (punches) UFC 98 May 23, 2009 2 3:57 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Knockout of the Night.

Win 14–0 Thiago Silva KO (punches) UFC 94 January 31, 2009 1 4:59 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Knockout of the Night.

Win 13–0 Tito Ortiz Decision (unanimous) UFC 84 May 24, 2008 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

 

[Fthehaters]

Minus Bader and Thiago Silva, it is a bunch of guys who make up the top 15 LHWs ever.

 

[The guest]

 

[OnMcGregorNutz]

 

[DLX]

Lyoto beating an A Level athlete in Anders means if Brazil had college football, they'd destroy the SEC.

Take notes, Saban.

 

[Merman]

Minus Bader and Thiago Silva, it is a bunch of guys who make up the top 15 LHWs ever.

Like him or hate him Bader is VERY solid.

 

[Bubblun]

"Performance" could be argued, some of his fights were stinkers, Bader was so bored from that fight that he suddenly decided to run towards Lyoto face first.

I like Lyoto brief run to the middleweight title fight better, the Mousasi fight was his best performance.

 

[RyuHayabusa]

Fyi - its 7-4

Edit: correction 6-4

 

[Fthehaters]

Like him or hate him Bader is VERY solid.

Yea he is, but is he top 15 ever?

 

[OneManGang]

Ehm....USADA. Cheater's run.

 

[Sapphorous]

Minus Bader and Thiago Silva, it is a bunch of guys who make up the top 15 LHWs ever.

Doesn't hurt that Bader is top 5 today though. Thiago had his moments earlier on in his career too. All in all Machida's definitely fought a whose who.

Impressive he was able to win after not having done so since 2014. With those three brutal stoppage losses in a row I was for sure Lyoto was going the Koscheck route.

 

[Jon Stark]

Fyi - its 7-4

Edit: correction 6-4

Shogun 1 eh

 

[Jon Stark]

Yea he is, but is he top 15 ever?

He could be top 15 ever. It's too early to review the usual names but I'd suggest many fans and pundits would have Bader as 14-15 all time.

 

[Jon Stark]

"Performance" could be argued, some of his fights were stinkers, Bader was so bored from that fight that he suddenly decided to run towards Lyoto face first.

I like Lyoto brief run to the middleweight title fight better, the Mousasi fight was his best performance.

I disagree. He absolutely dominated Tito and scored 4 HUGE KO finishes in this streak. Shogun/Machida 1 was an amazing performance from both fighters albeit controversial.

 

[Jon Stark]

Ehm....USADA. Cheater's run.

Oh, come on now. Enough with the conjecture.

 

[sabretitan]

Agreed ts. Unfortunately , mma fans suffer recency bias

 

[A.S. Deep]

Lyoto beating an A Level athlete in Anders means if Brazil had college football, they'd destroy the SEC.

Take notes, Saban.

Old Machida looked stronger in the clinch than A-level, young athlete Anders.

 

[Bumblebeef]

he has some solid wins for sure

 

[orca]

He has 10 or 11 wins over past or current mma champions. Correct me if im wrong maybe 10 or 11.thats impressive. Im very happy for him.not alot of guys can accomplish that in the ufc

 

[baba2008]

The best and most memorable part of Machida's career is always going to be this, and we should be forever grateful for that: