Machida possibly past his prime?

[TheLuckiest]

There is a point where wisdom and experience sacrificed to a little lost strength is not a bad thing. I think we saw a very calm and patient Machida. Going by his answer in the post fight interview, I think he's got a couple more good fights where I'd still consider him "prime" - maybe not physically, but as a fighter.

EDIT: By "answer" I mean that he was humble and said he's going to carefully look at improvements that must be made. He is a true martial artist and ever evolving. I'm not giving up on the Dragon just yet.

Also, huge fan of The Chris.

 

[thewhole9yards]

Weidman simply made him look past his prime.....

 

[Fujita]

Probably yeah..

Weidman still beats him, the version of 09, the one who got stomped by Shogun.

 

[Mr Boogaloo]

he's still fucking awesome, but that spring will go after numerous hard fights and age catching up. at 36, only makes sense.

 

[Mr. Hammer]

Machida overated??? Until he fought Shogun, he hadn't lost a round in the UFC!! Machida is still an elite fighter and probably the # 2 ranked MW behind Weidman.

His resume is filled with MMA Legends!! He handed Stephen Bonnar, Rich Franklin(Ex UFC MW Champ), Thiago Silva, and Rashad Evans(Ex UFC LHW Champ) their first losses, all by KO/TKO.

As well as having wins over BJ Penn(Ex UFC LW @ WW Champ), Tito Ortiz(Ex UFC LHW Champ), Randy Couure(Ex UFC LHW & HW Champ), Hendo(EX PRIDE WW & MW Champ Simultaneously), and Gegard Mousasi(Ex Strikeforce LHW Champ).

His only definitive losses have come against Shogun(PRIDE GP & Ex UFC LHW Champ), Jon Jones(Undefeated UFC LHW Champ/LHW GOAT), and Chris Weidman(Undefeated MW Champ).

And even though he lost, Lyoto gave Chris Weidman the toughest fight of his career, and certainly did much better than Anderson Silva(arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history) was able to do against Weidman in 2 fights.

You think that because Machida lost against 1 of the best fighters in the UFC, that he isn't in his prime??? Why??? What exactly did Machida used to do that he is now unable to do???

The difference between Machida and Weidman(besides their age) is that Machida has already fought many, many times against the elites of MMA. Chris really only has had 3 fights against top competition. There isn't that much tape of Weidman to find out all of his weaknesses yet and he has the psychological edge because he's undefeated. That creates an aura around him that gives him a huge advantage. Lyoto had it as well. There was a reason that Joe Rogan said "welcome to the Machida era"... because at that point it was widely believed that he was almost unbeatable, because up until that point nobody was able to even come close. Anderson Silva had that same aura during his reign too!!

I don't think Machida is overrated in the real world but he is most certainly overrated on Sherdog. Elite fighter but not utterly unbeatable like many of his fans here would lead you to believe.

 

[tjumper78]

when machida ko's munoz and beats mousasi, he looks better than ever.
he loses one fight to the champ, he may be past his prime?

i thought he looked the same as ever, and weidman just fought better than machida did.

 

[branchtan]

Never seem Lyoto hit so much in a fight... bar Shogun 1

 

[daj]

He's 36 years old. Anyone who thinks you are in your prime at the age of 36 is being fooled. That being said, Machida ages like a fine wine and he still looks terrific at his age

Weidman is currently 30. Take a look at where Machida was at when he was 30 years old:

13-0 with 5 fights in the UFC. He had just beat Tito and went on to score two KO victories in row, the 2nd of which was against Rashad Evans for the title.

Not saying he surpassed what Weidman has accomplished at that age, he did not. But still impressive... the real question will be whether Weidman can continue competing at a high level for the next six years. It will interesting to see how his career matches up to Lyoto at the age of 36.

 

[FlyingKimurabar]

Old, passed him prime, robbed, sick, wasn't used to weight cut, would of won if more aggressive, fluke, unlucky.

But if they fight again Machida will definitely win and have another Machida era. If he losses though then the above is true again.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Age-wise he should be past his prime but he has suffered very little damage over his career. Only the Shogun, Jones and now the Weidman fight has he ever been busted up.

He just fought a guy that had a great gameplan and cut him off. The blueprint has been out on Machida for years and it just takes a guy with the right fight IQ and balls not to be afraid of him to pull it off.

Machida will just end up being the JDS of the MW division. He could beat Chris on a good night but for now he's going to play gatekeeper.

 

[KarateKickbox22]

The guy looks sublime in his fights against Mousasi and Munoz, but as soon as he loses a tough fight to Weidman he's passed his prime?

Machida has done better against Weidman than anyone ever has. Maybe it's just a matter of Weidman being quite good more than it is a matter of Machida being past his prime.

Pretty much this.

By the way, TS... You exaggerate too much. Machida has been KO'd one time in his entire career and submitted one time. That's not shit compared to other fighters.

 

[KarateKickbox22]

It's all good. And I too want to know where KarateKickbox is hiding.

I've been all over the forums, genius. I wasn't hiding from anyone.

You and Redhawks are a great match, btw. Two peas in a pod. It's cute.

 

[MachidaNo1Fan]

Not really. Maybe a little. He's still elite at 36 years old

 

[KarateKickbox22]

Good chance he's spending most of his time in the OT, to save some face and not be humiliated here.

Which is why myself and three other posters were owning you badly last night?

 

[Deleroux]

I'm holding out faith that Machida's prime may be a bit offset from your average fighter's prime simply because he's been able to avoid a lot of damage throughout his career. Father time is a bitch, but I have hope that we will still see some greatness from Machida.

Needless to say when he does finally retire, it will be a sad day in my eyes. I'm just hoping he can retire on a high note. I'd like to see him get another title shot, at least.

 

[Sawch]

Machida overated??? Until he fought Shogun, he hadn't lost a round in the UFC!! Machida is still an elite fighter and probably the # 2 ranked MW behind Weidman.

His resume is filled with MMA Legends!! He handed Stephen Bonnar, Rich Franklin(Ex UFC MW Champ), Thiago Silva, and Rashad Evans(Ex UFC LHW Champ) their first losses, all by KO/TKO.

As well as having wins over BJ Penn(Ex UFC LW @ WW Champ), Tito Ortiz(Ex UFC LHW Champ), Randy Couure(Ex UFC LHW & HW Champ), Hendo(EX PRIDE WW & MW Champ Simultaneously), and Gegard Mousasi(Ex Strikeforce LHW Champ).

His only definitive losses have come against Shogun(PRIDE GP & Ex UFC LHW Champ), Jon Jones(Undefeated UFC LHW Champ/LHW GOAT), and Chris Weidman(Undefeated MW Champ).

And even though he lost, Lyoto gave Chris Weidman the toughest fight of his career, and certainly did much better than Anderson Silva(arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history) was able to do against Weidman in 2 fights.

You think that because Machida lost against 1 of the best fighters in the UFC, that he isn't in his prime??? Why??? What exactly did Machida used to do that he is now unable to do???

The difference between Machida and Weidman(besides their age) is that Machida has already fought many, many times against the elites of MMA. Chris really only has had 3 fights against top competition. There isn't that much tape of Weidman to find out all of his weaknesses yet and he has the psychological edge because he's undefeated. That creates an aura around him that gives him a huge advantage. Lyoto had it as well. There was a reason that Joe Rogan said "welcome to the Machida era"... because at that point it was widely believed that he was almost unbeatable, because up until that point nobody was able to even come close. Anderson Silva had that same aura during his reign too!!

Well said. He lost a good fight to a very skilled fighter. We even saw a new "brawler" side to Machida in the last 2 rounds that we haven't really seen before. So in a sense you could say he's evolving in some ways. Yes he's getting older but I don't think it's justifiable to say he's past his prime just yet. Can't wait to see him fight again soon.

 

[KarateKickbox22]

Well said. He lost a good fight to a very skilled fighter. We even saw a new "brawler" side to Machida in the last 2 rounds that we haven't really seen before. So in a sense you could say he's evolving in some ways. Yes he's getting older but I don't think it's justifiable to say he's past his prime just yet. Can't wait to see him fight again soon.

I completely agree with this post.

 

[BlancaDiablo]

Getting choked unconscious won't give you a glass jaw. But shogun took a couple years off his life.

 

[lifelessheap]

In my opinion he is the second best MW in the world. Chris is simply better.

 

[DrHouse]

This is what's wrong with MMA fans.

Looks as good as he's ever looked at MW, then loses one fight and now he's past him prime. It was the same shit with Anderson, looked amazing going into the fight, people saying he's old coming out of it because he lost to the better fighter. Face it, Chris is just that good.