UFC 104 Machida vs. Shogun Preview
Light Heavyweight Title on the Line at Staples Center
UFC 104, which is to be held in the Staples Center, CA unfortunately looks to be the weakest UFC card for a while. While there is a title bout, there seems to be nothing on the card which could turn out to be a great fight.
Machida Fights Rua In The Main Event
Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua on October 24th. Machida is as of now undefeated, and it looks as if it may stay that way.
While Rua has an excellent record, and he was superb in Pride, he has not looked the same since moving to the UFC. In his first fight for the organisation he was submitted by an impressive Forrest Griffin, and after that, he looked dreadful in narrowly beating Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman.
In his most recent fight, he improved by stopping Chuck Liddell, but be under no illusions - this Chuck is not the versionthat was blowing through fighters in 2005. He fought a Liddell well past his prime, although to be fair, he did finish the fight clinically.
What problems can he pose to Lyoto Machida though? Machida is undefeated, and seems to have an impenetrable defence due to his Karate style of fighting. His counter punching stand-up has seen the likes of Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva fall by the wayside, and on current form, it is hard to see Machida being troubled by the Pride veteran standing.
Unfortunately for 'Shogun', Machida is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so his ground game is obviously up to scratch. Taking Machida down is no easy task, and 'Shogun' would struggle to do this anyway as the takedown defence of Machida is also very good.
With Machida, it is the case that he is so good he is almost boring. Being great everywhere, one can be assured he will win, and styles wise, it is hard to see 'Shogun' posing any threats to the Champion. Lyoto should prevail by TKO in round one or two, as even though 'Shogun' has a good chin, Machida will land too much for him to withstand.
Velasquez Fights IFL Veteran Ben Rothwell
It may not have been the fight he wanted, but Cain Velasquez has got the pre-main event slot at UFC 104. While it isn't Shane Carwin in the other corner from him, Ben Rothwell should provide a good enough challenge for Velasquez to get some cage time under his belt.
Rothwell is a former IFL Heavyweight Champion, and has only lost to excellent fighters such as Andrei Arlovski. He holds a thirteen second TKO victory over Krzysztof Soszynski on his record, and has beaten other good fighters like Travis Fulton and Roy Nelson.
However, despite his pedigree, it is hard to see him being better than Velasquez anywhere. Cain is an standout wrestler who is demolishing whoever the UFC puts in front of him, and it is hard to see Rothwell getting any different treatment. Velasquez will probably win a decision, but take every second of every round.
Rest Of The Undercard
Perhaps the most intriguing bout of the evening is Joe Stevenson's contest with Spencer Fisher. Fisher's strength is his striking, but he is fairly well rounded as evidenced by his submission win over Shannon Gugerty. Stevenson is also a well rounded, talented fighter, but his strength is on the ground, so it will be interesting to see where this fight goes and who prevails.
Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson will fight tough judo fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Johnson should prevail, as his athleticism and explosiveness can take him a long way, but he most be careful not to get in a grappling match with the veteran.
The final match on the main card sees Gleison Tibau square off against tough cookie Josh Neer, who is a replacement for Sean Sherk. While Neer is durable, Tibau is extremely skilled, and he should prevail by submission.
UFC 104 A Weak Card?
As can be seen, the two top fights on the card aren't massively exciting, and on the undercard, there are no names to reel the casual fans in. Hopefully, this article will be proven wrong, and Machida and Rua will engage in a war, but the more likely scenario is Machida will counter punch his way to a one sided early night.
UFC 104 Poster
|
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles