Lyoto Machida is ready and willing to step in against Jon "Bones" Jones
Posted on May 30, 2011, 10:10 PM by Joey Santosus
Following this past Saturday's UFC 130 in Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC President Dana White revealed during an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com that former division champ Lyoto Machida could be next in line to face Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones should "Rampage" Jackson be unable to compete.
"I don't know, we got to see what's wrong with (Jackson)," White said. "He's talking about his hands. We got to get his hands looked at. I'm not going to let the guy fight if he's got bad hands."
When asked if this would open the door for Machida to challenge for the title, White simply replied. "Yeah."
Machida is fresh off an impressive second-round knockout victory over Randy Couture at last month's UFC 129. Prior to the win, the Brazilian had lost two-straight, first against Mauricio Rua to lose the belt and a second via controversial split decision to Jackson. Now back in the win column, it appears "The Dragon" is more than willing to step in against the newly crowned champ.
"I’m ready. I’m already moving to another training part, and I'd be ready to fight in 12 weeks." Machida tells Tatame.com. "There’s nothing yet, but it’s a great chance for me. I don’t want to create hopes, I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but if they do it, I’ll get this big opportunity to restart my walk in the UFC”.
“We know Jones is a great champion, he showed why (against Shogun), but everybody has strong and weak points. I haven’t studied Jones’ game yet because he was never ‘my problem’, but I already saw him fighting."
While nothing has been confirmed at this time, Jackson revealed during the post-fight press conference last weekend that he went into the Matt Hamill fight suffering from a fractured hand. With Jones' initial opponent, Rashad Evans, now lined-up to fight Phil Davis in the main event at UFC 133, and the champ looking to return this Fall, Machida could quite possibly be the 23-year-old's first challenger. So what do you think LowKick'ers? Should "The Dragon" be next in line if "Rampage" is unable to compete?
Photo: UFC fighter Lyoto Machida at the Black House gym in Gardena, California on October 20, 2009. Francis Specker
Comments
Lyoto = humble epicsauce and makes for a super interesting fight...Rampage...bleh
I think Rampage deserves it more than Machida....Machida is 1-2 in his last 3 fights which includes a loss to Rampage so between these two guys Rampage has earned it more imo
loss to rampage? uhhhhhh punching air and almost getting ktfo doesn't seem like a win... : ERROR _ DOES NOT COMPUTE
Everybody was thinking the same way when Shogun was offered the title fight against Lyoto a couple years ago. I say if Machida is up to the challenge then give him the title shot.
Although Lyoto was on a losing streak up until recently, he's possibly the greatest threat to Jones' title reign at the moment due to his TDD and elusive style. If Jon were to completely pound Evans and Rampage, Machida would be next in line. Rampage is getting old and his hands seem to bothering him and Evans... don't know what's going on there. I say give Lyoto the shot. I think he has a great chance in beating Jones.
maybe rampage deserves it more but if hes injured who else?
rashad fighting davis, rampage injured, shogun fighting forrest, machida is the only logical option left.
Uhm.. why is every counting out Rashad? Jones did back out of the fight with him and was A-OK as soon as he accepted the fight with his replacement (davis). Rashad has wins over rampage and rampage has wins over machida and a loss to rashad so either of them getting it over rashad after his fight soon would be unfair IMO.
ummm....didn't you see the evans machida fight?...I did....KTFO! Stanky Leg!!! FTW!!!!
Actually Rampage outstruck Machida 70-53 and how did he almost get ktfo when he didn't even get knocked down....anyways it was a really close decision I thought it was a draw but it went to Rampage which can b justified so yes he does hold a W over Machida and is on a 2 fight win streak while Machida just got off a 2 fight losing streak thats y Rampage deserves it more than Machida
and um...how many of those strikes hurt da dragon? fyi u dont need to be knocked down to almost get ktfo derp derp xD. 2 close uneventful rounds 3rd all machida in every aspect so yea. thought him saying i got my azz wooped was enuf. i know dragon deserved it more
It's not about damage....GSP easily beat Shields but if u looked at them Shields did more damage to GSP, like I said it was a close fight could hve gone either way not a controversial decision imo n based on that Rampage having a W over Machida n then another win after puts him infront of Machida for a title shot imo
rocked and getting ktfo are two different things. He recovered very quickly and threw down after he was hit with those combinations. close fight though
If Rampage were still fighting under the Japanese scoring system, then he would have lost. This isn't Japan.
ur stupid xD
Lyoto is a counter striker and very poised in the octagon. Hes got great speed and those karate kicks are hard to see coming just ask Randy. Think it wud be a good fight for him to face JJ but still think JJ will pull it off. Not believein his hype but hes just really fast paced and hard to handle. Lyoto Thrown those kicks in the Shogun fight wud help alot though.
they seriously need to start doing that! wouldn't be having this convo if it was
They r UFC 131 JDS/Carwin is 5 rounds so happy they finally did that
:D~~~
Nvm on the 5 rounds thing.....UFC canceled the 5 round main event for the fight because they had already started training for 3 rounds but atleast this means its gonna happen soon
wow bro...you crushed my dreams
The first five round non title fight might go to BJ Penn and Jake Shields.
machida would be the best match-up for jones. all of joneses comp. has been guys who walk forward all the time. would like to see jones fight a guy like machida because i believe machida will stop all the flashiness with his elusiveness..plus he is great at stopping takedowns and also great at not getting hit solid. i don't know if he will beat jones but atleast we will see jones more human than usual.
4 reals styles make fights idc who beat who or who did what Lyoto has a great chance
I like Jones and his flashiness, but most flashy maneuvers leave you open for quick direct strikes. Jones is so good at throwing them however that, as of yet, no one has been able to take advantage of these openings. If there is anyone in the division that has the speed and timing to expose these vulnerabilities, it's Lyoto Machida.
Rashad must have done something to piss Dana off to completely get him out of the contention picture like this, lol
Dana doesn't like when fighters refuse to fight.
Lyoto doesn't exactly deserve it at the moment but I wouldn't mind seeing that fight.
Man its crazy Rashad,Rampage,and Machida all have a good argument to get the next shot...but im sure Rampage will get it cause he has the lattest win and dana said he wants to keep Rampage busy plus ha basically already said if his hand is cool he gets the title shot!!!
Oh and btw I'm ready to step in right now. Like right now.
It makes sense to have rampage and Rashad the front runners for the fight. I would give to Rampage because he's been more active, but if Rashad beats Davis he'll shake off the ring rust and defiantly should be next but the fact that he's fighting, he wont' be eligible to fight, so i think Rampage will be the next unless his hand is messed up.
Rashad is definitely more deserving than Page or Machida. Rampage is more deserving than Machida. However, Machida is the better fighter amongst the three, and is the best match up for Jones.
and he is potentially the only one available.
wah everybody seems to be leapfroging Rashad Evans to the title shot, he must be pissed.
@ Kendall : bro did u even watch rampage vs machida? Do u know that the judges score on aggression and cage control? Ie rampage winning rounds 1,2. Machida whoop that ass in the 3 rd but we aren't forgetting that he was down 2 rounds to one. Rampage always says dumb stuff after his fight as he doesn't even watch the fights, he let his trainers do that. If there is nothing wrong with rampage put him in. If there is give it to the running dragon machida. Rashad can warm up on Phil Davis ie black on black part 2 then fight in febuary 2012 ie black on black 3.
page won the mma bout dragon won the fight.
If Machida trains smart, watches jones videos, and gets some tall training partners I believe he has the skills to win.
machida has a better chance than rampage... coz he avoids being hit and rampage just stands i the pocket... i think jones wud finish rampage prob 3rd round...machida is the best counter striker in the sport and he wud have a better chance than rampage in my book...
Looking through what used to be the best division in the UFC (the Light Heavy's) and its really starting to look weak.
Forrest and Rampage seem generally dis-interested in fighting and would bolt if they had a different gig. Rashad seems to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Machida seems to be in it for the long-haul and has talent .. but i still dont think he has enough to beat "Bones".
Even adding the Strikeforce fighters to the UFC roster couldn't help that much .. not one of them could beat Jon Jones. (IMO)
Time for some new talent or some guys to move up/down in weight.
If Gegard Mousasi could dedicate himself to wrestling i'd say he has the best chance to beat JJ from strikeforce.
Are you kidding me? Machida perhaps has the best takedown defense in the entire division. Other than getting outstruck and knocked by Shogun (who is an elite striker), Lyoto has appeared to be unstoppable.
Let's break this down even further and compare styles. Jones is no way or form a technical striker. His hands need ALOT of tweaking -- throws way too many looping punches. Machida, on other hand, truly is a disciplined prolific counter striker. His punches are clean and accurate, and carry above average knock out power.
On paper, this is a horrible match up for Jones. If he can't get Lyoto to the ground then Machida will take control. And by seeing how Jones appears after the second round, it's possible that Jon still needs to work on his stamina/endurance. Assuming he is out for the remainder of 2011, he could be in a world of hurt if he doesn't finish Machida in the second round.
Not the Machida deserves a title shot right now but this might be the best possible match up. We've seen how a fighter can talk his way into anything so that might be Lyoto's motive.
How come that picture was taken two years ago but he looks older in it than he looks now?
In all honesty I hade the fight as a split decision favoring rampage. But I always said if anyone can beat jones it's machida
You are only 1 judge, how could you make it a split?
I think Machida is as deserving as any, and he appears more willing than Rashad or Rampage to take on Jones.
Rampage's lips answered yes, he wanted a title shot, when asked by the reporters after his recent win, but he did not look enthusiastic about the idea. Rashad has not seemed to champ at the bit for a match with Jones either.
Machida lost convincingly to Shogun, in their second fight, but he rocked Rampage in the third round, and lost only by the slimmest of margins--and that can be debated. Except for his loss by KO to Shogun, Machida has not been soundly defeated.
The bottom line is that Machida has an excellent record, and is as deserving as Rampage or Rashad. I think he would win right now a rematch with either Rampage or Rashad.
Think how many times you have seen Machida on his back? Machida's takedown defense and footwork are superb, and deceptive. He makes it look easy, like Chuck Liddel used to make it look easy and natural that takedowns can be avoided.
I think jones vs machida is a very interesting match up i would also like to see rampage vs evans 2