Machida: I couldn't recover from Jon Jones' elbow strike
Posted on December 12, 2011, 11:04 AM by Anton Gurevich
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida looked back at his performance at the main event of last weekend's UFC 140 in Toronto, Canada. Machida was submitted out cold by Jon Jones, who defened his UFC 205 belt for the second consecutive time. According to Machida, things went during the first moments of the fight, but the situation changed drastically when Jones landed an elbow strike that cut "The Dragon" towards the end of Round 2. From there, Machida admits it was only a matter of time for Jon Jones to claim his victory, going through another Mixed Martial Arts legend on his way to becoming a legend himself:
Full Interview at TATAME.com:
Well, I guess it was a hard fight. The preparation was tougher in all aspects. We went there and tried to do our job. We set a game plan that, from where I’m standing, until a certain moment was working, but he landed that elbow and I got dizzy, I couldn’t see things straight anymore and it disturbed me because I couldn’t see. And on that moment I thought: “I gotta do my best here and now”. And that’s what happened.
I guess I didn’t have enough time. He took me down launching an elbow on me, and that surprised me a little, because I thought he would take me down but I would have a little time to think it straight. It was very fast and I had my head close to the fence, he hit me with an elbow, I couldn’t see and I tried to stand up and he hit me even more… I stood up and the judge interrupted, but we started fighting again and I didn’t have enough time to recover from that.
Following the defeat, previously undefeated Lyoto Machida drops to 17-3 in his MMA career.
Comments
It's okay, nobody recovers after the elbows. Go ask Brandon Vera.
But Brandon vera deserved it for talking all that crap. So, JJ sent him to the hospital with a broken face...
Take way elbows and Jon Jones is done
we noticed
well thats what I was thinking one second after reading the title.
Lots of obvious in stock, no need to order.
honest machida is honest
great fighters doesnt make excuses
He did better than I expected. He countered every kick that Jones through in the first round with a left hand. Hopefully he can keep getting in the shape like he was in Saturday, then he can beat anyone in the world at 205 pounds, expect for Jones.
That was a nasty elbow. Real deep cut. Hats off to jones to come back after losing the 1st round. Still can't get over how good this guy is.
He's just too good for people to like. It's hard to relate to someone that is a prodigy. Everybody likes the underdog.
"Well, oh yeah, I hate the muddafaka, because he is a horrible and fake person. Because, I'm so righteous and i am always humble and giving. Because i have never done anything wrong in my life and i am perfect.
And what's up with him fighting at LHW, it's not fair for the other "PROFESSIONAL" fighters. He's just too damn big. Stephan struve is big, but I won't make excuses for him. I hate Jon Jones...."
The funny thing is, most of the mma fans that judge him, are older than him. That's why they're doing so great at life.
@808scrappah
Just out of curiosity, are you pretending to be a complete moron or are you really that ignorant?
Just like when you commented that a 10' screen was 10 inches. And you call me the moron. LOL!!!!
LOL
2 of the 3 judges gave the first to Jones.....
Cecil peoples wasn't there.......
thats because jones is american and machida is brazilian...
Then they are stupid. Probably the same judges as that Nam Phan fight.
i honestly still think Machida has the skill set to still defeat Jon Jones. Hopefully we can see Machida on another win streak to see it happen. Until then, Machida era is put on hold.
Machida looked friggin awesome. His footwork and body movement was a beautiful thing to watch. You can tell Machida and Silva imitate each other.
I agree. Machida can beat Jones BUT he has to fight a flawless fight. He cannot get taken down. He has done it before and he can do it against Jones.
The Dragon will be back
The sad thing is that 2 of the 3 judges gave round 1 to Jones, so according to the judges, Machida was losing the fight. I don't know how they came to that decision, but it don't matter now. I just think it would have been interesting if the fight would have went 5 to see if them giving the round to Jones would have affected the outcome
Those judges are special people... very special.
A 24 yr that has only trained striking for a few years defeats one of the most elusive ans skilled strikers in all of MMA and people are talking about the score of the first round? Why? Machida was laying on the canvas completely out in the 2nd round the score card is irrelevant.
I think the ability of the judges to see the fights accurately is relevant. Not all fights will be finished and you'd like to know the judges are competent.
They should test judges before every fight, just to make sure, they haven't put some vodka into their water bottle ;)
I think the first round was almost even, giving the edge to Machida for landing some nice punches. But yeah, when lose like that points don't even matter anymore.
Machida will come back stronger and better.
what i like to hear, someone making no excuses. What he was doing was working but it goes to show that theres no room for error against Jones, especially if Jones is losing the fight and will capitalise on any mistake and go for the win.
Class act. I hope that he doesn't get down over his record in the last four fights. After watching that performance I believe he strongly belongs in one of the top contender spots.
The rest of the interview is short but worth going to read IMO. Once again class act - stating he got to speak to Jones briefly afterwards to congratulate him but not enough time. Wow.
Machita has class. I couldn't believe that he went to the press conferance after the fight and losing like that. He is truly a humble person to be as honest as he is.
I'd have been like I was sick and my trainers still made me fight and all that and more......I'd have accused Bones of cheating and the judges of being bought and paid for; I would be threatening to sue Dana white for racial discrimination!!
Lyoto is a true martial artist and class act for sure.
Drop to 185. I bet he'd get an Instant title shot against Silva.
I don't think that these two would fight each other though. That would be a great fight though, seeing as they have alot of the same moves; they just execute a bit differently.
I know of two people who were acquired by JJ's phony antics. They sat behind the judges table that night.
Acquired two >fans
Machida took that nasty elbow, got cut up, & still was on the attack. That last punch he threw did him in since it landed after Jones hit him.
It's vicious the way he was finished though.
I dont see why everyone thinks Machida did better than anyone else. He is a counter striker. Which means once you attack him, he looks for openings to counter attack. Jones played the same game for the first round. Kind of like tag. Machida got restless and then starting charging in from time to time, running into a right hand which slowed him down. Then JJ took him down, cut him and then put him to sleep on his feet.
Unfortunately, Evans is going to have beat Mr. Wonderful before getting to JJ.
Either one of these guys will suffer the same demise....
It will take a fighter with a nasty ground game to finish Jones. Picture a Frank Mir locked onto those skinny ankles.
But who do we got in the UFC that is actually capable of keeping up with this kid and do him in? Henderson will give him all he can handle, but only for the first two to three rounds before his 40 year old body starts to gas. So if he can't do it quick, then he aint gonna be the one to get it done. Evans? He's gotta get past Davis first, then he may be considered; but not until then.
Rashad will hurt Davis, I dont think Davis is in the same league so to speak. The only thing Ive seen impressive by Davis is wrestling.