Lyoto Machida, who will fight Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight title at UFC 98, has been criticized by many fans -- and even by fellow fighter Rampage Jackson -- for having a boring style of fighitng. Others say that Machida's only job is to win fights, and that his undefeated record shows that his style is effective.
But when I asked Machida Tuesday how he responds to that criticism, he said through his translator that he takes that criticism to heart, and he does view it as part of his job to entertain the fans.
"Lyoto says that, of course, it's part of his job to entertain," translator Derek Lee said after Machida responded to my question in Portuguese. "It's a sport, but it's also entertainment. He's getting paid to entertain his fans. But he believes the criticism inspires his training because he can hear what people are saying and use that in training to adapt and get better in any way he can."
Machida also said that he approaches each fight as a mental challenge, not just a physical one.
"As he goes through training, his mind is a big part of it," Lee said, translating another answer from Machida. "He thinks the fight begins before he steps into the ring, and that his mind can be used as a weapon. He sees his body as a sword, as a samurai would."
And ultimately, Machida says that a fighting style matters less than how the fighter implements it.
"The martial art is not what builds the athlete," Machida said. "The athlete builds his own art. It's a matter of how you train."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-12-2009 @ 3:31PM
Frederick said...
I think Machida will win but this is not a fight I would bet on. Rashad has proven me wrong often in the past.
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5-12-2009 @ 6:22PM
grimslade5 said...
Im glad he has taken the criticizm to heart because I dont pay to view a fighter's win-loss record I pay to be entertained. I also hope he pounds Evans.
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5-12-2009 @ 8:18PM
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) said...
Machida is so full of himself. Saying he is a modern day samurai and that no one can defeat his style. I can't wait for this guy to get knocked out stiff. Reminds me of Mike Tyson saying his style is impregnable.
It's like yeah Lyoto you are a good fighter but you haven't proven much. Let's have you beat some real competition before saying you are the next big thing. I guarantee if he beats Evans he looses to Rampage. He hasn't been tested and those guys will get a punch into that slippery style. Let's see if he has a chin.
Anyone see when Machida fought BJ Penn? He outweighed him by like 3 weight classes and still took an ass whooping. I'm still not sure how he got that decision but whatever.
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5-13-2009 @ 6:15AM
retrojoke said...
Only way Lyoto will win this is by another decision, would make it his 5th-6th in the UFC.
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5-13-2009 @ 9:56AM
richardbikle said...
I think lyoto wins this, I just hope the couch warriors don't affect his style. Fighting is about winning, not entertaining some guy that never set foot on the mat. Lyoto fights with a very typical karate style that works for him. I hope he keeps with it, as I think it will be effective on Rashad.
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5-13-2009 @ 10:13AM
Eric said...
This fight may start slowly, but I think it will turn into a good fight. Rashad may have a punching power advantage, but I think Machida has all other advantages.
Machida isn't a boring fighter, he is a smart/tactical fighter. I think he will win by late KO (4th maybe), and go on to defend the belt several times.
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5-13-2009 @ 12:42PM
o0soul said...
Sorry MDS, I have to call BS on your earlier article (Rampage comments on Machida). You like and even appear to appove of Machida's running away almost never finish a fight style, yet you drop Anderson Silva in the rankings for not finishing Leites who clearly was diving to his back to avoid being KO'd on his feet all the while Silva basically had to chase the guy around the ring as the ref stood Leites up a record 14 times? But it's OK when Machida runs from his opponents and doesn't finish a fight yet some how Silva loses credibility when he can't finish cause his opponent is diving to the ground?
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5-13-2009 @ 5:30PM
richardbikle said...
little o zero soul - you are not capable of recognizing Machida's effective style, maybe you should watch some WWE. You don't go undefeated running away. Machida picks his spots and does it well. Watch him and try to learn something.
5-14-2009 @ 3:58PM
o0soul said...
@richardbikle
Apparently you didn't watch Machida fight Ortiz.
And I'm not criticzing Lyoto directly, I'm criticizing MDS's bias in praising one guy and crapping on another for taking similar approaches to winning. Just that Machida's is even more extreme in his inability to finish than was Silva (that and the whole running away thing).
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5-17-2009 @ 12:45AM
itowncase515 said...
There's nothing boring about his style. It's only boring for people who don't understand martial arts. People who watch the UFC but have never trained a day in their life. Machida's style is very effective, very original, and very traditional. You don't like it and it bores you because you don't understand it. A lot of the stuff he does is very high technique that 99 percent of other fighters in the UFC would not be able to accomplish. Sweeping your opponents foot during his jab takes years of training to learn the timing, you can't understand that if you sit on the couch and complain about not being entertained. You want entertainment go to the bar and watch fights.
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