Lyoto Machida to Fight Shogun Rua in First UFC Title Defense

Machida will kick Jon Jones ass! However, one fight at a time. Get back to me when they actually fight; that is if Jones is still around.

I do beleive Jones will someday be a contender and maybe even champ. However, this is not his time; it's Machida time. Machida will be retired when Jones is ready for the championship fight.

We'll just have to see if Shogun can close the distance which seems vital in beating Machida. When you give him distance and essentially get into a karate striking/kick boxing match he is going to be difficult to defeat because of the reach advantage and awkward timing. If you go back and watch the Bj Penn fight and even the Tito Ortiz fight you will see how to have success against Machida. It doesn't mean you will beat the guy but it's a better game plan than Evans had which felt short sided. You have to close the distance and get on the inside of Machida. The thing is that the cage assists Machida when compared to a traditional square ring because of the extra space to operate.

The only losses in the career of Shogun have been to some pretty great opponents in Griffin, Coleman and Babalu Sobral. All of those fighters were pretty much in their primes at the time as well. When you look at who he has beaten it's really a who's who of MMA - Rampage, Gono, Nogueira, Santos, Arona, Overeem (2x), Diabate, Randleman, Nakamura, Coleman and Liddell to name the biggest names.

What I'm getting at here is that Rua has what it takes to beat Machida and Machida has what it takes to beat Rua. The only thing I have to question about Shogun is his conditioning and if he can go into those 4th & 5th championship rounds. He got gassed in the Griffin and Coleman fights and the Liddell fight was so quick we never got a chance to see where his conditioning was coming off the Coleman fight where he wasn't impressive at all in a maligned victory.

This is the type of fight we need to see from Machida. I want to see him (like Anderson Silva) fight guys who are going to push the action against him so that the fight is worth watching. Personally, this fight is pretty much even money in my book IF Shogun is back. Remember that a champ isn't a champ until he defends his title (I think you said that about Evans). I kind of expect Machida to win this fight but I wouldn't be all that surprised if he happened to lose.

Forrest Griffin ain't top 5 material. He's just not that good. I don't think he's ever gonna be champ again.

Not only that but if SHogun beats Machida and Rampage beats Evans it sets up the ultimate grudge match from back in the pride days when Rampage got destroyed by Shogun. It was total beat down and Rampage has been on record as saying thats the other loss he wants to avenge from Pride with the other being his destruction of Wanderlei Silva.

It's a couple of IF's but it could happen and would be a huge mega UFC PPV main event.

I would not be overly confident on that one.

Jones isn't at that headline level yet and Machida is just starting to get there in North America. A Jon Jones vs Machida fight wouldn't be big enough to the casual fan to be a big main event PPV draw. All of the other big Light Heavyweights except Shogun already had fights booked as well. I'm not sure when Jones is scheduled to fight next but he needs to string together a few more wins against big name opponents before earning a title shot.

I believe the rumor is that the winner of Henderson and Bisping gets the next middleweight title shot against Silva but I think the Belfort rumor is plausible and it's possible the Henderson/Bisping winner might get a shot at Machida if they want it. Things will become more clear as the next few months of fights wrap up and we know who gets the next title shot.

with no dis respect to either forrest or babalu, shogun should have won both of those fights. forrest should have never beat shogun.

That's why they fight! There is always the aspect of the unknown. I think Machida being skilled in striking, kicking, submissions and his ability in avoiding attacks give him the edge. I would not be suprised to see Machida attack with strong roundhouses to Rua's legs and body. I think Machida will be more agressive then most fans expect. However, when they step into the cage it's 50/50. And yes I have been quated as saying "you are not the champ until you defend the title with a win." I'll stick by that comment win or lose. No excuses; peace!