Shogun Rua: Hard to Find a Sparring Partner to Emulate Lyoto Machida

As he prepares for his light heavyweight title fight with Lyoto Machida at UFC 104, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is expressing a concern that I've heard other fighters express before fighting Machida: It's really hard to find a sparring partner who can prepare you for Machida's unique style.

"I think people call Lyoto Machida a puzzle because he's a very different kind of fighter -- he fights in a different style than most people fight," Rua says. "It's very difficult to find sparring partners and train with sparring partners who will emulate his style so you can get used to it. I believe Lyoto Machida is a fighter who fights with a counter-strike style, so if you expose yourself to him by overly pressing forward he can take advantage of that and capitalize and hit you, hurt you and take advantage of your exposure. I think you have to be patient enough to find the right moment to attack, to know when to engage, when to connect with your strikes and when to pursue him so you don't get exposed to his style and his counter-striking abilities."

Rashad Evans made a similar comment to me about his preparation for Machida: He said that no one in the MMA world has the same karate technique that Machida has, so when you're preparing to fight Machida, it's impossible to find anyone who can push you in training every day the way Machida will push you in the Octagon. James McSweeney (who's on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter) did his best Machida impression to try to help Evans get ready, but there's only one Lyoto Machida. And as Shogun points out, there's no sparring partner who can match Machida.

More from Machida and Shogun:
Shogun Rua Embraces Underdog Role In Chasing UFC Title Dreams
Lyoto Machida Out to Make Traditional Martial Arts Proud

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-16-2009 @ 8:22AM

makeovergirl36 said...

Machida will win. Not only because of his unique style, but because Shogun is showing fear.

10-16-2009 @ 9:29AM

Eric said...

Shogun is being honest about the abilities of his opponent ... I don't believe he is afraid of anyone.

10-16-2009 @ 10:13AM

easy7179 said...

i don't think shogun is so much afraid as he may be a little unconfident. the patient approach won't last long for him. he'll eventually get frustrated and rush in and...zzzzzzzzzzzzz! i don't think he's quick enough to strike with machida. the one thing we haven't seen machida have to defend is the muay thai clinch but something tells me he can.

10-16-2009 @ 11:08AM

To put it simply ...

I think Machida will get punched in the face a little bit, and his cloak of invincibility will deteriorate. From there we'll see who has the better chin. Shogun's is tested. Machida's ... not so much.

I think Shogun has a really good chance of getting the KO if he does it within the first couple rounds. His aggressive style will cause him to gas more quickly than Machida. If the fight goes into the title rounds, it will be bad for Shogun.

10-16-2009 @ 11:11AM

richardbikle said...

its hard to believe he cant find a left handed kata fighter in brazil, i think he mentally disarming machida.
i see shogun winning and running thru the karate mystic.

10-16-2009 @ 2:02PM

Guitar God!!!!!! said...

Once again Richardbikle blowing smoke out of his azz! Like I said before Richard, make sure you bet your house on Shogun and we'll talk on Sunday morning when I say "Hows that working out for ya?" Lol.

10-16-2009 @ 7:04PM

those are real flames, not just smoke. i had some thai food for lunch. hope i didnt singe your nose hairs.

what can i say geetar, i like shogun and i like his chances. hell if you really knew they wouldnt bother to fight joe silva just give you a call....
i'm going with shutebox over kata.

10-16-2009 @ 2:27PM

I'm with richardbikle - Shogun wants Machida to be overconfident. Shogun talks about being cautious and what not ... I guarantee he plans to swarm Machida. Have you ever seen Shogun fight cautiously or back up even once in a fight? He always comes forward. Even when he was dead tired against Forrest, he kept coming.

10-16-2009 @ 8:56PM

adam said...

well as he is comming foward he will be eating a flurry for diner ,,,,shogun and forrest ,,forrest lasted a minute with silva, you really think shogun will last with him getting tired like you said,,,,for now machida and silva are comparable in the ufc but i cant think of another guy who would have a chance in the octogon ,,,not even fedor

10-19-2009 @ 7:26AM

Adam- Shogun was nowhere near 100% when he fought Forrest. Not to mention is was his first fight in the Octagon w/ new rules and everything. Mark my words - a healthy Shogun is a very dangerous fighter.

PS - only 3 fights ago Machida couldn't finish Tito (in fact a knee to the body was the only time he hurt him at all) and Tito nearly choked him out with a triangle.

10-16-2009 @ 7:07PM

by the way geetar, i take some exception to the once again. i've made all my predictions in writting, and i've gotten three wrong; shogun lost to forrest, riggs beat baroni, and florian choked with penn. three out of how many isnt exactly blowin smoke.

10-16-2009 @ 7:56PM

M13 said...

I think Shogun's aggressive in your face style could play into Machida's counter striking style. I give the edge to Machida.

10-26-2009 @ 3:23PM

Richard - We correctly picked Shogun as the winner, but unfortunately the judges didn't. Shogun all the way in a rematch ... he's in Machida's head now.