yeah, I couldnt believe Soko couldnt land strikes on Machi9da. Masterful performance!

Talk about a flawless victory!

Who can land a shot on Machida? I am so curious about 98. I have to say Machida is gonna win simply because I’ve seen a bead of sweat on the mans brow never mind a scratch on his face from an opponent. He is amazing.

Soko got smashed by Machida, Cane and Babalu, he’s looked awful since his move from Pride. The guy has no cardio, ground game or mental toughness and if you can survive his early flurry of punches, by avoiding them like Lyoto or taking them like Cane, then you’ve got him beat. The guy is nothing more than the Pride version of Houston, only he got KOs over 2 top 10 lhws instead of 1.

As for Machida, he has been awesome in the UFC and has destroyed fighters without taking any damage. His elusive style has made him near impossible to punch whilst he is able to pick apart his opponent but also finish them e.g. Franklin, Soko, Silva as well as go the distance. Rashad will be his biggest test because he is difficut to hit, is an excellent strategist, is strong willed and has proven KO ability, plus the fight is 5 rounds so this will be a bigger test of Machida’s cardio. I see a lot of similarities in both fighters and this could either be a great technical fight or a boring clash of styles, but we won’t know until fight night and we shouldn’t dismiss this fight or the 98 card in general until we’ve seen it.

Agree with the assessment of Machida, but will add that his strength and grappling ability are vastly under-rated. Just a hunch, but I expect the stand up exchanges between Machida and Evans to be about a push, but the fight will be won by whomever dominates in close quarters or on the ground.

Watch the BJ fight against MAchida it wa a classic!

I feel sorry for Sokoudjou. He was too highly touted after his Pride victories so everyone expected too much from him. As ufcaddict said, he won the first round against Cane, and it was a really good, entertaining round.

He fought Babalu, Cane and Machida, it’s not like he lost to second-tier fighters. They’re all seasoned, excellent fighters.

Although I admit and as we know, he’s not up to their level, but neither is Macdonald and he has had ten fights in the UFC.

I’m not disputing his exit from the UFC, I think Strikeforce would be much better for him, but calling him “SUCKoudjou” and “SoJOKEdjou” is harsh. Maybe the exit was a little premature as he could have had some other decent match-ups. Houston Alexander, for instance, would have been good. But ultimately, at his level, just as it seems likely to be the same for Alexander, unless they evolve they’re gonna get booted.

P. S. I spoke of Macdonald because as we are aware, he recently got cut.

I didn’t think Soko was gonna win any of his last 3 fights, but after his lose to Babalu- the look on his face was awful. I felt really sorry for him, he looked broken. I said it after that fight; Soko needs to go back and just train for like 6 months to a year straight, no fights just training. He can’t afford to lose any more fights any where.

Yeah exactly. And most of that should be time spent on his ground game and cardio.

Soko have a 125 pounds difference with Nortje in his next fight!So i guest that he will,gonna need to have a good cardio!

i mean…will have…It’s late!!

The guy just needs to focus on himself and getting better. His stock has plummeted so low already, it’s just not wise to pick up fights right now.

someone didnt take their meds today

john-

LMAO.

Well the UFC only shows stats for UFC fights, which has nothing to do with someone’s full record. It doesn’t mean anything…but remind me why the hell this even matters?

What’s a “dicksack”, sdow? Because if you have one, it’s time to see a doctor about that trip to Thailand.

the “in a row” part is not needed than because saying that he lost his first 4 fights in the UFC already implies that they were “in a row”….wait, this tard thinks hes a clever word smith, wait…why do i even care?

yea thats fine you brought him up but you are wrong, he never lost 4 in a row so you just look like a complete idiot. Why don’t you try researching it before arguing your point so emphatically, cause honestly your coming off as an asshole, mainly because your arguing a point that is totally incorrect

I’m sorry but you are a TOTAL F’ING RETARD! Did you fail English in high school or something? Can you not read properly? It says 4 in a row IN THE UFC! You thought he meant 4 in a row period in MMA.

He didn’t say that! He said 4 in a row in the UFC.

You just made yourself look like a moron.hahahaha

I for one am not angry about anything. It isn’t that he mentioned Cote in a non Cote thread. Its more that he just threw something out there and there isn’t a point to it. Sdow looked up Cote’s record at UFC.com, ok….now what? Usually a person brings up a fighters record to support an argument/an opinion i.e- he sucks, he has no chin, he’s the best ever, he’s only fought cans etc… He wouldn’t be catching so much shit he had a complete thought.

On that note: Ricardo Almeida has lost every other fight in the UFC. If you don’t believe me look it up. Discuss.

he does not have to press the action,because he stand back out point Rashad ,it may be different if going in the champ was the favorite,but he is not so watch and see,and I have been a supporter of his for a few years now

yeah and that match between Tito/Rashad was lame too,seeing as how your boy got his butt whooped

All the long time bloggers now that I have been clinging to Machida’s nuts well before the Silva fight. Machida’s style is simply a thing of beauty, but some people can not see it. His training is just SOOOO advanced. He and a few other fighters (pretty much all training together) are simply on another level when it comes to striking. You can tell that even Anderson is falling in love with Machida’s style becuse it appeared that his goal of the Leites fight was to not get hit.

Is is like watching Bully Beatdowns (most episodes). The bullies are all tough on the streets and can beat people up. But, once you put him up against a TRAINED fighter, the differenc is laughable. Just watching the bullies punch the bag is funny. Technique means so much.

I mention that because when Machida fights, its almost like watching a “Bully Beatdown” because it appears that only one fighter is trained, and the other seems like a drunken slob throwing haymakers at the bar and just swinging and missing.

Parlay Special for UFC 98: Sherk and Machida. Parlay them and you get a little better than even money right now. TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!!!!!!

Sherk is only -275. I see him having the same percentage of beating Edgar as Anderson had at beating Leites, and that was -800. I see Sherk at -275 GREAT VALUE and have been all over it.

Agreed, VM.

I don’t consider myself a long time blogger (I think that distinction goes to VM, kevin and john—-apologies if I missed anyone) but I was hugging Machida’s sack way before the Silva fight.

Machida’s style reminds me of that old school “stick and move”, ala boxing. The ability to hit and not get touched is the base of the sweet science. Maybe that’s why its so disliked in MMA?

I agree OJR, but boxers are criticized for using speed and defence to avoid exchanging and outpointing their opponents as well… see Floyd Mayweather.

The greatest boxers to watch were the ones who had all the tools to play it safe if they chose, but still couldn’t resist standing and trading once in a while… a la Oscar and Pac-man.

Jeremy-

Just to add to that… Mayweather is disliked because of his wannabe gangsta attitude and his penchant for hand picking boxers he knows that he can dominate. Ironically, its his speed and defense that might earn him a trip to Castanosta.

BTW – Pacman destroying Hatton was a given. It was just a matter of what round it was going to be…with all due respect to Hatton (a true warrior).

lyoto’s is to stand up, what matt lindland is ro ground game, very good, but wake me when it’s over. You all must have loved bisbings performance agenst leban, and silvas vs cote and leites. For the record i found all three of those fights more entertaining than lyoto’s fights. Im not a fan of shad, so sorry scott he is not my boy. I just pray he wins. I fear this “elusive” style is the next step of mma evolution, where people will win “fights” with few strikes thrown per round, and 90% of fights going to the judges.

Look at his last 3 fights,2 were stoppages and 1 decision,he is starting to finish people,if you are a fan of MMA,you should appreciate Machida’s talent and style,there is not another fighter like him.I understand how he got the rep of boring ,but what else can you ask for he KO another undefeated fighter in the first round ,what is wrong with that.

if i were a fan of mma huh, well i am a fan of mma and i can’t stand him so there goes that. I never said he wasn’t talented, but thank god there is no other fighter like him or ratings would plumet, and mma would go off the air. I know he stoped 2 of his last 3 but still, they were soozefest, much like i see this next one being.

just because you are a fan does not mean you appreciate true martial arts,so there goes that.I want you to tell me what part was boring in the Sokujou fight or the Thiago Silva fight,now I will say the Tito fight was kind of frustrating,but not those two,you can not get much more impressive than those victories

Fock that….the Tito/Machida fight was HONESTLY one of my favorite fights of 2008…I lOVED that fight and was so damn entertained.

that is because you hate Tito,it was a little boring until the very end of the 1st and 3rd round,my bias had to show up a little,you know I am a Tito fan

Machida doesn’t really run he inflicts a lot of damage on his opponents, so this Bisping, silva comparison is crap, Machida is an artist!

I would have still enjoyed it if Tito wasnt involved in that fight. I honestly thought it was one of the top 5 BEST performances of 2008. THat performance was masterful!

BUt I have to admit, seeing Tito swing punches into the air, missing Machida completely and getting pissed off was PRICELESS! It was my second favorite tito moment, next to when he fought wanderlei, turned around and ran away from wandy as fast as he could to the other side of the octagon, while the Axe Murderer was chasing him…..Best TITO MOMENT EVER!!!!

The way Tito was running away, you would have thought that Wanderelie was really chasing him with an AXE!

I’m sorry, but what does having friends have anything to do with posting on an MMA site? Personally, I don’t have any friends on this site because my friends are real!

Do you come to this site because this is where your friends are? Sorry but I gotta call you out on that retarded ass reasoning!

Also, doesn’t EVERYONE MAKE SEXUAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE FEMALE FIGHTERS? You got some problems man!

Hey D:<kcross!you clearly have issue to freak out for a word who has an abstract meaning!But i don’t think you can figure that out since you probably not having reach puberty yet.Yes,you can go back…playing with your real friends at your elementary school.Also it’s not my fault if you still don’t have pubic hair,got a mullet and dream to bang ugly bitches!!YOU have a problem douche…Real playa don’t find these girl attractive and don’t wish to have all of them in their bed at the same time.But then again i don’t expect you to understand my"retarded ass reasoning"!Here something,easy for you to understand little d:<khead…Seek help!!Go see your social worker at your primary school and stop bothering me!

Alpha you are a god damn psychopath! How are you getting this worked up about an internet post dude? I’m sorry but you got some serious issues in yo life that you need to work out! You seem very insecure based on your response, man. You really bring out your ignorance by insulting people. Cussing at someone over a blog is probably the least mature thing you could do. Grow up little boy. You’re just making enemies here. I’m pretty sure you have no friends cuz you are the first person to mention friends on this site. I normally wouldn’t step in on this but you are acting like a bitch.

btw, I don’t know what you talkin about “playa.” Some of those girls that fight are fine as hell!

Don’t sweat it Alpha, it’s just that sdow kid under a different name… once he hits puberty and discovers he likes touching his friends’ balls he’ll stop having wet dreams about Patrick Cote.

Hahaha!Trufighter,Thanks to bring your sage/psychological/philosophical opinion on my illness.thanks also to grace me of your intellectual knowledge of the meaning of my word"friends"I’m sorry to have offend you in anyway…and for acting like a bitch because i’ve been call by a well educate gentlement!Believe me i don’t want to make enemies here because,like you said,i don’t have any friends!So since you seems,like a ladies man with great taste in women…I’ll ask you pardon to have laugh at your fantasy girls and your hair style!