Couldn’t agree more about Shogun john…I think you and I are steering the Shogun wagon. An in-shape Shogun is going to really put it to Machida and I expect Machida to get hit more than he has ever been hit in this fight. I hope we see how Machida handles someone with the all around game like Shigun possesses. Shogun isn’t afraid of anyone and he’s going to treat Machida to some pain. I hope Shogun wins but Machida is a robot from the future sent back in time to whoop on UFC LHWs.

Buster: because of all the recent Rashad debates between us, I forgot that we usually do see the fight game the same way and agree on more topics then not.

I think Shogun/Machida will treat us to some awesome and competitive striking exchanges, and I really look forward to that, but I am drooling over the thought of seeing that fight go to the ground. IMO Shogun has the very best Jits in the UFC LHW division…and I think he has an advantage over anyone in that department. He might not be a great wrestler, but he has some really effective JIts trips. He usually gets the fight to the ground when he wants it to go there!

Shogun isnt going to be out clinched by anyone either. Im going to keep you in mind Buster! NOt a lot of people besides Rob and me have had shogun’s back recently. Win or lose against Machida, Shogun’s nutsack is going to be infested with fickle fans once again….and I will remember you as one of the originals who didnt write this STUD Off after a few surgeries.

when you consider fedor has a what 30-1 record? how is machida above that? or gsp who has only lost twice but been through title fights and well rounded..

i’d put machida barely top5 he has beaten 1 top5 guy and he’s top p4p? i don’t think so

maybe machida will be but he is not now

anderson would probably rip his headoff
fedor would probably do the same
gsp could possibly do it too
brock would assrape him

and bj could beat him if they were really the sameweight hell he came close already

now i love machida i have since he beat soku but he’s not p4p number1

PW he had already decided to be coaching on TUF before he knew who his opponent was… and there’s always gonna be that one guy out there who’s better than yourself, I love Rampage he’s my boy, and he has real boxing and real good defensive skills, Rashad is just a fast and strong athlete that is punching and moving more than he is boxing…

randy anderson said he gets his ass kicked everytime in there sparring sessions.

You’re right, Randy. Fedor should probably be number one because he’s small for his division, it’s the heavyweight division, and he’s continually defeated much bigger opponents.

I put Machida higher than most others though because of his style. His style is so unique that I think he could trouble any heavyweight even with the size disadvantage, just as he is even if he weighed in at 205.

For this reason I put Machida and GSP above A. Silva.

Nobody has to worry about it. He is going to be tested by Rua and Rampage next. In that time period if Rich can beat two more top LHW’s I would like to see a rematch between the two. Very interesting fights right now ahead of Machida, and I don’t think any of them can possibly be easy, so we will see soon enough where Machida is really at.

Oh, but I disagree with:

“anderson would probably rip his headoff”

I doubt it. I would give Machida the advantage.

“Fedor would probably do the same”

I think it would be an awesome fight.

“gsp could possibly do it too”

Another close one.

“brock would assrape him”"

Hmm, because Brock is so damn big it’s hard to tell. But if I were to pick anyone from any weight class under him as having a chance, I would pick Machida.

A rematch with Franklin would be good, but I doubt Franklin would have a chance. I would rather see Franklin vs. Shogun. That’s probably my number one matchup for Franklin that I would like to see.

I completely agree Kobajack but I was thinking he’d fight Rua to earn a shot along with Liddell or Rashad. Any of those fights would be a good scrap considering any of those guys could beat each other.

I will agree that on paper he may not get the definitive #1 P4P slot, but I think he is. I think that will become more apparent over the next year.

I think he’d take out Silva. I’m the biggest GSP Nuthugger in the world, but Machida would kill him. Brock outweighs him by 60lbs so Brock winning would do nothing to change my mind about his P4P ranking. As for Fedor, I’m not sure b/c Fedor never faces this kind of a fighter.

I don’t think the Machida that faught BJ was the same guy as today’s Machida. He seems to have added an explosive ability to finish to his ability to avoid damage. Fedor has pulled a few of his victories out of his ass (which is still good), but it’s not the same as going through the duration of the fight without taking damage and then destroying a top-ranked guys.

Shogun will get killed. Rampage would get killed if they fought. Forrest, Jardine…..no one is taking the belt from him in the LHW division. I think we can have this discussion again next year and I will have more facts to back up the claim.

For sure. Franklin has so many good matchups at LHW. It doesn’t even matter whether he gets a title shot or not. I’m curious to know if he can hang with them all.

My biggest fear with Franklin is that despite having a good chin he gets himself in trouble sometimes. He gets clipped and has to regather his senses and if his opponent is more aggressive and rougher than he is, he has trouble. He’s refined and technical but not necessarily hardened. He’s a bit softer.

I agree, Mr Ovary Puncher. I don’t see anyone giving Machida a hard time until Jonny Bones Jones is ready. And even then I still pick Machida.

I admit though, I’m giving Bones too much credit at the moment. He still hasn’t proven himself yet. But if he runs through the next guy, they should give him a top ten fighter.

I know what you mean about bones. It’s hard not to get excited about him. He’s still green, but it’s human nature to hope this guy is the next superman b/c he’s been so exciting to watch thus far. Let’s see Jones on the ground a few times before we give him a title shot.

i have been a Machida fan for a very long time now, and he is easily one of my favorite fighters in the world. Its crazy when I come on a Machida thread these days and see everyone slurping his nut sack. That doesnt piss me off…Its a great thing. THis guys deserve all the fans that he can get. he is truly dedicated to excellence. after all, he drinks his own piss every morning to perform at a high level for his fans….now thats dedication.

Its still weird that the same people who are now his new BIGGESTS fans were still ripping him after the Ortiz fight. TO this day, I find myself still defending what a great fight Machida/Ortiz was. To me, that was his most impressive performance by far. I thought that was a 15 minute masterful performance on HOW TO DOMINATE A MOFO! I have said numerous times that it was probably my favorite fight of 2008.

It saddens me that even in the eyes of a lot of hardcore fans, they didnt take notice, appreciate and stop bashing Machida til he started to brutally KO his opponents…THat shows a lack of appreciation to the true skills of fighters, and shows that technique and demonstrating true skills is still taking a back seat to Brutal KO’s. Dont get me wrong, I like a good ol fashion Brutal ending to a fight as much as anyone, but I am much more impressed and excited to see gameplanning, and technique.

It still bothers me that til this day, in the eyes of most of his fans….his Brutal stoppages over Rashad and THiago still overshadow what a performance for the ages that Machida win over Ortiz was! One of my favorite fights of all time! What he did that night, was make a former champion look like a complete amateur for 15 minutes! It was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in the Octagon.

I agree. But remember, John, not all of us who are praising him are suddenly slurping on his nutsack. As soon as I first saw him I knew he was awesome. His style intrigued me straightaway. I admit, I wanted him to lose to Tito because I was dumb enough to think Tito was worth it because it was his final UFC appearance and I thought an undefeated fighter has to lose at one point and knew even if Machida somehow lost, he would get better and better. But after watching it again and realizing his greatness, I quickly changed my tune.

The Tito fight was what made me truly respect Machida, that was such an impressive performance. At the time I was hoping that Tito could leave the UFC on a high but he was destroyed in that fight, Machida dodged all of his attacks and threw him around with ease. Other than the last ditch triangle Machida completely dominated the fight. His KO of Franklin and submission of Soko were both impressive but that was the fight where he proved that he could not only beat but embarrass a big name and former champion.

Since then, Machida has gone from strength to strength quietly working on his finishing skills and showing class before and after each fight. He represents the spirit of martial arts and the fact that he is still not content with his skills is scary, he is going to dominate the LHW division for a long time.

Great posts guys. Im not saying that I was Machida’s only fan until he ko’ed Silva, but you have to admit….few of us spent a lot of time on this site in the past having to defend Machida’s performances to about 75% of his fans TODAY. A little over a year ago, Machida was ripped to death by this site. He was called the most boring fighter in the UFC, and a year later, everyone is dying to see him in action again….

what a difference a year makes.

Im just happy to see such a classy guy and amazing representative of the sport, finally getting the lOVE he deserves!

I just thought of something that I should have been considering in all the P4P discussions:

The heavier guys might deserve a little more credit when their records are worse than the lighter guys. It you’re a LW or FW and you have the most polished skillset in your division, you train hard, and you have heart, you pretty much rule your wieght class until someone better comes along. (Of course, there are exceptions, but follow me in general terms) On the other hand, if your a LHW or a HW and you have the same atributes as the LW champ, you still may lose your belt a time or two over the same period b/c almost everyone has KO power. So even if you’re definitively better, you could still get dropped. It’s not that I haven’t thought of this before, but I rarely think about it when I’m considering top p4p rankings. That, to me, makes Fedor and Machida that much more impressive.

Yeah, we all have our own little changes here and there but all of them belong there. Urijah Faber, despite losing to Brown, still deserves to be there too if Brown does.

No way you can put someone who has been defeated four times, by a surprise sizzor hook of all things higher than a man who is a midget in his weight class but undefeated by any other fighter (Fedor). I also think Machida should currently rank above GSP due to his undefeated status and the fact that he has never lost a round in any of his fights (in the UFC). Although I admit its really hard to argue those ranks due to the fact that Fedor and Machida have fought a lot of cans as well. On the other side of that ranking I think Miguel has not really had a lot of good test for his weight class just because its not a very large or deep weight class, so I think its kind of hard to rank him above someone like Penn. But I do like the fighters on your P4P I would rank them like so.

1. Fedor
2. Anderson
3. Lyoto
4. GSP
5. Penn
6. Torres
7. Rashad
8. Brown
9. Faber
10. Rampage

• I also think Alves is pushing to get P4P with a win over GSP

Syn your theory about his punching power is terrible… you have to see his punching power you can not sit there and say oh he didn’t Ko this or that guy… If Rampage got to throw a left hook like he threw on Wanderlei then all opponents would have been done, he’s got that kind of power! only thing is that he’s not always able to land those kinda shots in all his fights so that’s the problem..

Just because of your name people will think your ignorant… but not me, I think your ignorant because you give Starnes more credit for wasting the fans money than you give Rashad for stepping up for the UFC by signing onto TUF and also for volunteering to earn his title shot and give us a great fight in Rua Lyoto. IMO this couldn’t have worked out any better because we get three good fights instead of one.