Lyoto Machida – Karate Fighter in the UFC
Get it while it’s up – Lyoto Machida vs Sugar Rashad Evans – http://www.mma-core.com/videos/_Lyoto_Machida_vs_Rashad_Evans_UFC_98?vid=10005048&tid=100
Sometimes these fights are taken down due to legal purposes, but if you check it out asap you’ll get to see one of the greatest demonstrations of karate in The Octogan ever recorded.
I know the last post was about MMA too, but I figured this was worth mentioning. If you haven’t been following, Lyoto Machida is a Shotokan stylist who has been making waves in the UFC. Machida is an extremely well rounded karate fighter who also holds a black belt in BJJ (click here for his dvd set).
I wasn’t paying close attention to Machida’s progress until I read an excellent analysis of his role in the UFC over at Way of Least Resistance. Dan goes into much deeper detail than I intend to about Machida’s overall fighting style and how it is being received.
For me personally, I didn’t expect to see much of a difference between Machida and other UFC fighters. I figured his background was being hyped up, but that his overall approach would be the same as everyone elses. After seeing the fight video I can tell you my mind has been changed.
Machida uses some classic karate strategies that thrilled me when I saw them in action. His stancing, control of distance, timing, and techniques were beautifully karate. At one point (around 6:20) he throws a perfect straight punch that had trademark retraction, leaving the bulk of the force in Rashad and knocking him for a loop.
Evans, who has never before lost a fight in the UFC, was completely baffled at trying to find range. His techniques whiffed because Machida placed his body in a forward zenkutsu style stance, which oriented his head differently to his front leg than what boxers are accostomed to.
Machida’s kicks came with exceptionally small telegraphing. In the UFC, Muay Thai kicking has become prevelant and that usually entails front foot movement and hip opening for huge amounts of power. Without that telegraph, Machida was able to land big kicks.
So is Karate the Ultimate Style Again?
I think a lot of karate people are getting excited about Machida, which is annoying a lot of MMA people (and rightfully so in some cases). Lyoto is an exceptional fighter with great all around experience and it is my hope that he is respected as an individual rather than a cardboard cut-out of karate. I happen to know that a lot of karate people do not train the way he does, and would be trying to ride serious coattails by suggesting Machida is a representative of what all karateka can do.
That being said, the people that are downplaying Machida’s style are drinking a little bit of haterade. There is definite karate in Lyoto and it is proving to be extremely effective.
Kimbo Slice to Join the UFC (If He Can Conquer Ultimate Fighter)
Do you guys remember Kimbo Slice? He was the absolute hotness about 8-9 months ago. The world of MMA was abuzz with Kimbo fever and everyone was wondering if he was on his way to superstardom.
Unfortunately, as intimidating as Slice was during his street brawls, he didn’t quite translate into the world of MMA. In fact, he promptly got knocked out by Seth Petruzelli, a skilled but hardly headlining MMA fighter. This loss began a downward spiral for EliteXC, the company promoting Slice, and ultimately led to a franchise shut down (which I wrote about here).
EliteXC is still gone, but Slice is looking to make a comeback. The UFC runs an annual show called “The Ultimate Fighter” wherein two groups of potential MMA professionals get together and duke it out in tournament style elimination matches to find out who is best. The show is presented like a reality TV program, following the fighters as they live together in a giant mansion and struggle not to get wasted and punch each other out before the real fights start.
This year Slice will be joining them.
This is an interesting move for UFC president Dana White who has openly doubted Slice’s skill in the past. He and many professional MMA fighters believe that this particular opportunity is perfect for Slice as “Ultimate Fighter” is a proving ground and has supplied the UFC with some of its most dynamic combatants to date.
This push to involve the ratings-friendly Kimbo is coming shortly after a successful yet risky gamble on former WWE superstar Brock Lesner.
Lesnar, who is an absolute mountain of a human being, also struggled during his debut into MMA. White, being a very savvy business owner, must have seen potential for Lesnar’s abilities and marketability because he supported the big man and gave him a second shot, which Lesnar used to secure the heavyweight UFC title from Randy Couture.
Will Slice have the same success as Lesnar? It’s hard to say. But one thing is for sure – “Ultimate Fighter” will be giving us some very interesting and entertaining clips as Slice makes his second bid for MMA glory.
David Carradine Found Dead Under Unusual Circumstances
Breaking news out of Bangkok, Thailand. Actor David Carradine (1936-2009) was found dead earlier today in his Park Nai Lert hotel room. Carradine was reportedly found hanged by the neck, naked, in his closet.
The body was discovered when Carradine was late to a meal with film crew during a recent shooting of Stretch.
According to police officials, there was no sign of struggle and the case will likely be reported as a suicide.
Carradine, 72, was most famous for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the television series “Kung Fu”. The actor also had an illustrious movie career, recently experiencing a reimergence in popularity due to his work in Kill Bill Volume I and II. Carradine also experienced success in the realms of broadway and voiceover acting.
According to the website TMZ.com, Carradine had expressed some suicidal tendencies in the past. Quote:
“In a 2004 interview dug up by the Telegraph Newspaper, the 72-year-old actor revealed that he once considered shooting himself, saying: ‘Look, there was a period in my life when I had a single action Colt 45, loaded, in my desk drawer.
And every night I’d take it out and think about blowing my head off, and then decide not to and go on with my life. Put it back in the drawer and open up the laptop and continue writing my autobiography or whatever. But it was just to see.’” – TMZ
The world’s of acting and martial arts have suffered a significant loss today.
