Who Will End the Lyoto Machida Era in the UFC? Randy Couture? Shogun Rua? Rampage Jackson? Jon Jones? Anderson Silva?
Within seconds of Lyoto Machida taking the belt, UFC color man Joe Rogan declared it the "Machida Era."
The pedestal is pretty dang high already. Let's take a look and see who might knock him off it.
Jake Rossen likes Randy Couture's chances:
Laugh all you want, but if Couture gets inside, Machida is going for a ride. Couture’s retirement fight if he fails in another heavyweight title bid, but only if Machida agrees to do it at heavyweight. (Guy’s gonna be 46 soon. Cut him some slack.)
The premise here is that Tito did manage to ding Machida in the clinch a couple of times. Dirty boxing greco king Randy Couture could surely do some damage on the inside -- IF he can get there.
Michael David Smith makes a list of ten fighters but gives the most attention to Shogun:
Of the fighters who might actually challenge Machida in the not-too-distant future, I like Shogun's chances the best. He's a dynamic striker who's quick enough to move in and out against Machida, and although he only has one career win by submission, he can win a fight on the ground if he needs to. I think Shogun-Machida is a fight we might very well see in 2010, and it's a fight every fan would love.
Color me skeptical. Shogun's aggressive muy thai based striking falls right into Machida's game. If Shogun chases Machida, he'll pay and I don't see him having an answer for the Dragon's shotokan attack.
On the other hand, Shogun moves very well, avoids the kind of footwork errors that bedevil Rashad Evans and his capoeira studies provide Rua with his own bag of unconventional tricks.
It would seem that #1 contender Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is already being written off by the cognoscenti. I think that's a mistake. His boxing game is several steps beyond Evans'. Despite not having Evans' speed or reflexes, Jackson's footwork is sound and his power and combination punching make him a threat to anyone. Evans caught Machida a couple of times close to the cage with hooks that would have been an entirely more dangerous proposition coming from the powerful Jackson.
And let's not forget Rampage's seemingly abandoned wrestling roots. Machida might just be the kind of dangerous opponent who forces Quinton back to his roots. I'd likely pick Machida to win, but Rampage shouldn't be discounted.
Sergio Non has a couple of ideas:
It could take a style as idiosyncratic as Machida's to beat him. Jardine might have a chance with his seemingly rhythmless striking. With a lot more seasoning, Jon Jones and his blend of Greco-Roman throws and flashy strikes might give Machida pause.
I'm interested in the Jardine angle, provided he could string together enough wins to merit a title shot. With his leg kicks, extremely awkward style, wide stance and solid track record against counter-strikers he would seem to present as credible a challenge to Machida as anyone.
MDS also tacks a Jones as a dark horse to the bottom of his list:
Jon Jones: Obviously, the 21-year-old Jones has a long way to go before the UFC would even think of giving him a title shot. But when I picture the type of fighter who could give Machida trouble, I picture a superior athlete with a wrestling base who's good at taking his opponent down. That pretty well describes Jones, who showed off some of the best throws I've ever seen in his UFC 94 win over Stephan Bonnar.
Jones has the youth and talent to improve dramatically over the 24 months or so it would take him to earn a title shot. Obviously Machida might have joined the ranks of ex-champions by that point but the matchup does intrigue. Not least of all because of Jones' self-taught unconventional striking style that incorporates wild Tai Kwon Do and Kung Fu moves that he apparently picked up from watching TV and movies.
IMO, Jones needs to find an instructor who can marshal his improvisational standup style into a coherent framework. He's got the physical gifts. He's young enough to learn and most importantly he's got a brain like a sponge and is an avid student of the game. But unless he's a once in a generation martial arts genius, he won't be able to cobble together a striking style on his own that will be efficient enough to beat Machida
MDS also raises and then dismisses Anderson Silva as a possibility due to his friendship with Machida. I think he's a bit hasty there. Silva's mastery of muay thai, his own counter-striking style, his long reach, immaculate footwork make him the perfect opponent for Machida.
If both men keep winning, I think the fans should demand the fight and Dana White should twist arms and promise vast fortunes to make the fight happen.
