I have no idea who wins, Machida is overwhelmingly more skilled, but rampages power can earn him a win instantly at any point in this fight, machida needs to fight a perfect fight, and he probably can do it.
I wouldnt bet the house on this fight, but I think Machida takes it
I don't see Rampage as a top MMA fighter anymore.. he's moved on mentally and just doesn't seem to have that real drive in him. I'm talking real focus - think Velasquez. Machida has that.
Plus, like you said Machida is so much better technically and is largely superior in quickness. I see no freaking way Rampage has any chance to take this.
Its funny because, they dont really have anyone to face but each other, but if machida goes in there and wins a boring UD its gonna have been a lot of hype for nothing, dunno if I would call it bad match making, but it certainly will leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Looking past rampage, I think Machida vs Franklin 2 (if rich wins vs forrest) would be a nice title eliminator.
Biggest question now is, who will the winner of Jones vs Bader and the Winner of Forrest vs Franklin face
machida should win, although i've not watched much ufc for the last ~12 months (although i did watch the one this last weekend, god it was crap and jesus it was not easy trying to explain how it worked to drunken dickheads)
To be honest I think the top 4 of the LH division (Shogun, Machida, Rampage, Rashad) are much less exciting than the up and comers, although thats not relevant to this thread.
I have little hope for this being an exciting fight, being one counter-puncher vs another (all around counter-striker). Personally I believe the Machida puzzle has been solved, and the only reason he did so good before is because it was still a mystery to most people. But in regards to the outcome of this fight, I see it being a boring decision that could go 29-28 either way.
On November 17 2010 09:33 debasers wrote: I just find curious how Machida looks so much weaker than all the other guys, but when it comes to the fight, he is just so much better
He looks like a natural, definitely not one of the guys concentrating on weight training. To me his form is scary because you can tell how fluid and flexible he is right away.
I think this has a potential to be a good fight, I wouldn't count Rampage out. Two completely different fighters, if Rampage still has some of his explosiveness anything could happen.
Machida should be quick enough and technical enough to pick apart Rampage without taking much damage. I love Rampage and he has the power to KO Machida, but I don't see him catching him.
Heart: Rampage Head: Machida
Don't forget though, we also get BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes on the same card. BJ should roll over Hughes in my opinion.
Rampage has a better chance against Machida than Rashad did. Machida works best against guys that like to hang back and counter attack, if Rampage moves around like Shogun did then he's got at least a 20% shot or so.
Machida will probably win, but I think a lot of people underestimate Rampage's technique -- he's one of the best boxers I've seen in UFC. His timing and spacing is impeccable, and all of his movements and punches are very compact (read: fast & powerful).
In fact, I'd say Rampage is more of a technical counter-puncher than anything ... watch any of his fights, you will see him playing very passively in the first round, lots of feints, weaving and leanbacks to get his opponent's timings down and get into his opponent's rhythm. Then he'll start jab-countering jabs, and the stand-up game is pretty much over from there, he just dismantles his opponent over the next couple of rounds.
I'd have to give this one to Machida, since I don't think Rampage will be able to figure out Machida's rhythm, nor will he be able to counter Machida's sweeps. In addition, he won't be able to penetrate Machida's defense with his usual style, only if he goes fast and aggressive with his jabs ... but Machida's reach and stuff-strategy will be really hard to overcome.