Who would have ever thought Lyoto Machida would save a show with a brutal finish? Well, I guess we all should have after UFC 94, but he did it again tonight.
The UFC was faced with a situation where they realized an unpopular foreign fighter was bound to become champion of their premier division, and instead of burying him in unimportant fights they put their marketing machine behind him and created a star.
Machida’s performance was incredible. Every fight, we hear a new supposed weakness his opponent will exploit. When it was Tito, it was his supposed lack of takedown defense. When it was Thiago, people said Machida would finally be forced to really fight against someone so aggressive. Against Rashad people said he was finally fighting a patient fighter and Rashad was quick enough to handle him. Each time, these theories are blown to pieces.
I try not to overreact the night of fights. I see all over people are saying Machida is unbeatable and Rampage has no chance. Please. I think Machida will win, but the idea that Quinton Jackson has no chance is just silly. It’s a fight I really want to see.
I don’t have much to say on Hughes and Serra. I agree with the decision, and don’t really think Serra deserved a win for a headbutt followed by an illegal punch, so I can’t cry for him.
I’m not the greatest fight prognosticator, so I have to stop and boast a bit about my prediction for Sherk and Edgar. Much like Koscheck and Diego, Sherk has abandoned his wrestling in order to turn his mediocre boxing into slightly above average boxing. Frankie threw good combinations and got a great win, and I’d like to see him get Roger Huerta’s last UFC fight.
Finally, as a closing note, I thought tonight told us a lot about guys that didn’t fight. It’s amazing how easily GSP passed Serra’s guard given how Matt Hughes simply never came close, Gray Maynard looks great following Sherk’s inability to deal with Edgar’s boxing, and Tito Ortiz’s performance against Lyoto Machida now looks pretty solid compared to how Thiago and Rashad performed against Lyoto.