Archive for the 'Lyoto Machida' Category

Pictured: Machida’s Unique Karate in Action

Fans of most sports have no trouble referring to their favored athletic pursuit as a game. MMA fans however, would probably take offense at the idea that combat is a game at all. Combat sport events, have never been referred to in everyday parlance in the way that other sports have – It’s never ‘Are you going to watch the game?’ It’s always ‘Are you going to watch the fights?’

However, in the technical sense of the word, MMA is very much a game. In game theory, a game describes any strategic interaction where the choice of the various players can affect one another. A famous example of game in this sense is the Prisoner’s Dilemma, where two prisoners face the following outcomes depending on whether they confess or not.

The Traditional Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

This type of game is pretty theoretical and is purposely made simple in order to be easy to understand. Some more complex ‘games’ include things like Chess, Poker, and of course, Sports. Now, that’s enough of the technical stuff. My point is that in MMA, the success rate of one fighter not only depends on that fighter does. It also very much depends on what the opponent brings to the table.

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Pictured: Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida celebrates his 2008 victory over Tito Ortiz. Machida defends his title for the second time against Mauricio Rua tomorrow night.

The clock is ticking on one of the most anticipated UFC rematches in recent memory.  The first fight resulted in a controversial decision- one that most fans thought that Rua had won, and also saw the aura of “unbeatable” that Machida had developed slowly disappear round by round.

For all of Machida’s praises as being elusive and a master strategist, it was actually Rua that that was the elusive one in the first fight and the one who seemed to have finally developed a solid strategy and possibly solved the puzzle that is Machida.  The question that is on most fans’ minds now is whether Rua can be at a minimum equally as effective in the rematch.

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A few weeks ago I lamented the loss of mystique in the current crop of fighters, noting how that exciting element has been replaced by a generic, bland, three round stand up fighter.  Well, lo and behold, Lyoto went and proved me wrong with this gem from Tatame magazine:

the undefeated fighter revealed a curious tradition in his family, a secret until then: urine therapy. Once in the day, he and his family drinks their own urine. “My father does that for a long time and bring it to us. People think it’s a joke (laughs). I never said it in the United States because I don’t know how the fans will react (laughs). I drink my urine every morning like a natural medicine”

I know some are balking at this, but let me be the first to say… Awesome.  The elusive, sometimes loved, sometimes hated karate expert is now a notorious urine drinker?  Mystique - thy name is Lyoto.

How have you weathered these thirty days since Kazuhiro Nakamura’s untimely release from his UFC contract, friends? Have you felt adrift? I admit that I have, a little. But I have found some measure of comfort in this disproportionate career retrospective of ours, and I hope you have as well. Disproportionate career retrospectives comforteth like sunshine after rain, it is said, and I hope this has been as true for you as it has been for me.

When we began our look back, we proceeded from three essential Kazuhiro Nakamura truths: (i) that he came to mixed martial arts from a fine career as a judo player, holding championships in international B and C level tournaments, and an impressive third-place showing in the 2001 Japanese national championships; (ii) that he managed to adapt his judo nage waza or throwing techniques to mixed martial arts better than some others (such as his training partner Hidehiko Yoshida or Polish judo legend/walking pharmacy Pawe? Nastula) who possess far more impressive judo credentials; and (iii) that while he has competed well against the best light heavyweight competition this sport has to offer, he has always been on the outside of that group looking in, never quite able to make the leap from his division’s second tier into its highest ranks. Despite having more going for him than most on the level of technique, both grappling and striking, Nakamura has never really turned out to be what it looked like he could be. Imagine Bas Rutten’s disappointment, and what the burden of that must feel like.

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I was watching the fantastic Margarito vs. Cotto fight on Saturday, and all of the talk surrounding Margarito was that nobody wants to fight him. He has an aura around him as a legit tough contender that can damage a money-making reputation. This brought up one name in my head, one fighter in MMA that fits that profile: Lyoto Machida. Lyoto is a fighter that has, in just a short amount of time, made quite a name for himself. Right now, the name is one that high level competition are flat out looking to avoid right now. Lyoto has always had an aura around him, always been met with a certain degree of hype, only to then confuse both fighters and fans.

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