UFC 123: Rampage vs Machida

[Steve]

Pre-champ Machida is a different fighter than post-champ Machida.

How so?

[Rick Modena]

Hughes gets knocked out and he needs to retire? lol. It's funny how quickly people forget he was on a multi win streak. He gets KO'd by one of the best guys in the world and people ask for his retirement like he lost to some nobody can fighter. lmao.

Can anyone else have an opinion? He got beat up by GSP then 6 months later Thaigo Alves had his way with him. He then put on a nice three fight win streak, Serra, Gracie and Almeida, tomato cans? I dont think anyone on the ufc are tomato cans but they were fighters that were more ground game guys. Now we all know that BJ is no tomato can, but his cardio had been questioned. I based my opinion on the way he was knocked out and hes almost 40yrs. old, not everyone is Randy Couture...'H'

[Steve]

Can anyone else have an opinion? He got beat up by GSP then 6 months later Thaigo Alves had his way with him. He then put on a nice three fight win streak, Serra, Gracie and Almeida, tomato cans? I dont think anyone on the ufc are tomato cans but they were fighters that were more ground game guys. Now we all know that BJ is no tomato can, but his cardio had been questioned. I based my opinion on the way he was knocked out and hes almost 40yrs. old, not everyone is Randy Couture...'H'

Of course you can have an opinion, it just your comment didn't make any sense. At that level of competition anything can happen to anyone. Now this comment further proves my point, he can lose, then come back to win several times. Who is to say that he can't do the same thing after losing to BJ?

If his career went the way of say..Tim Sylvia I could see your point. Losing to 2nd and 3rd tier guys, absolutely he should retire. But he's only lost to top level guys, everyone else is still dominates. All that means is the man needs to evolve his game because the best guys have figured out his game.

[Rick Modena]

Yes the guys he beat were top tier guys but more grapplers imo, playing more towards his strengths. I dont believe BJ got lucky but how many times can an older guy get knocked out like that, it was brutal...'H'

[Steve]

Yes the guys he beat were top tier guys but more grapplers imo, playing more towards his strengths. I dont believe BJ got lucky but how many times can an older guy get knocked out like that, it was brutal...'H'

BJ is a good example of my point. Both guys are ground guys, BJ has evolved his game beyond his insane level of BJJ which he rarely even uses at this point of his career. He's learned how to seriously train after going through a period of partying too much and not taking training very seriously. Hughes, well.. has pretty much stayed the same.

IMO, a KO isn't a good measure in which to gauge a fighters ability. It's a moment of luck to hit a fighter on the button to turn off his lights. Hughes is just of capable of KO'n BJ, he just didn't get there first.

Right now Hughes should be thinking to himself, "Ok, this isn't working. I need to do something different with my game or keep my ass on the farm." Hughes could also move up divisions like to middleweight where he could use his natural weight advantage (he's a natural 200lb guy) where he could wrestle more. At 170lbs, he's dealing with guys MUCH faster than he is not to mention the 170lb divison is arguably the most stacked division in the UFC.

[Sean88gt]

How so?

Doesn't seem near as aggressive or calculating in his fights.

And WTF was that stomach poke he kept doing?

[clevelandkid]

Early rumors are Penn vs. Fitch next... I don't know what happens with Rampage / Machida. Maybe Rampage v. Jon Jones and Machida vs Bader or Forrest?

[Steve]

Doesn't seem near as aggressive or calculating in his fights.

And WTF was that stomach poke he kept doing?

Machida does all sorts of goofy shit from his sports karate background. Like the way he moves for example. That's very typical of of point fighters because they are used to scoring with a light hit from the outer range and negates just about any chance of taking a heavy hit. The key to beating Machida is beating him at his own game playing ranges.

Early rumors are Penn vs. Fitch next... I don't know what happens with Rampage / Machida. Maybe Rampage v. Jon Jones and Machida vs Bader or Forrest?

It's hard to believe anything with rumors regarding Fitch because Dana White despises Fitch with a passion. That's the reason you see so few Fitch fights is because Dana White is hoping he will quit and go somewhere else and then DW doesn't have to explain why he fired Fitch likes he wants to.

[94StangFiveO]

It's hard to believe anything with rumors regarding Fitch because Dana White despises Fitch with a passion. That's the reason you see so few Fitch fights is because Dana White is hoping he will quit and go somewhere else and then DW doesn't have to explain why he fired Fitch likes he wants to.

Dana's the one who announced Penn/Fitch in the post fight presser. It's not just a rumor.

[jwalk]

as long as the fights get better! too often lately it seems like guys are just walking around the ring. You cant have a fight with 2 guys who only want to counter punch. Every fight where one guy spends it running away should be the last for him. Screw the point fighting mentality.

[grove rat]