We really gonna act like Hendo is going to have anything to offer Lyoto this weekend?

[John L]

1. Lyoto is going to make him look foolish in the striking department
2. Dan will not land one takedown
3. Lyoto will probably land a few takedowns and keep top control on Dan
4. Rinse and repeat to a lopsided UD for Machida, maybe a even a sub in the 3rd.

Feel free to bump my wizardry this Saturday. Machida is going to dominate this fight.

[KidDynamite]

Yeah we know.

[mmondo13]

I think there are two outcomes that can happen.

1. Amazing KO by Henderson.
2. Boring ass fight because Machida runs away the whole fight, landing an occasional strike. Machida doesn't do much damage but wins a unanimous decision.

[DFS200]

1. Lyoto is going to make him look foolish in the striking department
2. Dan will not land one takedown
3. Lyoto will probably land a few takedowns and keep top control on Dan
4. Rinse and repeat to a lopsided UD for Machida, maybe a even a sub in the 3rd.

Feel free to bump my wizardry this Saturday. Machida is going to dominate this fight.

He's gonna have to catch em. Hendo has some pretty relentless forward pressure when he's confident, and he possesses a pretty good blitz, as seen early in the Shogun fight.

For Machida:
-Sting him early so he turns defensive and stops moving forward.
-Drill wrestling defense from the clinch.
-Keep your movement on point when he rushes forward, see M. Bisping.

For Hendo:
-Drill wrestling defense.
-Keep moving forward and don't get sloppy.

Hendo isn't appealing on paper, but gives everybody a fight and the KO is always a threat so he's not the dog you think he is. We've seen Rampage walk Machida back and win a close decision, I'd say Hendo is Rampage's superior.

[jamez123]

I think there are two outcomes that can happen.

1. Amazing KO by Henderson.
2. Boring ass fight because Machida runs away the whole fight, landing an occasional strike. Machida doesn't do much damage but wins a unanimous decision.

This. Machida isn't finishing Hendo. Dan isn't going to play games, he will come after Machida and make it a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if the old man pulled off the KO.

We've seen Rampage walk Machida back and win a close decision, I'd say Hendo is Rampage's superior.

At this point.. he def is.

[John L]

He's gonna have to catch em. Hendo has some pretty relentless forward pressure when he's confident, and he possesses a pretty good blitz, as seen early in the Shogun fight.

For Machida:
-Sting him early so he turns defensive and stops moving forward.
-Drill wrestling defense from the clinch.
-Keep your movement on point when he rushes forward, see M. Bisping.

For Hendo:
-Drill wrestling defense.
-Keep moving forward and don't get sloppy.

Hendo isn't appealing on paper, but gives everybody a fight and the KO is always a threat so he's not the dog you think he is. We've seen Rampage walk Machida back and win a close decision, I'd say Hendo is Rampage's superior.

Honestly, I barely give him a punchers chance in this fight. He's too slow and he will probably gas, especially if Machida takes him down. I also think Machida learned his lesson from the Rampage fight, and Rampage actually still gave a chit then and I would still pick that Rampage to beat Hendo. The Rampage of today, not so much.

[jamez123]

Honestly, I barely give him a punchers chance in this fight. He's too slow and he will probably gas, especially if Machida takes him down.

It's only a 3 round fight.. if it were 5 I'd be more inclined to agree. I think you're really underestimating Dan here.

[John L]

It's only a 3 round fight.. if it were 5 I'd be more inclined to agree. I think you're really underestimating Dan here.

Not at all, I think he's one of the best ever. Machida just makes it stylistically nearly impossible for him to win.

[DFS200]

Honestly, I barely give him a punchers chance in this fight. He's too slow and he will probably gas, especially if Machida takes him down. I also think Machida learned his lesson from the Rampage fight, and Rampage actually still gave a chit then and I would still pick that Rampage to beat Hendo. The Rampage of today, not so much.

I've heard enough about old Rampage, let's talk present-day Machida, a fighter who has looked dynamic against fighters of decent caliber, but inconsistent against top guys. He holds wins over Randy and Bader spectacularly, but their striking is nothing to marvel at, he's been knocked out by Shogun, outclassed by Jones, and outpressured by Rampage in recent years. Machida is no longer riding a storied unbeaten streak, and Hendo is at the pinnacle of his career after wins over Shogun, Fedor, etc. Durable guys like Tito, Shogun, Page have took Machida the distance before, and Hendo could pull this out just as easy as Lyoto could clown on him.

[Charuto222]

It's only a 3 round fight.. if it were 5 I'd be more inclined to agree. I think you're really underestimating Dan here.

Nobody is underestimating Dan, he's a great fighter, one of the best ever infact. The consensus is that Machida will make him look worse than he really is because Dan's game plays right into Machida's hands.

Hendo's striking defense is abysmal, and Machida's accuracy is second to none and has KO'd multiple opponents who have 0 Ko losses other than when they fought him. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone if Machida finishes Hendo, his finishing power and ability to counter + Hendo's wild aggression and constant forward pressure = serious trouble for Hendo.

Hendo's best chance is a hail mary overhand right and while he's much, much better at pulling that off than just about anyone else in the game, Machida is the wrong opponent to bring that kind of game against.

[John L]

I've heard enough about old Rampage, let's talk present-day Machida, a fighter who has looked dynamic against fighters of decent caliber, but inconsistent against top guys. He holds wins over Randy and Bader spectacularly, but their striking is nothing to marvel at, he's been knocked out by Shogun, outclassed by Jones, and outpressured by Rampage in recent years. Machida is no longer riding a storied unbeaten streak, and Hendo is at the pinnacle of his career after wins over Shogun, Fedor, etc. Durable guys like Tito, Shogun, Page have took Machida the distance before, and Hendo could pull this out just as easy as Lyoto could clown on him.

I think present day Machida is better than he's ever been. He's learned from his losses and is hungrier than ever. He got ko'd by Shogun but that Shogun was faster and more diverse than Dan, sadly as a Shogun fan I can say that if he rematched Lyoto these days he'd likely get outpointed all night. He got outpressured by Rampage because he was too tentative after getting knocked out for the first time, I just don't think he'll allow himself to be outpressured in this fight. Hendo is durable and he probably will take Machida to the distance, but he'll be on the wrong end of a decision.

[IAmBatman]

I've heard enough about old Rampage, let's talk present-day Machida, a fighter who has looked dynamic against fighters of decent caliber, but inconsistent against top guys. He holds wins over Randy and Bader spectacularly, but their striking is nothing to marvel at, he's been knocked out by Shogun, outclassed by Jones, and outpressured by Rampage in recent years. Machida is no longer riding a storied unbeaten streak, and Hendo is at the pinnacle of his career after wins over Shogun, Fedor, etc. Durable guys like Tito, Shogun, Page have took Machida the distance before, and Hendo could pull this out just as easy as Lyoto could clown on him.

[DFS200]

I think present day Machida is better than he's ever been. He's learned from his losses and is hungrier than ever. He got ko'd by Shogun but that Shogun was faster and more diverse than Dan, sadly as a Shogun fan I can say that if he rematched Lyoto these days he'd likely get outpointed all night. He got outpressured by Rampage because he was too tentative after getting knocked out for the first time, I just don't think he'll allow himself to be outpressured in this fight. Hendo is durable and he probably will take Machida to the distance, but he'll be on the wrong end of a decision.

If Machida comes with good offensive pressure (uncharacteristic of Machida) mixing up takedowns and dynamic striking I think he'll pull it out, but watching Dan's fights, the guy just never gets embarrassed like this thread suggests he will. I will be picking Hendo in this fight because there is no recent evidence that suggests he won't walk him down and throw bombs (as Machida attempts to play cat and mouse with his karate while trying to duck under the flurries for a takedown, a strategy that is playing with fire at best).

[tudge]

Hendo via KO in the first. All you bitches crying about it not being a 5 rounder will see it don't even matter.

[jamez123]

Nobody is underestimating Dan, he's a great fighter, one of the best ever infact. The consensus is that Machida will make him look worse than he really is because Dan's game plays right into Machida's hands.

Everyone said the same thing about Machida vs Rampage.. and machida looked like ****. Dan is still much better than rampage was during that fight.

Hendo's striking defense is abysmal, and Machida's accuracy is second to none and has KO'd multiple opponents who have 0 Ko losses other than when they fought him. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone if Machida finishes Hendo, his finishing power and ability to counter + Hendo's wild aggression and constant forward pressure = serious trouble for Hendo.

You can't compare Hendo's legendary chin to anyone Machida has finished.

[John L]

Hendo via KO in the first. All you bitches crying about it not being a 5 rounder will see it don't even matter.

I will be picking Hendo in this fight

If Machida comes with good offensive pressure (uncharacteristic of Machida) mixing up takedowns and dynamic striking I think he'll pull it out, but watching Dan's fights, the guy just never gets embarrassed like this thread suggests he will. I will be picking Hendo in this fight because there is no recent evidence that suggests he won't walk him down and throw bombs (as Machida attempts to play cat and mouse with his karate while trying to duck under the flurries for a takedown, a strategy that is playing with fire at best).

I think the opposite is going to happen, Dan is going to come at Machida being really aggressive and slow and will get countered all night. The only way Machida gets caught imo is if he gets over aggressive himself and gets countered for his troubles, but even then I don't think it will happen.

[DFS200]

[I think the opposite is going to happen, Dan is going to come at Machida being really aggressive and slow and will get countered all night. The only way Machida gets caught imo is if he gets over aggressive himself and gets countered for his troubles, but even then I don't think it will happen.

Your homework for this week is to rewatch some Hendo fights

[Charuto222]

Everyone said the same thing about Machida vs Rampage.. and machida looked like ****. Dan is still much better than rampage was during that fight.

You could just as easily argue that A) Machida won that fight, and B) He wasn't his usual self and had an apparent case of punch-eye from just having suffered his first KO loss.

Also, calling Dan "much better than Rampage was during that fight" is impossible to actually quantify. I would argue that Rampage has always had very good striking defense and is much harder to counter strike against than Hendo, and he lacks the same tendency to get reckless.

You can't compare Hendo's legendary chin to anyone Machida has finished.

A chin isn't enough to stop you from being KO'd against someone with Machida's finishing power, you have to have superior defense and the ability to roll with punches. Hendo has neither. Great chin, sure, but even the best chin will eventually break if it keeps walking into counters and power shots. It doesn't matter how great your chin is if you get caught coming forward.

[John L]

Your homework for this week is to rewatch some Hendo fights

I've been following Dan since I became an MMA fan and have seen a lot of his fights from even before then. I have seen nothing in his style which would lead me to believe that he shouldn't be a big underdog against Machida, unless Machida decides to brawl. He has good timing with his strikes and very good takedowns, but Machida has better timing, is faster, more diverse, and has great TDD.

[jamez123]

A chin isn't enough to stop you from being KO'd against someone with Machida's finishing power, you have to have superior defense and the ability to roll with punches. Hendo has neither. Great chin, sure, but even the best chin will eventually break if it keeps walking into counters and power shots. It doesn't matter how great your chin is if you get caught coming forward.

Dan has taken shots from guys who hit much harder and finish much better opponents than machida ever has.

Perhaps you forget that Machida got his lights turned off by the same guy Hendo smashed the first 3 rounds of their fight and sent him to the doctor's office for some reconstructive surgery lol.

[DFS200]

I've been following Dan since I became an MMA fan and have seen a lot of his fights from even before then. I have seen nothing in his style which would lead me to believe that he shouldn't be a big underdog against Machida, unless Machida decides to brawl. He has good timing with his strikes and very good takedowns, but Machida has better timing, is faster, more diverse, and has great TDD.

Yes Machida's skills look better on paper, yes he is faster than Dan, but that does not make Dan slow, and Dan's less tangible assets are the ones that will win him this fight if he can create disorder in Machida's style with his aggression.

Best way I can characterize this fight:
-If sh*t goes down, Hendo wins
-If sh*t doesn't go down, Machida wins

[John L]

Dan has taken shots from guys who hit much harder and finish much better opponents than machida ever has.

Perhaps you forget that Machida got his lights turned off by the same guy Hendo smashed the first 3 rounds of their fight and sent him to the doctor's office for some reconstructive surgery lol.

He has, but it is definitely possible for Machida to knock out Dan. I don't think he will, but he definitely can. And Henderson>Shogun>Machida is just MMA math.

[Charuto222]

Dan has taken shots from guys who hit much harder and finish much better opponents than machida ever has.

Perhaps you forget that Machida got his lights turned off by the same guy Hendo smashed the first 3 rounds of their fight and sent him to the doctor's office for some reconstructive surgery lol.

But he's never run into a counter from someone who counters like Machida, and he's never been caught charging forward by someone who can make you pay for it like Machida can.

But hey, good point that Hendo beat Shogun who beat Machida. Especially since Rashad beat Rampage and Rampage beat Machida which means if Machida and Rashad ever fought then clearly Machida wouldn't stand a chance against Rashad...

[Addthefun123123]

hendo's gas tank is gonna force him into possible retirement situation

[IAmBatman]

One thing is for certain.


There's going to be some serious chirping in the picks thread after this one.

[tudge]

Yes Machida's skills look better on paper, yes he is faster than Dan, but that does not make Dan slow, and Dan's less tangible assets are the ones that will win him this fight if he can create disorder in Machida's style with his aggression.

Best way I can characterize this fight:
-If sh*t goes down, Hendo wins
-If sh*t doesn't go down, Machida wins

Faster in terms of both hands. But I don't think anyone matches the speed of Hendo's right.

Remember his Babalu KO? How often do you seen clean KO from one punch in guard. Could barely see his right hand it was so fast.

One thing is for certain.


There's going to be some serious chirping in the picks thread after this one.

I'm glad that it's so divided.

[jamez123]

And Henderson>Shogun>Machida is just MMA math.

That's true.. but it's also their most recent common opponent. Shogun's got excellent striking/power in his hands and Hendo had no problem standing with him. Machida on the other hand..

But he's never run into a counter from someone who counters like Machida,

When he faced Rampage, he was one of the best counter strikers in MMA... didn't get knocked out. Took Fedor's best shot.. didn't get knocked out...

[seanb1979]

dan always has a chance but yeah, it doesnt look good for him... machida may be his worst possible matchup aside from jones himself

[nevergain]

But he's never run into a counter from someone who counters like Machida, and he's never been caught charging forward by someone who can make you pay for it like Machida can.

So true. It's not like Hendo fought Silva

[Charuto222]

So true. It's not like Hendo fought Silva

And he would've been KO'd/TKO'd had he not flopped to his back and given up a submission.

Same with his fight against Lil Nog.

His chin is breakable.