The Greatest MMA News Column 12.06.11: The Jones Era vs. The Machida Era

Posted by Dan Plunkett on 12.06.2011

A look at the similarities between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida before they face off at UFC 140 plus news and thoughts on UFC on FOX 2's main events, Bellator to Fridays, Sonnen vs. Bisping and more!



"Welcome to the Machida era."

Those five words spoken by Joe Rogan at UFC 98 in May of 2009 combine to make a heavy statement. After all, most champions are neither fortunate nor skilled enough to hold their top spot long enough for it to be dubbed an "era." Fedor Emelianenko's seven-year reign atop the heavyweight division constitutes as an era. As do Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre's current reigns in their respective divisions. Matt Hughes' run on top of the welterweight division could also be described as an era.

Even though Rogan's statement was bold, many pundits and fans felt a long-term light heavyweight title reign for Lyoto Machida was a near certainty. Using his unorthodox Shotokan Karate in conjunction with black belt level Brazilian jiu-jitsu skill and astounding takedown defense, by the time Machida challenged for the title he had dominated all of his UFC opponents. The Brazilian climbed the UFC ranks against Sam Hoger, David Heath, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. He entered title contention with wins over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Tito Ortiz, and solidified his title shot by defeating Thiago Silva. None of them were able to figure him out; none of them won a single round.

Machida initially gained attention in the mixed martial arts world years earlier, entering the sport as a protégé of Japanese pro wrestling legend Antonio Inoki. He stopped future Ultimate Fighter runner-up Stephan Bonnar in his second pro fight. Ryoto, as Machida was typically referred to then, subsequently knocked out two-time UFC winner and future champion Rich Franklin. It was Franklin's first taste of defeat. Wins over K-1 fighters Michael McDonald and Sam Greco followed. Then Machida met blown-up lightweight BJ Penn in an open-weight bout. In what was probably the closest fight of Machida's early years, "The Dragon" edged out Penn by decision. On year later, Machida made his debut in the United States, out-classing veteran journeyman Vernon "Tiger" White in the short-lived revival of the World Fighting Alliance organization.



By the time Machida challenged then-champion Rashad Evans for the title at UFC 98, some considered him to be unbeatable – at least by the current crop of light heavyweights. Going into the bout, oddsmakers pegged Machida as a 2-1 favorite to win the championship. Machida proved those oddsmakers correct, controlling the fight and knocking out Evans in the second round.

With such a clear-cut victory over the Rashad, the Machida hype was at an all-time high. When new champions are crowned, the natural question to ask is "who can beat this guy?" As it pertains to the overwhelming majority of new champions, that question can be answered, at the very least with a "probably" or "maybe." With Machida, many had trouble answering that question. Instead of pondering which title contenders at the time could give the champion issues, many brought up one fighter's name who could wrestle the belt away from Machida a couple year's down the line. That fighter's name was Jon Jones.

Jones made a big impression on MMA fans and pundits alike with his performance against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94. Perhaps it was just the large stage his coming out party was hosted on (UFC 94 also featured the highly anticipated Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn rematch), but many pointed to Jones as a future champion the moment he landed his soon-to-be trademark spinning back elbow against Bonnar. That year, he would go on to dominate both Jake O'Brien and Matt Hamill. By 2010, he was undoubtedly the hottest prospect in MMA.

In October of 2010, Machida's aura of invincibility unraveled over just twenty-five minutes. Since returning from knee surgery, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had looked anything but spectacular. He eked out over a 44-year-old Mark Coleman and then knocked out Chuck Liddell in a better performance, but there was a question as to how much beating Liddell in 2009 meant. However, with the natural top contender Quinton Jackson taking a spot coaching The Ultimate Fighter, Rua was thrust into a title shot.

Machida entered the bout as a huge favorite, but throughout the fight Rua utilized kicks that seemed to throw Machida off his game. The first three rounds were relatively close, the fourth went to Rua, and the fifth was another close one. Most seemed to score the bout for "Shogun," which doesn't include the three judges, who scored the contest 48-47 for Machida. The announcement of the decision was met with a chorus of boos from the live crowd and drew the ire of many fans. But, whether you think he won the fight or not, the notion of Machida reigning for a long time to come was squashed on that night.

In May of next year, Machida and Rua fought in a rematch. This time it didn't go to the judges' cards, as "Shogun" became the first fighter to beat Machida by knocking him out in the first round.

"The Machida Era," if you could even call it that proved to be short lived. But fans wanting to see the next big thing in the light heavyweight division that stay on top for years wouldn't have to wait very long for their hopes to be raised once again.

Jon Jones fought only twice in 2010, but he finished both fights convincingly and in the first round. His first fight of 2011 was against fellow top light heavyweight prospect Ryan Bader. The ‘TUF' season 8 winner proved to be no match for Jones and he was unceremoniously submitted in the second round. Due to top contender Rashad Evans suffering a knee injury, Jones, just 23-years-old at the time, was put in a title shot against Rua. Jones easily dominated "Shogun" to win the title. That performance, combined with a follow-up win over Quinton Jackson, has led many to believe that nobody in the light heavyweight division can usurp the champion.



There are incredible similarities between Jones today and Machida two years ago. Both were favored going into their first title opportunities; both employed unorthodox fighting styles that their opponents simply couldn't figure out; after each won the title fans were desperate to see Anderson Silva move up in weight and challenge them; and above all else many had expectations for them to dominate for years to come prior to and following their title wins.

Considering those similarities, it's fitting that the two will square off on Saturday night. Jones is constantly improving as a fighter and likely has a ways to go before he reaches his full potential. Machida's fall from grace was unexpected and he followed it up with a decision loss to ‘Rampage' Jackson (though that was either the fault of the judges or the scoring system depending on who you ask, as it was clear Machida was the superior fighter that night). Against Jones, he'll have the opportunity to stop someone from accomplishing what he couldn't, or rather didn't do and it is a huge opportunity for him to redeem himself. Saturday night will be a meeting to two fighters with many similarities, just at very different points in their career.

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The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Thoughts

All things considered, the final Ultimate Fighter Finale on Spike TV was a very good event. In the main event of the show, Michael Bisping battered a tired Jason "Mayhem" Miller and earned a third round TKO win. This was hardly a great performance from either fighter, and Bisping is by no means ready for a title shot, but he did get the job done. There are indications that Bisping's next fight will come on the 1/28 FOX show against Brian Stann. That fight makes sense, but my feeling is that if you're going to put Bisping on the FOX show, have him fight Chael Sonnen. Even in the co-main event slot, that would be a bigger fight than any other on the show. Maybe the thinking is that they can always do that down the line and Bisping-Stann will create a star regardless, but with Sonnen vs. Bisping at least the winner could go against Anderson Silva and do good business – possibly really good business – and the fight itself would draw in viewers. The casual audience doesn't care about Mark Munoz and he's most likely not going to draw money against Anderson Silva. I do like the idea of Bisping vs. Stann, but I think they're missing a big opportunity by not having Bisping fight Sonnen…There has been talk, namely from UFC president Dana White, that Jason Miller may not be brought back after his poor performance, but he's a name fighter, a good character, and he's still better than at least half of the middleweight roster, so I don't see any reason for him not to get another shot.

Diego Brandao submitted Dennis Bermudez in an awesome one round fight to become the featherweight winner of season fourteen. Brandao dropped Bermudez first, and then the latter came back and nearly finished Brandao. As he was working towards a finish, Brandao rolled into a beautiful armbar that sealed the deal. This is right up there with Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley as the best one round fights of the year.

A star was born as John Dodson finished TJ Dillashaw with strikes two minutes into the first round to win the bantamweight final. Dodson has a ton of charisma and is someone you either love or hate. To go along with that charisma, he's a damn talented fighter. I do think his success will be limited in the bantamweight division because he should be fighting at flyweight. Eventually the UFC will open up that division, which has been on their agenda for a year or two now. When that time comes, Dodson will be among the stars of that division with Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.

Tony Ferguson edged out veteran Yves Edwards in a very close decision. Ferguson took the first round and the subsequent two rounds were very close. I can see the argument for either fighter winning the decision and certainly don't see it being the robbery that some saw it as. In the first bout of the main card, Johnny Bedford dominated Louis Gaudinot for two full rounds before the referee stopped it two minutes into the third. I found it amusing that Dana White Tweeted that Bisping vs. Miller was the most one-sided fight in UFC history, when it wasn't even close to being the most one-sided fight on this card. Gaudinot is another guy that should be fighting at flyweight, and it showed here.

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UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida
By the Numbers

4.5 - Years since there has been a light heavyweight champion that defended his belt more than once. That champion was of course Chuck Liddell, who defended the light heavyweight title four times. Then he was defeated by Quinton Jackson, who defeated Dan Henderson before losing the title to Forrest Griffin. Griffin then lost to Rashad Evans, who in turn was defeated by Lyoto Machida. Machida made on successful title defense, albeit by controversial decision against Shogun Rua. They had a rematch seven months later and Shogun took the crown. Then he was defeated by current champ Jon Jones. Jones has made one successful title defense thus far, defeating Quinton Jackson in September. A successful title defense against Machida would mean Jones is the most dominant UFC light heavyweight champion since "The Iceman."

1 - Number of fights Lyoto Machida has won since losing the title. After losing to Rua, Machida dropped a split decision to Rampage Jackson, which was fairly controversial. In April, Machida returned against Randy Couture and unleashed a Karate Kid-esque crane kick to end the legend's career. With Rashad Evans unable to compete in early December due to injury, Machida got the call.

3 - Number of years since Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir's first fight in December of 2008. At the time, Nogueira had still yet to be finished in his career and most didn't give Mir a chance. Mir then knocked Nogueira down three times in less than seven minutes before finishing him with strikes. Since, Nogueira has gone 2-1, defeating Randy Couture and Brendan Schaub. His sole loss in that period came when he was knocked out by Cain Velasquez. Mir has been more active since their first fight, going 3-2. The losses came in title matches to Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, while he was able to defeat Cheick Kongo, Mirko Cro Cop, and Roy Nelson.

9 - Number of months since Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira were originally slated to meet. Nogueira was scheduled to fight Ortiz on a March 26 bout thought to be a do-or-die fight for Tito's career. A cut forced Ortiz out of the bout, and he was replaced by Phil Davis, who defeated "Lil Nog." Ortiz then fought Ryan Bader, scoring a first round upset submission victory. This time, Ortiz's job isn't thought to be in jeopardy barring a poor performance, though he has recently spoke of retirement.

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NEWS!

Bellator moving to Friday nights for season six. Due to the UFC running pay-per-view events on Saturdays, they usually get the bulk of attention from media outlets given that they are the largest promotion around. That hurt Bellator, who has also run on Saturday's this year, and resulted in them not being able to grow their television audience at all since they got started on MTV2. In order to change this, they have made the call to move to Friday nights in 2012…directly competing with The Ultimate Fighter on FX and ‘Fight Night' events. Needless to say, Friday isn't the ideal day for them to run either. Tuesday or Wednesday would probably be ideal.

Evans vs. Davis, Sonnen vs. Munoz official for UFC on FOX 2. In last week's reader poll, 29.29% thought these fights should headline the second FOX show. Slightly more thought Sonnen vs. Munoz should be the sole headliner, but I don't think anyone will complain with an extra fight thrown in. Apparently they're not calling it UFC on FOX 2, but I will because it will make it easier to remember. I already gave my thoughts on Sonnen vs. Munoz in the section I talked about the Bisping vs. Miller fight, so I'll focus on the Evans vs. Davis fight. My gripe with this fight is that if Davis loses, it probably eliminates a contender for Jon Jones in 2012. If Jones gets past Machida and then beats Evans, who has already defeated Davis, who is there to challenge Jones? Surely the UFC will find someone, perhaps even Davis himself, but my point is after Machida the only two fighters in the immediate future that could have interesting fights against Jones are Evans and Davis. Davis losing to Evans will make it harder to sell him as an opponent for Jones down the line, assuming it plays out that way. If Davis wins, it won't be as hard to sell Evans as a future opponent for Jones because of their rivalry. Then again, it's not like they can just sit Davis until he fights Jones, but the promoter in me would have matched him up against someone like Forrest Griffin instead.

Luke Rockhold to defend Strikeforce middleweight title against Keith Jardine. This match-making makes it clear how little depth Strikeforce has on its roster. Rockhold, who defeated Jacare Souza in September for the title, was supposed to fight Tim Kennedy next. Kennedy is hurt, which opens up the door for former UFC light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine. I would have went with a Rockhold-Jacare II before this, but Jardine was probably the second-best option they had. Robbie Lawler, the only other middleweight contender, has lost two in a row and three of his past four fights. That pretty much leaves Jardine, who has never fought at middleweight and has had very little success in recent years.

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it. You can join 115 others and follow me on Twitter if you please. Feel free to leave feedback in the comment box or at the e-mail address below.