Jon Jones will fight for the 4th time this calendar year when he faces Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. This is probably the most interesting style matchup in modern MMA and should be a very entertaining battle. Jones is feeling good about his chances at figuring out the Machida riddle.
Some people might be thinking that Rampage Jackson and Mauricio Rua have beaten Machida, and Jones has beaten Rampage and Shogun. Therefore, what chance does Machida have? Answer: Jones is the rightful favourite, but Machida has more than a puncher’s chance in this matchup.
Machida controls distance very well. His footwork is probably the best in the division, and Jones won’t be able to throw those push kicks. If Machida is constantly circling, Jones will need to keep resetting his feet- throwing that type of kick is not going to work. Machida is not someone who moves forward to exchange like Shogun and Rampage. Jones also has not shown the kind of standing KO power that has given Machida trouble in the past. The standup battle of reach vs mobility does not necessarily favour Jones the way many think.
Which leads to the takedown game. Machida is very good from the clinch, which is where Jones gets most of his takedowns. Rampage was able to defend Bones pretty well from the clinch, and Machida has never been outwrestled in any of his fights- this includes battles against guys like Rashad Evans and Randy Couture. An advantage Machida has is that he isn’t going to be fearing clinching with Jones. If we’re speaking of any and all takedowns, Machida has the best takedown defence among light heavyweights according to the statistics.
Machida needs to be more aggressive in this fight. He nearly stopped Rampage in round 3, but in the judges eyes had lost the 1st 2 rounds. If he is able to get inside and test Jones’ chin, Jones may not have the footwork to close distance and counterstrike Lyoto Machida has as diverse an attack as Jon Jones, and his sumo presents a problem for getting the fight to the ground. Machida is an excellent fighter in all aspects of MMA, and Jones doesn’t have the blitzing power punching style of Shogun that handed Machida his only real losses. Ryu vs Dhalsim has never looked so good.
[...] Jon Jones confident in gameplan against Lyoto MachidaRant SportsJon Jones will fight for the 4th time this calendar year when he faces Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. This is probably the most interesting style matchup in modern MMA and should be a very entertaining battle. Jones is feeling good about his chances at …Jon Jones says he has the blueprint for Lyoto Machida, ready to hand him "even …MMATorchJon Jones has a plan for MachidaABS CBN NewsUFC 140: Jon Jones Says He Is "Up to the Challenge" of Defeating Lyoto MachidaBleacher ReportFightLine.com -MMAmania.com -Bloody Elbowall 14 news articles » [...]
[...] Jones says he has the blueprint for Lyoto Machida, ready to hand him "even …MMATorchRant Sportsall 25 news [...]
[...] Jones says he has the blueprint for Lyoto Machida, ready to hand him "even …MMATorchRant Sports -ABS CBN News -Bloody Elbowall 26 news [...]
The more that I think of this, the more it seems Machida has a chance. But if he doesn’t sttop Jones he is going to have to pepper him for 5 rounds without getting taken down and pounded out.