Chael Sonnen vs. Lyoto Machida: Very Early Head-to-Toe Breakdown

MMA’s most notorious bad boy, Chael Sonnen, has gone off on all of Team Black House in recent weeks, via his Twitter account.

Recently, has main target has not been UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but Sonnen has instead decided to make a new enemy out of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Sonnen has routinely referred to Machida as a “karate guy,” and in the past, has called the 205-pound division weak for having a guy like Machida have a title reign in recent memory.

While “The Dragon” has maintained his composure and refused to engage in a verbal war with the controversial middleweight, Machida has stated that he has “no problem” fighting Sonnen as his next opponent.

Assuming this is the case, let’s take a look how these two very different fighters match up.

Striking

As Sonnen has been so quick to point out, Machida’s biggest strength is his elusive karate striking.

Specifically, Machida is a third degree black belt in Shotokan.  Despite this fact, Machida often refers to his own style as “Machida karate,” combining some sumo and wrestling techniques to go along with his precise strikes.

Sonnen is actually a pretty technically sound boxer, at least by MMA standards, but this skill remains seldom seen as wrestling is his preferred fighting style by a wide margin.

Should the fight remain standing for prolonged periods of time, it is pretty clear who will have the upper hand.

Advantage: Machida

 

Wrestling

Chael Sonnen was a two-time Division I All-American wrestler during his time at the University of Oregon.

Sonnen is generally regarded as possessing some of the best takedowns and top control in MMA, and is yet to face an opponent that can match his wrestling ability.

Machida has showcased pretty impressive takedown defense throughout his MMA career, largely due to training sumo wrestling on a consistent basis. 

Nevertheless, Machida has never encountered a high level, relentless wrestler like Chael Sonnen before.

The advantage in this category is once again pretty obvious.

Advantage: Sonnen

Jiu-Jitsu

Machida is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, while Sonnen’s struggles with high level jiu jitsu fighters is well documented.

Sonnen has raised his grappling prowess recently by training in catch wrestling, but he remains highly susceptible to guys who can work submissions off their back. 

In 11 professional losses, Sonnen has been submitted 8 times, with fairly basic jiu jitsu moves such as a guillotine, triangle choke, and a couple different armbar variations.

Machida is a striker when push comes to shove, since despite his black belt in BJJ, he only has two submission victories in 17 professional wins. 

While Machida may not have the BJJ acumen to submit Sonnen, there is no question who is more likely to pull off a submission in this one.

Advantage: Machida

 

Cardio

Both Machida and Sonnen know how to set a methodical pace that plays out to their strengths over the course of a fight, so this is a difficult category to evaluate.

Neither opponent has looked completely gassed in a fight, but both guys looked worn down when they had to go five rounds as opposed to three (against Mauricio Rua (the first time) and Anderson Silva) respectively.

The fighters here have completely opposite styles, as Sonnen is a very aggressive fighter, whereas Machida prefers to patiently defend his opponent’s attacks.

Since Sonnen’s style involves using more energy, Machida gains the slight edge.

Advantage: Machida

 

 

Prediction

While Chael Sonnen only has a clear-cut advantage in one major fighting discipline, Machida has never fought someone with elite MMA takedowns that will relentlessly fight to bring the bout to the ground. 

Machida did knockout a pretty respectable wrestler in Rashad Evans, but “Suga” made the mistake of trying to trade with "The Dragon" one time too many.

Sonnen’s takedowns and ground and pound may not be as effective as they have been with less rounded adversaries, but Uncle Chael’s high level wrestling will prevail one more time here as he fights his first light heavyweight battle since October of 2005.

Sonnen wins via unanimous decision