Machida Against the World, Well Just the 205 Division: Part Two, Forrest Griffin

Now that Lyota Machida has captured the belt the talk of another long title run in the UFC is beginning the question is these talks justified? In order to find that out you have to analyze the other fighters that will be going against Machida.

Machida’s style is unorthodox to MMA. It is like the Bermuda Triangle, fighters get lost in trying to figure it out. Yet its beauty and grace is like the Sistine Chapel to the fans. 

Any champion is a task for any challenger, but a champion like Machida makes you truly use your strengths because he has shown no weakness. So what fighters pose the greatest threat to Machida’s run as a champion.

When you look at potential threats to a current champion you have to look back at former champions. Forest Griffin was the most recent champion before Rashad. Griffin poses a threat to anyone he fights because of his heart and determination.

If Machida was to fight Forrest, there is no questions that it would be the first fighter he has fought who has more heart than him. Griffin also has done one thing that no one else in the UFC can claim right now, he stood toe to toe with Rampage.

That alone tells you that Griffin can take a punch. Machida is not the power puncher that Rampage is; he is a counter-striker. Griffin is along the same lines but not quite as effective with his counter strikes.

What Griffin showed in his fight with Rampage was that he was willing to stay in to throw blows to land combos. He also was pressing the action to force an opportunity for the counters.

This is exactly opposite of what Machida does. Machida stays at a distance and waits for the opponent to counter. If these two meet you’re going to be looking at chess match because of these conflicts in styles. Machida, however, has the advantage here because Machida is in it to win, while Forrest is in it to win but also to give the crowd a show.

Another thing that Forrest does well is the combos with his leg kicks. He used those to effectively pick apart both Rampage and Rashad. The true power of his kicks was shown early in round two of his fight with Rampage when he buckled him and nearly finished the fight.

He showed the same power in his fight with Rashad when he buckled him in the first round. If Forrest is able land these kicks against Machida, it will be devastating to Machida’s offense. Machida will be unable to mount as much power behind his kicks.

It’s also going to force Machida to fight a closer fight and that is something Machida isn’t used to. Machida has power in his punches but if you take his kicks out of the equation you eliminate a good part of Machida’s countering specialty.

Regardless of Forrest willingness to stand I don’t think Forrest is that suicidal and he will try to take the fight to the ground. Forrest isn’t exactly a ground technician but has shown some decent skills on the ground.

Forrest has seven wins by submission and the majority of them come from rear naked choke. The problem with this is that Machida very rarely gives up his back. I wouldn’t expect to see it to happen in this fight either.

If the fight hits the mat Machida is going to scramble back to his feet. Doing that only puts him at risk of one of the more difficult submissions, the triangle choke. If Machida is going to get caught in anything I would be looking for it to be a triangle choke.

The triangle choke is a deadly weapon against guys trying to stand back up because as they pull back to escape to their feet they get caught in the triangle. If Forrest is going to win by submission this is where it’s going to come from. I don’t know if Machida has the power to pull out of a well-executed triangle choke.

Overall though, I wouldn’t expect this fight to end by submission or knockout. Both fighters are very smart fighters and if anyone is going to get caught it’ll be Forrest when he is trying to make the match exciting.

Both fighters have crazy cardio and can go full speed for five full rounds. If the fight goes to a decision you have to expect it to go to Machida. Machida takes fighters the full fight and picks them apart. That’s what I would expect to happen here.

Forrest still poses a threat to Machida in the fact that he is very similar to Machida in fighting styles. Don’t get me wrong here Machida is unique in the octagon but Forrest loves to counter his opponents just like Machida.

I’m not expecting to see this fight though. Machida declined the opportunity to coach on The Ultimate Fighter against Rampage because he wants to stay busy. So he could be fighting as soon as UFC 103 which would only give Forrest a little over a month to prepare for after his fight with Anderson Silva on Aug. 8 at UFC 101

Even though this one probably won’t happen soon the prospect of the fight still brings some excitement. With the skill of Machida and the heart of Griffin you couldn’t deny that this would be a very entertaining match.