Lyoto Machida vs. C.B. Dollaway: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown
The UFC will travel to South America for the final show of its 2014 campaign.
With it, the promotion brings a former UFC light heavyweight champion and former middleweight title contender in Lyoto Machida to take on rising middleweight C.B. Dollaway.
The matchup poses quite a step down in competition for Machida, whose last fight saw him standing across the Octagon from middleweight champion Chris Weidman. But while Machida is taking a step down, Dollaway may benefit from the rise in competition after securing a two-fight winning streak with victories over Cezar Ferreira and Francis Carmont.
Swipe through the pages as we break down Saturday's UFC Fight Night 58 main event.
Striking
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Few fighters on planet Earth possess the sort of striking abilities Machida does. Dollaway isn't one of them.
Between the blink-of-an-eye punches he'll throw at an opponent looking to bite down and move forward or the lose-your-mouthpiece kicks from the opponents looking to stand back and wait, rarely is a fighter ever safe inside of the cage with a conscious Machida.
Dollaway would be wise to scrap any striking-heavy blueprints for this fight—unless, you know, he's in a rush to catch the redeye out of Brazil.
Edge: Machida
Wrestling
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This is where Dollaway can shine against the former champion. Boasting an NCAA Division I pedigree in wrestling from Arizona State University, the former All-American needs to reach down to his roots to find any sort of success in his first main event slot with the UFC.
Taking Machida down isn't easy, though. Just ask Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, Ryan Bader, Dan Henderson or Mark Munoz. Heck, you could even ask some of the better wrestlers he lost to, and they'd probably tell you the same thing: Taking Machida down and keeping Machida down is difficult. Really difficult.
He's about as elusive as they come in this sport, but even the most elusive grow tired in five-round affairs.
Edge: Dollaway
Submissions
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Neither man is known for his capacity to roll on the mat and force his opponent to tap. They aren't necessarily strangers to the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (Machida is a black belt while Dollaway a blue), but both fighters are more interested in winning by smothering their opponents or leaving them unconscious.
Both have wins and losses by way of submission. In fairness, however, Machida's only submission loss came at the hands (and really, really long arms) of the current pound-for-pound king and light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
On the diamond, the tie goes to the runner. In the Octagon, the tie goes to the guy who ranks higher on the jiu-jitsu hierarchy.
Edge: Machida
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X-Factors
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Dollaway: no-lose situation
As good of a fighter as Dollaway may be, he isn't Machida. He isn't even Michael Bisping.
But not being a can't-miss fighter is sometimes a good thing, especially when facing somebody who was relatively close to donning the gold around his waist just one fight ago. Few people believe Dollaway has what it takes to dispatch Machida in this one, and it's not just because of five spots between the two in the UFC's middleweight rankings.
With these low expectations comes a drive to prove naysayers wrong coupled with the understanding that a loss wouldn't mean the end of the world. A loss to a game Machida could even move him up in the rankings if Dollaway plays his cards right.
In the event Dollaway happens to win this one? He sets himself up for another step up in competition and puts himself one step closer to UFC gold.
Machida: home-field advantage
Dollaway has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Naturally, Machida cannot say the same.
What he can say, however, is he'll be fighting in front of what will likely be about 5,000 of his screaming countrymen. Known for their penchant for mixed martial arts, you can bet the Brazilians inside of Ginasio Jose Correa are going to be doing everything they can to ensure Machida walks out of that cage the victor.
Unless your name is Phil Davis, fighting a Brazilian in Brazil as a non-Brazilian fighter is not an easy task.
Prediction
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A smart Dollaway would walk into this fight with Weidman's blueprint.
He would come in ready to weather the onslaught that naturally comes after moving forward and stalking Machida. He would come in ready to push the former champion up against the cage to prevent him from throwing the strikes he wants to throw. He would take as many kicks and knees to the body as required to shoot in and get The Dragon down on his back.
That's how Dollaway wins this fight.
But every fight starts standing with a good amount of distance between the two fighters, and that's where Machida shines brightest.
Dollaway's best crack at taking Machida down likely comes in the later rounds, but who's to say Dolloway's cardio holds up after the first 15 minutes? Only time will tell, really. For now, we'd be wise to listen to history.
Prediction: Machida wins by unanimous decision
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