UFC 129 Fight Card: Lyoto Machida and the 15 Most Elusive Fighters in MMA

Lyoto Machida will go down in mixed martial arts history as the fighter who brought new meaning to the word "elusive."

While most fighters who are at the top of their game demonstrate effective elusiveness, there are yet others who use it to a degree that helps define their success and their persona.

With fighters wearing just 8-ounce gloves, avoiding strikes is integral part of MMA defense. 

Apart from avoiding strikes, being elusive also helps to confound your opponent and permit otherwise inaccessible offensive opportunities.

This is Lyoto Machida and the 15 most elusive fighters in MMA.

Not so Honorable Mention

These are the fighters who teeter towards the other end of the "elusive" spectrum.

That is not to say they are unsuccessful, but they might have a tendency to eat a few more shots than are necessary.....

Chris Leben

Stefan Struve

Josh Koscheck

Matt Hamill

Andrei Arlovski

Forrest Griffin

Chan Sung Jung

Leonard Garcia

Who else am I missing?  I will add them.

15. Roy Nelson

For a big guy, Roy Nelson moves pretty well.

Nelson is an intelligent fighter and puts himself in the right positions to have striking advantages.

Although Junior Dos Santos treated him like a punching bag, Nelson is usually very good at evading punches.

14. Demian Maia

UFC middleweight Demian Maia is a tough fighter to try and take out.

His skills on the ground are nearly without equal, and on the feet he remains disciplined and fastidious (especially since his defeat to Nate Marquardt).

He remains one of the trickiest fighters in the world to impose one's game plan upon.

13. Demetrious Johnson

Bantamweight Demetrious Johnson is considered by many to be the fastest and quickest fighter in the whole UFC roster.

Even against other speed demons like KID Yamamoto, Johnson is able to dodge punches and execute his maneuver before the other guy even knows what happened.

12. Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping likes to get into striking wars, but still he manages an elusive style.

With some of the best footwork in the middleweight division, Bisping out-strikes most of his opponents on a regular basis.

11. Kenny Florian

As one of the taller fighters in the lighter weight divisions, Kenny Florian is an expert at managing range and distance.

By doing this, Kenny can evade threats and impose his own.

10. Georges St.-Pierre

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St.-Pierre is arguably the most complete fighter in MMA today.

Part of being so well-rounded is avoiding offense and being elusive.

St.-Pierre meticulously picks his opponents apart, making sure that their fists find his face much less than the other way around.

9. Jon Jones

"Overwhelming" might be a better word to describe the reason why Jon Jones never gets hit.

Jon Jones is always moving, and that is why his opponents find it so hard to lay a clean blow on him.

Try as they might, Jones is a difficult target to hit.

8. Jose Aldo

At the moment, Jose Aldo seems to be too quick and too strong for anyone in the featherweight division.

Even against the best in the world, Jose Aldo does not get put in compromising situations.

His Muay Thai style may not be the most elusive in the world, but he certainly knows elude attacks and impose his own. 

7. Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber has a unique style of off-balance counters and unpredictability.

The reason that the former Featherweight Champion can exploit those openings is his elusive style and unconventional defense.

Faber knows how to make the cage feel like home and that comfort allows him to move and adjust in any situation.

6. Fedor Emelianenko

Being a small heavyweight has finally caught up to the legendary Russian, but Fedor Emelianenko is still one of the most elusive fighters in history.

He is a heavyweight who moves like a middleweight.

Standing up to the biggest strikers the world has ever seen, Emelianenko has never been knocked out, and that is not just a testament to his incredible chin.

5. Gilbert Melendez

Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez is one of the toughest fighters to hit in the game.

He circles and moves so well that he has become one of the premiere fighters in the world and at dictating the pace of a fight on his own terms.

4. Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar, the UFC Lightweight Champion, might be the quickest man competing in the division.

He enters and exits so quickly, that often times he does not even have to dodge a punch by the time his opponent gets around to throwing it.

3. Dominick Cruz

"Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee."

That sure is what UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz does.

He is so light on his feet and moves around so much that it is enough to make your head spin.

If his opponent does manage to corner him momentarily, Cruz will bob and weave as well as anybody in the game.

2. Anderson Silva

Watching Anderson Silva fight is almost like watching a professional dancer perform while he is simultaneously dispatching an inconvenient thug.

Whether it is bobbing and weaving, moving in and out, manipulating range and engagement, or simply moving out of the way; Anderson Silva, one of the greatest fighters of all time, is also one of the most elusive.  

1. Lyoto Machida

In the world of MMA, the word "elusive" is practically synonymous with the style of former Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida.

His objective is to avoid punishment, while finding the smallest openings of which to strike.

It is a patient and disciplined approach that has helped him take out some of the toughest guys on the planet.

Machida's elusive style has gained him the reputation as being one of the most enigmatic fighters around and one of the most difficult to combat.