Lyoto Machida: Do You Find His Defense To Be Offensive?

In football, they have an expression: "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships." A twist on the expression goes, “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” 

Will this old sports adage soon apply to the UFC?

In the mixed martial arts of old, the second version wouldn't get past the first round. 

Most fighters, and champions, have built their brand, and their fighting style, on being offense orientated. From Mirko Cro Cop to Chuck Liddell, they have delivered devastating strikes that sent their challengers crashing to the canvas.

Even the great BJJ artists aggressively looked to sink in their submissions as soon as possible.

These fighters, and their offense, knew how to sell tickets. And they won plenty of games. But they have also lost in dramatic fashion. When an offensive becomes too haphazard, it turns the ball over. 

Think Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans. If Chuck was a quarterback, then his passes were easily telegraphed, and Rashad intercepted him with a game-changing blow.

So this brings us back to our saying, “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” Currently we have a fighter, in Lyoto Machida, who is known for his defensive prowess. 

And, accordingly, he doesn’t sell tickets. In fact, he can’t even get a ticket...to a title fight, that is.

In sports, like the NFL, they can’t cherry pick their matchups. “Win and you're in” is how the saying goes. Often times the best defensive team will go up against the best offensive team. It’s an interesting matchup of extreme opposites. 

Similar to when a great wrestler goes up against a dominant striker.

In the UFC, in order to sell tickets, they have to put together a great matchup. This often means putting together two of the more offensive-minded fighters. Think Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva or Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar. Randy certainly realizes the benefit of a good defense; it's part of a good gameplan.

So where does this leave Machida? 

Ironically, in order to get the championship he will have to employ more offense. This goes back to the first part of the quote, “Offense wins games.” If he wants to win the “public perception game,” he has to sell us before we will give him the right to be our champion.

At UFC 94, he will have the perfect opportunity against Thiago Silva. 

Silva is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and is a strong Muay Thai fighter, as is typical of Chute Boxe fighters. Chute Boxe fighters are characterized by being extremely aggressive and physical, as well as well-rounded fighters, able to use submissions, punches, kicks, and various grappling styles as needed.

Thiago is 13-0, with 10 of his wins coming via TKO. His other three wins came via submission (2) and decision (1). 12 of his 13 fights were over before the third round.

Lyoto is also 13-0. Three of his wins come via TKO, two via submission, and eight via decision. Nine of his 13 fights were decided by the judges. In stark contrast, if you got the chance to see Machida vs. Franklin, you know very well Lyoto can be  extremely offensive; he just chooses not to be.

If there has ever been a contrast in offensive vs. defense, this is it. So something’s got to give. 

Lucky for Thiago, this isn’t a championship bout, because defense wins...Well, I think you’ve got it.

Silva will certainly push the pace against Machida. He has three rounds to TKO him or possibly submit him. The latter seems very unlikely. Machida will look to employ his "get-in-get-out" style of fighting, as he looks to strategically score points on his opponent. 

He will be happy with a clean decision win.

The question is, will the UFC crowd be happy? 

In Rome, the mob ruled, and while Caesar Dana White rules the land, popular opinion (marketing) determines which gladiators get to fight in the coliseum.

In the end, while you may find Machida’s strategy boring, his record clearly isn’t. Wins over Stephan Bonner, Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Rameau Sokoudjou, and Tito Ortiz are growing evidence that a good defense can score a win over worthy opponents. 

But it doesn’t sell tickets. 

And in the UFC, that may keep the old sports adage from coming to fruition for this lonely fighter.