Shogun Rua: Is he Lyoto Machida's "Final Boss"?
fi?nal boss [fahyn-l bos]
Noun
1) Usually the main antagonist in the story, at the very end of the game.
If, at UFC 104, the Dragon can defeat Rua, the current UFC LHW champ will have been tested by virtually every major martial arts style set, and have survived unscathed. Future contenders to his title will bring little in terms of major new challenges. All aspects of Lyoto's game will have been thoroughly tested. A three year cruise to a P4P immortality would seem nearly inevitable.
Lyoto, in accumulating a 15-0 record has seemed nearly invincible; an untouchable, elusive ghost. However, those dedicated enough to analyze the Dragon's game have speculated that there are two potential holes in Lyoto's armour or areas that have not been fully tested: These are 1) in a dangerous clinch and 2) on his back against a BJJ black belt practitioner.
Shogun Rua possesses both these deadly weapons in his arsenal and in a major way.
Until now, the most damage Lyoto has ever absorbed has been from shots in the clinch, from short elbows, abdomen shots and very near misses as he exits the clinch. Former UFC LHW champ, Tito Ortiz found his most success in the clinch, landing several shots to the body. Llikewise, Nakamura managed to land few short damaging elbows. This area of his game needs to be tested further by an experienced and aggressive Muay Thai Striker.
Secondly, he has yet to be extensively tested on his back against a seasoned BJJ practitioner. Mostly due to Lyoto's world class takedown defense, Lyoto has been on his back all of about 30 seconds over 7 fights in the UFC. We need to look way back to May 2004 when he faced Sam Graco, the powerful K1 striker. Lyoto spent long periods of the fight on his back against his heavier opponent and found it difficult to execute submission attempts off his back or even get the fight back to his feet. Lyoto himself has admitted that Greco was his toughest fight to date. The fight went to a split decision, his closest fight to date.
Enter Mauricio Shogun Rua.
If we were to design a fighter to test these last two areas of Lyoto's game, you couldn't do much better than Shogun Rua. In Shogun, we have a very aggressive Muay Thai with strong and dangerous clinch. He is also a BJJ black belt with the uncanny ability to get the fight to the ground. His use of reaps and leg sweeps are very similar to those used by Soko and Nakamura, the only fighters in the UFC to manage takedowns on Lyoto. If Shogun has been watching tape on Lyoto, he should recognize that his own strengths are potentially Lyoto's weaknesses. He would do well to target Lyoto in these two areas.
For evidence, look to Pride Shockwave 2006 where he faced Kazuhiro Nakamura, a highly respected Judoka. It is interesting to look to Nakamura as he is the only common fighter that Lyoto and Shogun have faced in the past. It is arguable that Shogun did better against Nakamura that Lyoto did, although Shogun also absorbed more damage than Lyoto. However, the Judoka was unable to solve Shogun's clinch and in the process got brutalized by a series of knees and thrown to the ground multiple times. Shogun proceeded to have his way with the Judoka over three rounds, attacking with a relentless Jiu Jitsu game, punctuated with ground and pound, and the occasional trademark soccer kick.
Come UFC 104, look for Shogun to attempt to engage Lyoto in the clinch. Look for the Muay Thai strikes and the Muay Thai plum. Look for the typical Shogun outside leg reap takedown attempts. And if Shogun can solve this much of the puzzle, we may finally get to see Lyoto tested on his back against a quality submission grappler.
If Lyoto can pass all these challenges, he will have rigorously tested in virtually every aspect of MMA. Should Lyoto prevail, the path to P4P glory will have been unveiled.
Mousasi will soon be a challenge. Mousasi is legit. Inside the UFC? i guess he can get caught by a punch ala GSP/Serra, which could come from, uh, whoever gets in the ring with him. That said, he is head and shoulders above the 205 comp right now (with the exception of anderson.)
mousasi is not even top 10. go away.
Machida is actually better than Shogun on the ground.
We havent seen Shogun go deep into a fight since Coleman, and his gas tank looked to be empty then. We didnt get to see if his cardio has inproved in the Chuck fight. Cardio could be a huge factor if Shogun has to chase Machida down for 4-5 rounds
IrishFighter110 - LoL at Machidas ground being better than Shoguns. Shogun beat Nogeira on the ground and mounted Overeem and pounded him out from there. His bjj and wrestling is so underated.
Machida beat BJ Penn on the ground.
Machida also beat Rafael Lovato Jr in a straight grappling match. Look him up.
NarlyPersianDude -D0N Johnson - mousasi is not even top 10. go away.
You are a dummy. Easily.
You're a cock smoker. easily.
He has not beat a single top 15 LHW.
IrishFighter110 - LoL at Machidas ground being better than Shoguns. Shogun beat Nogeira on the ground and mounted Overeem and pounded him out from there. His bjj and wrestling is so underated.
Forrest Griffin by RNC
Shogun is Lyoto's final challenge until the next challenger comes along.
D0N Johnson -IrishFighter110 - LoL at Machidas ground being better than Shoguns. Shogun beat Nogeira on the ground and mounted Overeem and pounded him out from there. His bjj and wrestling is so underated.
Forrest Griffin by RNC
lol, yes! But it was because of his knees, and he just got married, hadn't you heard? lol
mousassi, luis cane, lil nog
9 times out of 10, I don't think that the Pride Shogun--i.e. Shogun at the top of his game--could even beat Machida...and I am not 100% convinced that the Pride Shogun is back. His only solid performance in the UFC has been against a once-phenomenal ex-champ on a losing streak (except for the amazing Wandy fight) who was so clearly on the way down that Shogun retired him.
"We need to look way back to May 2004 when he faced Sam Graco, the powerful K1 striker. Lyoto spent long periods of the fight on his back against his heavier opponent and found it difficult to execute submission attempts off his back or even get the fight back to his feet."
That was FIVE YEARS AGO. You don't think Machida's ground game has improved in the last FIVE YEARS?
ttt
"LoL at Machidas ground being better than Shoguns. Shogun beat Nogeira on the ground"
Shogun laid on Rog and threw the occasional Superman punch that missed. He also struggled with Nakamura and Machida owned him.
"Mousasi is NOT top 10 in LHW by far. But he is #2 as a MW."
How'd he get to #2 at 185?
well - this is where rankings get a bit twisted. Shogun and Forrest may be ranked higher, but I would put my money on Mousasi against both of them.
I think Shogun will get taken out on the feet. He gets a little too wild at times, which is the worst thing to do against Machida.
Shogun went from getting a title shot because he was at the right place at the right time to being the Final Challenge. Gotta hype the fight.
lovato is way smaller then Machida, and if you saw the match you wouldn't think it proved anything about his guard
i dont understand why someone would need to talk up Machida's ground game when nobody has really even seen it.
I'd like to see Shogun hell-bent on kicking the shit out of Machidas legs, work the clinch and take it to the ground. No wild-western-style-exchanges. That'd be Shogun's best shot IMO he can do a shitload of damage with just a few blows, but if he lets loose completly, Machida is gonna destroy him with accuracy