The much anticipated rematch between Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida and Mauricio ‘Shogun Rua’ takes place this Saturday night (8 May) in the Bell Centre in Montreal Canada.
In the first fight in UFC 104 last October, Machida won a controversial decision over Rua and retained his light heavyweight belt where many felt Rua had done enough to take the bout.
What surprised many – including, possibly, Machida – was Rua’s conservative strategy. Being more known as the Wildman of MMA (at least inside the Octagon) he employed a strange mix of counter striking which used leg and body kicks to counter Machida’s lunging karate-style attacks while still moving forward and pushing the action.
Over the course of the fight, these kicks took their toll on Machida and by the fourth round he was visibly battered with welts forming on his ribs and legs. However, the judges obviously felt differently and gave the decision to Machida after a hard fought five-round battle of attrition.
Machida’s record previous had been impeccable. He had absorbed the least strikes in the Octagon and was and still is undefeated.  In the title fight, Rua achieved something no other fighter achieved in tagging and hurting Machida several times in the bout.
So what was Rua’s secret to success? It may have been his decision to counterstrike with Machida or Rua’s relentless attacks on his limbs and body. Yet, it was the conservative style employed by Rua which may have thrown Machida – who probably expected the wild man we have all enjoyed so much in the past – from his own game-plan.
For this Saturday’s bout, Rua’s tactics will need to change for if they remain the same, Machida will have adapted his own game-plan to deal with it. It is more likely that Rua will capitalise on the last fight and try to keep Machida guessing. Machida may expect Rua to counter-strike but it could be more likely that Rua will try to mix up striking with attempted takedowns and clinch work in an attempt to keep Machida off balance.
Setting up punches with kicks proved successful in their first bout yet Rua only used this on a handful of occasions. The same trigger-fast responses to Machida’s offence will prove to be the key for Rua’s success.
For Machida’s part, because his style is so unusual, it will be hard to predict what he plans to do. Rua’s success was due to his ability to counter with fast leg and body kicks as Machida threw punching combinations. So perhaps throwing fewer combinations and rely on single strikes and circling left away from Rua’s power may frustrate Rua and lead him to make mistakes which Machida can capitalise on in later rounds.
In addition, Machida had his most success in the few times he clinched with Rua by delivering hard knees to Rua’s body and he should implement this into his strategy. The last time around proved to be one of the most exciting fights of the year and with luck we can all enjoy a similar barn burner this time around.
I’m shouting for Rua, if only to get a rubber match!
– Stephen Barry
Want more MMA? Check out our profile of Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, the nearly man of the UFC, while a history of the rise and rise of UFC can be accessed here.
Â
