Lyoto Machida vs. Rampage Jackson

[Drunken Cat]

But the main sticking point being Rashad hasn't earned it, yes he has had two fights again but the main point is he layed and prayed, dry humped, held down Thiago Silva and Rampage and in both fights in the third round he almost got KO and survived ONLY due to the fact his opponents completely gassed out, that isn't a number one contender to me.

No argument from me there. At the same time though, is there a clear #1 contender? I don't think there is. Is there someone you'd preferrably like to see Shogun fight?

[#1Assassin]

But the main sticking point being Rashad hasn't earned it, yes he has had two fights again but the main point is he layed and prayed, dry humped, held down Thiago Silva and Rampage and in both fights in the third round he almost got KO and survived ONLY due to the fact his opponents completely gassed out, that isn't a number one contender to me.

gtfo with that bull****. rashad won convincingly, thats what matters. and he didnt lay and pray on eighter one for that matter. he survived in the thrid because he has a big heart and he worn down his oponents in the previous rounds, dont try to say he was just lucky.

just bcuz there isnt a KO or sub doesnt mean he didnt fight a good fight. against rampage he fought a near perfect fight. he showed great movement in and out and side to side not allowing rampage to get set to punch. then he used feints to keep him off balance and pickied his spots to attack. he stayed eighter on the outside out speeding him or pressed him on his heels against the cage, always taking away his power. and when he had rampage down or againt the cage he worked him with punches and knees, which is why rampage gassed out in the third.

a professional fight is about doing damage without taking damage. other than his slip up in the third rashad fought a near perfect fight, he proved that hes one of the best in the world. maybe not the most entertaining in the eyes of most, but one of the best. and he earned his shot at the title. i personally think hes one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC bcuz of his ability to fight like a professional, not go toe to toe like a bum and wait to get lucky but strategize and operate like a surgeon.

[Left2theliver]

This would be a greeeeeaaat fight if it happened. I've wanted to see this for some time now, but what comes into question with both these guys is their mental situation.

Has Lyoto recovered from what the people all said afte rhis fight fight with Shogun and getting knocked out in the rematch??

Is Rampage focused and passionate enough to put his all into the fight game or is he more focused on making movies and just cashing in on MMA??

I mean just based off their last few fights, I definitely think Lyoto is more focused and stylistically can win the fight. Rampage is one of those guys that, as Sonnen said, "You can't really put a finger on what he excells at and what he brings to the tabel, but he's got an awful lot of wins over top tier guys," one shot from him and you're out, not to mention if he gets his arms around you you're going for a ride onto the canvas. But Lyoto's proven to be much stonger than he looks(see Lyoto vs. Tito), has very good takedown defense, and on the feet can move in and out and is as fast as ever. Stylistically, i love this fight, but honestly i think Rampage's head isn't necessarily in the game, and he's seemed to have somewhat slowed down a lil on his speed...

Lyoto by UD

[venom1]

gtfo with that bull****. rashad won convincingly, thats what matters. and he didnt lay and pray on eighter one for that matter. he survived in the thrid because he has a big heart and he worn down his oponents in the previous rounds, dont try to say he was just lucky.

just bcuz there isnt a KO or sub doesnt mean he didnt fight a good fight. against rampage he fought a near perfect fight. he showed great movement in and out and side to side not allowing rampage to get set to punch. then he used feints to keep him off balance and pickied his spots to attack. he stayed eighter on the outside out speeding him or pressed him on his heels against the cage, always taking away his power. and when he had rampage down or againt the cage he worked him with punches and knees, which is why rampage gassed out in the third.

a professional fight is about doing damage without taking damage. other than his slip up in the third rashad fought a near perfect fight, he proved that hes one of the best in the world. maybe not the most entertaining in the eyes of most, but one of the best. and he earned his shot at the title. i personally think hes one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC bcuz of his ability to fight like a professional, not go toe to toe like a bum and wait to get lucky but strategize and operate like a surgeon.

how about you get the **** outta here, there is a reason why people are saying Rashad hasn't earned it and this Lay and Prey debacle is taking place and that is because Rashad layed and preyed, he didn't attempt **** vs Rampage or Thiago, i saw them fights more than 3 times to know what i am talking about and have had countless convos with people who agree. Nodogoshi said he hasn't got an arguement to that either, he also knows the truth.

[venom1]

No argument from me there. At the same time though, is there a clear #1 contender? I don't think there is. Is there someone you'd preferrably like to see Shogun fight?

Nah there is no clear number 1 contender as this division is stacked, but my proposition would have been that little 4 way thing in my view, but if it came down to a streak and domination only 1 guy stands out in that divison and that in Bones Jones but the UFC's gameplan for him is 100% understandable, he is a prospect and needs to be taken care of and slowly set up.

My theory makes perfect sense though wouldn't you say.

Shogun just had Surgery

Rashad vs Machida in a Rematch, Rampage Vs Forrest for entertainment purposes and to know where they both stand, Rashad vs Machida gets the title shot as Machida needs a third match vs Shogun because although he clearly lost the first one it indeed was very close as i have noticed in the last few months upon replay over replay.

SHOGUN VS ANDERSON SILVA is the main one though, that should be the main focus for 2011.

[#1Assassin]

how about you get the **** outta here, there is a reason why people are saying Rashad hasn't earned it and this Lay and Prey debacle is taking place and that is because Rashad layed and preyed, he didn't attempt **** vs Rampage or Thiago, i saw them fights more than 3 times to know what i am talking about and have had countless convos with people who agree. Nodogoshi said he hasn't got an arguement to that either, he also knows the truth.

ive also seen them more than 3 times. tell u what. were they robberies? no they werent, so rashad must have been doing something. was he doing alot of damage, or trying to finish the fights? no again. but he did score points, enough of them to win both fights. it might not be entertaining to you, thats your opinion and your entitled to it. but rashad still won both fights clearly, and u cant take that away from him.

some fighters go in there and try to finish fights, if they do thats an impressive win most of the time. rashad just doesnt fight like that, he just tries to rack up on points without leaving himself at risk. not always entertaining but very effective. u say he did nothing, he did nothing to finish the fight but he did score plenty of points, if he didnt he wouldnt have gotten the decisions. knees to the legs, punches against the fence, ground and pound, quick jabs etc. meanwhile controling the fight which also scores points. having great defense not allowing his oponents to do much effective striking or grappling, hense leaving his points the only points scored in the fight. making him the clear winner.

u can think it isnt entertaining but u cant say he didnt do ****. he won both fights clearly, against two world class oponents and that earned him a title shot. u dont have to knock your oponent out to win, and all u have to do is win to get a title shot. if u do knock ppl out thats just a plus.

[venom1]

ive also seen them more than 3 times. tell u what. were they robberies? no they werent, so rashad must have been doing something. was he doing alot of damage, or trying to finish the fights? no again. but he did score points, enough of them to win both fights. it might not be entertaining to you, thats your opinion and your entitled to it. but rashad still won both fights clearly, and u cant take that away from him.

some fighters go in there and try to finish fights, if they do thats an impressive win most of the time. rashad just doesnt fight like that, he just tries to rack up on points without leaving himself at risk. not always entertaining but very effective. u say he did nothing, he did nothing to finish the fight but he did score plenty of points, if he didnt he wouldnt have gotten the decisions. knees to the legs, punches against the fence, ground and pound, quick jabs etc. meanwhile controling the fight which also scores points. having great defense not allowing his oponents to do much effective striking or grappling, hense leaving his points the only points scored in the fight. making him the clear winner.

u can think it isnt entertaining but u cant say he didnt do ****. he won both fights clearly, against two world class oponents and that earned him a title shot. u dont have to knock your oponent out to win, and all u have to do is win to get a title shot. if u do knock ppl out thats just a plus.

Convincingly isn't gassing out in round 3 and nearly getting knocked out if it wasn't for your opponent gassing more than you is it? Not to mention Rampage was way overweight before his cut and hadn't fought in a year.

[#1Assassin]

Convincingly isn't gassing out in round 3 and nearly getting knocked out if it wasn't for your opponent gassing more than you is it? Not to mention Rampage was way overweight before his cut and hadn't fought in a year.

he made one mistake in each fight, it was still convincing performances overall. i dont think he gassed much in eighter fight, just made a mistake and got caught. he showed the heart of a champion staying in there, and fighting harder than his oponent even after being rocked. instead of bashing him for getting caught why dont u praise him for showing more heart and determination than both rampage and thiago? u also act like they just gassed all by themselfs, rashad wore them down in the first two rounds. again, not in an entertaining way but in a effective way.

rampage got his weight down in good time and was in great shape for the fight, not to mention highly motivated.

i can tell u just dont want to give him credit though, so i wont argue with u too much.

who did u pick to win thiago vs evans and rampage vs evans? im sure u were saying rashad would get ktfo in both.

[venom1]

he made one mistake in each fight, it was still convincing performances overall. i dont think he gassed much in eighter fight, just made a mistake and got caught. he showed the heart of a champion staying in there, and fighting harder than his oponent even after being rocked. instead of bashing him for getting caught why dont u praise him for showing more heart and determination than both rampage and thiago? u also act like they just gassed all by themselfs, rashad wore them down in the first two rounds. again, not in an entertaining way but in a effective way.

rampage got his weight down in good time and was in great shape for the fight, not to mention highly motivated.

i can tell u just dont want to give him credit though, so i wont argue with u too much.

who did u pick to win thiago vs evans and rampage vs evans? im sure u were saying rashad would get ktfo in both.

Not at all, Rampage looked fat in Primetime and it was clear he had weight issues, highly motivated yes but he hadn't fought in a year, cage rust is a ***** believe me, look at Shogun vs Forrest and vs Mark The Hammer.

Nope unlike that dynamite fool who can't bring up facts and stats and argues by saying 'oh your just jealous my team has good times ahead and yours is heading for the ****hole' without proof, you are actually displaying a good arguement.

In the Thiago Silva fight he was clearly gassed like a ***** because he also had ring rust and didn't want to get KO again because he knew Thiago had the power to do it.

Nope i picked Rashad for both of them via Lay and Pray, i knew what he was going to do, he got KO and wasn't ever going to let it happen again.

I like Rashad, he is one of the better Ultimate Fighters, perhaps the best winner to come out of it, i just don't like his style, fair enough he doesn't take damage and it is a good stratedgy(blah) but it's not fair he gets a title shot because it wasn't convincing enough for a title shot.

Gray Maynard was supposed to fight BJ but he still beat Nate Diaz, he done pretty much the same although he didn't lay and pray, he stood around swearing and getting a few takedowns and he didn't get the shot, so why should Rashad for 2 mediocre performances where he nearly got ko.

[#1Assassin]

Not at all, Rampage looked fat in Primetime and it was clear he had weight issues, highly motivated yes but he hadn't fought in a year, cage rust is a ***** believe me, look at Shogun vs Forrest and vs Mark The Hammer.

Nope unlike that dynamite fool who can't bring up facts and stats and argues by saying 'oh your just jealous my team has good times ahead and yours is heading for the ****hole' without proof, you are actually displaying a good arguement.

In the Thiago Silva fight he was clearly gassed like a ***** because he also had ring rust and didn't want to get KO again because he knew Thiago had the power to do it.

Nope i picked Rashad for both of them via Lay and Pray, i knew what he was going to do, he got KO and wasn't ever going to let it happen again.

I like Rashad, he is one of the better Ultimate Fighters, perhaps the best winner to come out of it, i just don't like his style, fair enough he doesn't take damage and it is a good stratedgy(blah) but it's not fair he gets a title shot because it wasn't convincing enough for a title shot.

Gray Maynard was supposed to fight BJ but he still beat Nate Diaz, he done pretty much the same although he didn't lay and pray, he stood around swearing and getting a few takedowns and he didn't get the shot, so why should Rashad for 2 mediocre performances where he nearly got ko.

i respect your opinion, i guess we will just have to agree to disagree. i personally think they were both rather impressive performances and think that unless andesron silva moves up rashad has the best chance out of all the 205lbers to beat shogun. im looking forward to see it too.

it is very possible rampage was suffering from ring rust, i think with his style he couldnt beat rashad anyways but still. i guess we will see how he does against machida, which ironicly is what the thread is actually about to begin with