UFC Fight Night 70 Preview: Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero
UFC Fight Night 70 is set to go down this Saturday (June 27, 2015) from Hollywood, Florida presented live on FOX Sports 1 featuring a pivotal middleweight main event between No. 4-ranked former UFC light heavyweight champion and former middleweight title challenger Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and No. 6-ranked Yoel “The Soldier of God” Romero.
With each man having something to prove, and each trying to remain relevant in the crowded 185-pound rankings, it should be a close contest between two of the division’s elite. Without further ado, check out LowKickMMA’s Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero breakdown below:
Striking
This is the area where “The Dragon” shines. Possessing an unpredictable karate background, the southpaw has a made a career off of his unpredictable movements and unparalleled timing. Machida also has a lethal arsenal of kicks that can end fights as seen in his finishes of Mark Munoz and CB Dolloway. Known mostly as a counter puncher, “The Dragon” must establish his range against Romero, something he was unable to do in his last bout.
Romero on the other hand, is in no way a weak striker. Possessing a monstrous frame that makes him look like a bodybuilder, “The Soldier of God” has the ability to end a fight at any moment with his power. With eight knockout wins to his name, I wouldn’t count Romero out of a striking battle, however, when looking at it from a technicality and experience standpoint, “The Dragon” is the superior striker. 60-40 Machida
Takedowns
On the contrary, this is Romero’s bread and butter. As a Cuban Olympic silver medalist, “The Soldier of God” is one of the very best wrestlers we’ve ever seen in mixed martial arts (MMA), and it shows as he has been able to simply rag doll some of his opponents.
The problem Romero may have, is that Machida’s takedown defense is some of the best around. Using his aforementioned movement and timing, “The Dragon” is able to shrug off 76.47% of takedowns.
Despite his strong takedown defense, at the end of the day, Romero is simply the better wrestler and if he gets a hold of Machida, there’s no doubt in my mind that the fight will go the mat. 60-40 Romero
Submissions
Although Romero has the advantage when it comes to getting the fight to the ground, once it gets there I would have to give the submission advantage to “The Dragon”. Romero has no formal rank in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and has no submission wins on his record.
Machida on the other hand, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with two submission wins, but he also proved in his last bout that he could be susceptible to the submission. If the Brazilian is put on his back, I don’t necessarily see him locking up a submission due to Romero’s top-heavy pressure, nor do I see Romero going for a submission, but at the end of the day I’d have to give “The Dragon” the advantage. 60-40 Machida
Well it seems as if we have an interesting main event on our hands this weekend between two men with contrasting styles. Can Machida bounce back and prove he still belongs, or will Romero earn the biggest win of his career over the former champion?
