UFC 175: Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida Fight Breakdown
Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman will square off tonight (July 5, 2014) in the main event of the highly anticipated UFC 175. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based event will play host to ‘The Dragon’ attempting to win a belt in his second weight class, and to ‘The All-American’ as he looks to win his first championship fight not against Anderson Silva.
With two contrasting styles and lots of different weapons in the bag for both men, let’s check out how they stack up:
Striking:
Without a doubt, this is Machida’s strongest weapon in the fight, but don’t underestimate the power that Weidman possesses. His brutal KO of Mark Munoz, and the renowned starching of ‘The Spider’ shows us that ‘The All-American’ can pack a wallop. Unfortunately for the champion, he has a very hard target to find. ‘The Dragon’, in my mind, will simply be too hard to catch.
Of course Weidman’s ground striking is on another level, but I don’t think he will be able to match Machida’s speed, timing and counter punches. We’ve seen ‘The Dragon’ lay waste to Ryan Bader, Thiago Silva, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans, Mark Munoz, Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar with his elusive stand-up, but will Weidman be the next victim? Regardless, I think that Machida has an obvious edge on the feet; I’m calling it 70-30 ‘The Dragon’
Wrestling:
Here is Weidman’s bread and butter, and the area that I feel he will try and win this fight. Machida’s abilities on the feet are too unique for ‘The All-American’ to match, and I think he will go back to his days as an NCAA div I wrestler in the main event at UFC 175, or at least he’ll want to. What Machida lacks in specific offensive wrestling, he makes up for with great takedown defense, and has been known to score some good takedowns himself (see the fight with Tito Ortiz).
‘The Dragon’ won’t be an easy target for a double leg, but if Weidman can drag him to the mat, it will be a very long night for Machida. An obvious advantage for Weidman, but slightly negated by the fact that Machida is so hard to grab hold of. 65-35 for Weidman
Submissions:
Although only picking up two submissions as a pro, Machida is a well-versed black belt under Walter Braco. Weidman has three subs and is a brown belt in BJJ under John Danaher. ‘The All-American’ is more likely to look for a sub, as he will most probably want to keep this fight grounded.
Again, Machida comes as a hard target and has only been choked out once, but then Weidman is undefeated. I’m actually going to call this one even, 50-50
The styles would suggest that Weidman vs. Machida is a classic battle of wrestler vs. striker, but don’t be surprised if we see ‘The All-American’ look to test his stand-up abilities, or he may be forced to strike with Machida through an inability to take his man down. If that happens, will it be a short night of work, or will the champion find a way to win?
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