Contributor: Benjamin Kohn
In a battle of mythical creatures, the dragon reigns supreme. However, modern technology has spawned the creation of the all-powerful H-bomb which devastates everything in its path. Lyoto, the lifelong martial artist with blackbelts in multiple arts goes up against the sheer horsepower of the modern wrestler and knockout artist in Dan Henderson. Who will reign supreme? Well I, will breakdown every aspect of this fight to help you decide.
Let’s start with Machida who, as we all know, is a Shotokan Karate stylist and it has catapulted him to a Light-Heavyweight Title reign and kept him around the top of the division since then. His striking is powerful, fast, and most of all, elusive. Machida is damn near impossible to put your hands on because of his in-and-out, hit-and-run style of striking. His most recent fight against Ryan Bader was the most beautiful display of patience and counter striking one can hope to see in the UFC. Machida is proficient in all areas of striking be it, kicks or punches, and uses them efficiently, and very effectively. The fact that he is such an accomplished and dangerous striker would make people think the ground is the way to go in a fight. Well, that is not even close to true. Assuming you can take down Machida, which is damn near impossible due to his elusiveness and sumo background, you are entering into the extremely dangerous game of navigating the blackbelts world on the ground. A fight with Machida is one that should scare virtually any fighter at Light-Heavyweight.
Dan Henderson is a man who has seen and done it all in his MMA career. He won a UFC tournament, was an Olympic wrestler in 92 and 96, won a title in two divisions in Pride, and won the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight title at the ripe old age of 40. The only thing that has eluded Dan in his illustrious hall-of-fame career is a UFC belt around his waist. Hendo is 42 years old and is still in the top 3 at Light-Heavyweight which is an amazing feat and a testament to his skill and resiliency. Hendo’s fighting style has evolved over the years and now he has the most feared right hand in all of MMA. His crouched stance and constantly cocked right hand are just waiting to pounce on any mistake made by his opponent. The tiniest error is responded to immediately with a laser-guided right hand that, if it lands, can knock out almost anyone in one punch (aside from Shogun whose head is made of titanium or something). While limited in his striking arsenal, he has managed to win fights anyway because he has honed his style to land his right hand, and when it does land, the dynamics of the fight are immediately changed. Hendo’s wrestling and clinch work are also very solid and he can take down larger and stronger opponents than himself due to his surprising strength for a smaller man. They say styles make fights and this one is a doozy.
Striking: Machida is Shotokan stylist through and through. He uses the in-and-out style that personifies Shotokan, keeps his hands low, and fires away counter punches faster than anyone in the division. He is a multi-faceted striker and uses his kicks as well as his hands. This could be the key to victory for Machida because of the Hendo’s stance (more on that in a moment). The problems with Machida’s stance are few but they are significant. One of the issues is that when he throws the counter punch, he drops his other hand (the years of Shotokan training biting him in the butt there). This allows him to leave his chin hanging out for a big counter. Another issue is that when fighting, he can get a little to patient in waiting and will not attack which leaves a bad impression on the judges. Should this fight go to a decision, he may lose because the judges will look at his retreating and countering style as a lack of aggression. The knocks on his style are few but they are significant and can really affect the fight.
Henderson has a really side on stance to help set up his always cocked and ready right hand. Hendo’s most common combination is an inside left leg kick which stops a circling opponent followed up by that right hand known as an H-bomb. Other than that, Hendo really is limited in his striking techniques. His entire stand up game has become one big set up for the right hand, which is clearly working but still can cause serious problems, specifically against a guy like Machida. Machida can take advantage of Hendo’s stance by continuously kicking his lead leg. This would limit his mobility and lessen Hendo’s chance of landing the right hand. Machida is also faster and more elusive which further lowers Hendo’s chances of landing the right. The only advantage Hendo really has aside from power is the seeming inability to be able to be knocked out. He can be rocked but knocking him out is apparently impossible. The fact that Machida, although no glass chin by any means, has shown that he can be knocked out by, guess what, a big right hand, courtesy of Shogun. Bottom line, in this phase of the fight, Machida has a big advantage and can give Hendo fits for the entire 3 round fight. Hendo’s only chance is landing the right hand and that is a really small possibility against someone like Machida.
Clinch: Well we have a sumo wrestler vs. an Olympic wrestler matchup, what are the odds? One would think that the clinch would be in Hendo’s favor due to his Greco background but Machida has proven to be deadly in the clinch range. His jumping knee strikes are absolutely brutal; just ask Tito Ortiz if you don’t believe me. He is also incredibly strong for someone who could easily make Middleweight if he wanted to. Both Hendo and Machida have very good clinch grappling skills but Hendo doesn’t really have such great clinch striking and uses it more to grind away on the fence or facilitate a takedown. The edge in my opinion goes to Machida for the sole reason of his brutal clinch knees.
Takedown: Hendo has moved so far away from using his wrestling it is rather crazy to think all he could do at one point was wrestle. Both Machida and Hendo have very good clinch takedowns but Machida’s takedown defense is among the best in the UFC let alone his division at 80%. Hendo’s takedown defense is not nearly as impressive at a mere 58% in comparison. The main reason is because Hendo tends to get a little wild and crazy when throwing hands/brawling not to mention when Hendo gets tired, he is not too difficult to takedown. The edge in the takedown game goes to Machida as well.
Grappling: Machida is a very good blackbelt and dealing with him on the ground is no easy task. Hendo’s top game is nothing special in terms of ground and pound and his submission game is rudimentary as well. Machida is a slick grappler although not very submission heavy. His ground and pound as well is not utilized very well as he rarely ends up on top anyway. He mostly uses his ground game to get up if taken down. I doubt this fight will hit the ground unless someone gets dropped so although this edge goes to Machida again, this will most likely not come into play during the fight.
Cardio: Because this is a 3 round fight, cardio will not be as big an issue for Hendo. However, Hendo is known for having a bad gas tank and bringing him into the later rounds is critical for virtually anyone who fights him. Hendo knows this as well which is why he goes for broke when he has you hurt. Machida’s edge in cardio is massive and could play a big factor in this fight should it reach round 3.
Experience: Both have reached the top level of their divisions but experience level definitely goes to Hendo. He has fought everyone and anyone in his 16 year career at multiple weight classes. The guy can just fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. This brings me to my next category.
Toughness: This matters a lot in this fight because Hendo’s toughness is legendary and will cause serious problems for virtually any fighter. Hendo can take shots that would kill normal human beings and I don’t think Machida can finish him. Hendo can definitely crack and finish pretty much anyone not named Shogun and should he hit Machida, it might be nighty-night. Edge goes to Hendo big time.
Final Prediction: This fight is mostly going to come down to Machida baiting Hendo and Hendo obliging, relying on his power and chin. Machida is going to stick and move and take a decision solidifying himself as the number one contender without showing anything that would have anyone believe he can beat Jones in a rematch. Sadly, I think Hendo may retire if loses because any hopes of a title shot are probably gone at that point.
-Ben can be reached at [email protected].
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