Alright folks, who have you got and how do you see it going down?

I've got the dragon. I think shoguns style plays into his hands well. Machidas conditioning is extremely good, and he should be able to handle shoguns pace and pressure, which i think is what shoguns going to try and do. And thats apply constant pressure.

Shoguns conditioning needs to be better than what we have seen of him in the ufc thus far, if he is going to stand a chance of successfully pulling this one off.

The difference in this fight is that shogun usually overwhelms opponents with this style and pace, whereas that is what everyone tries to do to machida. And so this will be another case of machida circling away, picking his spots and capitalizing on oppenings that shoguns aggression will create. Basically, this will be another day in the office for the karate kid.

Not so sure machida will stop shogun, but i expect to see a points landslide win. But who knows. I think machida has certainly settled into the octagon well, and he is becoming a more exciting fighter, finishing his fights with clinical precision like a surgeon. A stoppage wouldnt surprise me either, but for the sake of making a prediction i will stick with the points win.

i guess it really depends on shogun's chin.. if he could resists machida's power he could possibly win by decision

Machida has never lost a round. He only gets hit on average every 2 or 3 minutes, which is an amazing display of defence. I can't see shogun pulling out a points win in this. He is going to need to take machida out.

Machida only has 5 KO's in his career, and nearly twice as many decisions; Shogun has never been KO'd, and never come close to being KO'd. I don't think Shogun's chin should be questioned here.

Stamina is the key.

Shogun must win by stoppage. He's given no indication that he can go late into fights in the UFC. Shogun will look good early, and has his best chance for victory within the first 2 rounds.

If Machida makes it out of those 1st two rounds, he has a very good chance of decisioning Rua. He won't submit him because he doesn't have the ability, and he won't KO him either. Better strikers than him have tried and failed. (That would be Alistair Overeem, in case anyone is wondering.)

nobodies beating machida right now... no body....

I usually pick the favorite in MMA matchups...but I'm gonna go with Rua here...

I think The Shogun of Pride will resurface, The Dragon will be off, and he will stretch him within 2 rounds...

care to back up that statement on the ps3 ceo?....lol...

against YOU?...anytime....

JBESHADY.

I ain't hard to find...Owning in Guitar Hero 5 right now...

lol.. i liked that jbeshady... lol...

got news for you tho... lil cuzz is down here from houston so if it gets too rough.. well, you know.... lol... jk...

I cannot believe some of you think Shogun has any shot. It is apparent to me that Dana set this match-up as a way to give the Dragon an easy first title defense. The dragon is the new wave of fighter, and the ufc can see that. Anyone noticed that almost all of the Pride transplants have basically sucked. UFC has much better talent than Pride ever did. Dragon has been trained since birth to fight and win, and lives a samurai lifestyle because fighting is all that matters in his world. Shogun had a good run in a lousy fight league, and his lack of conditioning shows how much he has lost his passion for this. Shogun does have an iron jaw, but so didn't Rashad. Dragon by stoppage in second round.

PRIDE
Anderson Silva
Quinton Rampage Jackson
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Dan Henderson

In Pride Anderson Silva was getting subbed by B fighters like Daiju Takase. (Look it up.) Rampage Jackson was just a dirty cumrag for Chute Boxe. (Again, look it up.) Big Nog was a good fighter who would never again hold a world title, thanks to all-time great Fedor Emelianenko.

Suddenly, these fighters are in the UFC and they DOMINATE. Coincidence?

PRIDE
Emelianenko Fedor - Univerally recognized as the best heavyweight in the world today. (And in history.) Current WAMMA world champion.
Alistair Overeem - 2nd tier PRIDE fighter, CURRENT Strikeforce world heavyweight champion.
Murilo "Ninja" Rua - A 2nd tier fighter in PRIDE, became EliteXC's first middleweight champion.

PRIDE
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix champion; currently challenging for the UFC's Light Heavyweight title

Has wins over:

Rampage Jackson - Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - 2-time gold medalist in boxing at the South American Games (2006-07).

Alistair Overeem (2x) - Current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion

Ricardo Arona - Abu Dhabi open weight tournament champion. Holds victories over current/former UFC fighters Jeremy Horn, Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Dean Lister, Kazushi Sakuraba (Look it up), Wanderlei Silva, and Marvin Eastman. (Last EliteXC light heavyweight champion.)

Kevin Randleman - Former UFC Heavyweight champion, 2-time Division I NCAA champion.

Mark Coleman - UFC 10/11 open-weight tournament champion, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, PRIDE 2000 open-weight Grand Prix champion.

Chuck Liddell - Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion


Do your homework, kid. Watching TUF 10 don't make you an expert on Mixed Martial Arts.

All of those Chute Boxe fighters are done when it comes to competing on a top level. The Dragon takes it.

I'll take Machida. PRIDE guys aren't nearly as good without their steroids. LOL.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Shogun pull it off though. Hopefully he just goes balls to the wall and doesn't let Machida sit back and get comfortable.

Oh, and for the record, I think Anderson Silva is the only guy who's actually dominating. Nog, Hendo and even Jackson have looked suspect in my opinion.

PRIDE came to the U.S. twice and were tested for steroids both times. All fighters tested clean. This whole steroid myth has never been substantiated at any level. I do not understand why people continue to throw it out there.

Rampage Jackson insinuates the Chute Boxe fighters were juicing so now it must be true? The same Rampage Jackson who had one energy drink too many and went on a caffeinated bender, wrecking cars and hitting pregnant woman because God told him his friend was in trouble?

I love Rampage, but I'd be careful about taking his word at face value sometimes. He's just the type of athlete who has to invent excuses for his losses. I got my ass kicked BRUTALLY? Oh, well, they MUST be on steroids. It certainly wouldn't have anything to do with me not being able to do shit in a clinch.

Anderson Silva was a Chute Boxe fighter, and got WRECKED in PRIDE, and now he dominates the UFC. I guess he must be on even better gear than what he was getting in PRIDE, eh?



That's his only chance, imo.



They are all top 5 AT LEAST, (probably all top 2, top 3 in reality) in my book. Jackson will always be suspect because he's a headcase, but there's no doubt he can be a force when his head is screwed on right. Henderson and Nog are 850 years old and have both been in countless wars. Whatever they do now should only enhance their legacies, not be used as fodder to feed some garbage myth about steroids in PRIDE.

Fuckin idiot

MMA is the one sport where roids should be legal IMO.... fuel the rage.... LOL (joking)

So what about the rest of the main line up

Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell . I cant say ive seen rothwell in action, so i cant make a call. Cain has excelent wrestling and composure under fire. He was rocked repeatedly vs Congo and still managed to dominate. Its such a shame that he is really just too small to make it against a behemoth pedigree wrestler like lesnar, and i dont think his power is up to snuff.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher : I really like fisher. He comes to fight and always tries to put on a show. I think he has sold himself short on the odd ocassion taking a fight at short notice. He has good striking, but the kryptonite is the wrestling. Joe daddy can wrestle, though not at the level as some of the guys that have given spencer problems. And he has looked bad of late, using a one dimensional boxing style and neglecting other aspects of his game. If joe takes him to the ground, he will win, but if the same stevenson as his last couple fights shows up he will get picked apart on his feet. I will go with fisher


Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer: Tough call. Give me Neer.

as i have said on my previous post.. shogun could win in a decision.. damn.. but the judges loves machida wahahhah