The UFC Blog

UFC 98 Fallout

The “Machida Era” has begun or has it?  

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida is still undefeated after demolishing Rashad Evans this past Saturday night at UFC 98.  The title earning victory came late in round 2 where Machida caught Evans with a vicious uppercut and followed it up with a barrage of punches that dropped the once unbeaten champ.  

Now that Machida has fulfilled a lifelong goal of becoming champion, can he hold onto the belt?

The light heavyweight strap has been a hot potato over the months as nobody has successfully defended it in nearly two years.  “Rampage” Jackson was the last to defend it back in 2007 where he defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.  

Next in line for Machida is rumored to be “Rampage.”  Dana White confirmed this during the UFC 98 post fight presser and Machida’s own website (http://lyotomachida.net/Lyoto_Machida/Welcome.html) did as well even stating it would be in September.  

However “Rampage” has confirmed via twitter that he is getting ready to head back to Vegas to coach the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, “about to watch myself in the movie midnight meat train & packing my stuff to move to vegas to coach TUF!!” http://twitter.com/Rampage4real

Filming begins June first for TUF and runs for about six weeks; making a September bout impossible due to the show not finishing airing till December.  Coaching opposite is rumored to be Rashad Evans and not Machida which seems odd, but since Machida’s English isn’t great, who else would it be?  Evans would be the logical choice since the war of words they had at UFC 96.  Hopefully Rampage gets the title shot in September and still coaches TUF.

Dana White will hopefully clear the air tonight during SpikeTV’s Video Game Awards tonight.  

So who’s next in line for the Champ come September if these rumors are true and it’s not Rampage?

There are many challengers biting at the bit to challenge Machida, but due to the lopsided beat down he put on Rashad, the once “stacked” UFC LHW division is quickly losing its luster.  

Chuck Liddell is no longer a factor after his back to back losses and pending retirement.  

Forrest Griffin has a blockbuster fight with Anderson Silva coming up; his stock will quickly drop if he were to lose to “The Spider.”

Wanderlei Silva would be a nice choice, but let’s see if he can get passed Rich Franklin in a couple of weeks and he’s a better fit at 185.  

Evans and Thiago Silva were just stomped by Machida en route to winning the title.  Both would need to string a couple impressive victories to get another shot at Machida.  

Keith Jardine has always been a gritty competitive fighter, but his inconsistency will keep him as the division’s gate keeper.  

The Brandon Veras, Matt Hamills and Jone Jones’s all look impressive, but need a bit more seasoning to compete for the belt.  

Since my boy Tito Ortiz is no longer fighting for the UFC, the most logical challenger for Machida would be Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  

This might be a lot of speculation on my part but, Rua was in the office of Dana White the other day according to his pic and tweet:

Danawhiteblog: Been in meetings all day!!! We are putting together some great shit fight now. Stay tuned and I will let you know what going on.

Danawhiteblog: http://twitpic.com/60mav Look who’s in the office today!!!

Shogun VS Machida would be an excellent fight so would Rampage VS Machida.  

Machida has all the tools to remain champion for a very long time; can he defend the belt more than Tito did?  Only time will tell!

The Matt VS Matt fight was very entertaining and Matt Serra looked to nearly capture yet another upset.  Serra caught Hughes with an accidental head-butt that staggered Hughes, but Serra was not able to finish him off.  Hughes would go on to lay on Serra for the the remainder of the fight earning him the unanimous decision.  

Now a free agent, Hughes will sit down with Dana White to figure out what’s next.  Hughes looked decent during this fight, but is no longer at the caliber to challenge GSP or Thiago Alves.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch between Hughes and Serra since the fight was sooo close.

An old nemesis of Hughes was also re-signed to the UFC in the form of Frank Trigg.  Hughes/Trigg II is Dana Whites all time favorite fight, could we be in store for part three?

Chael Sonnen dominated Dan Miller for three rounds earning a unanimous decision victory and so did Frankie Edgar as he flustered Sean Sherk for three rounds.  

According to Dana White, Sherk went a little loco after the fight. Via twitter: “Sean Sherk ran out of the ring and out the doors and down the street in his fight shorts and no shirt.”  He should’ve used that excess energy trying to wrestle Edgar down instead of standing with him!?!?

Drew McFedries made quick work of Xavier Foupa-Pokum knocking him out in the first round.  This is two losses in a row for Professor X, but he took this fight on short notice and should be back in the octagon, I hope!