How to Beat Lyoto Machida

First off, let me preface by saying that I think Machida is an immensely talented fighter and humble human being. He’s 13-0-0 in his professional fighting career, and makes everyone he fights look bad. Yes, he is awkward and difficult to watch at times, but nobody can dispute the effectiveness of his fighting style. If the goal of combat is to do as much damage as possible while taking as little as possible, Lyoto should be considered among the best. As good as he is, I think there are a few aspects of his game that can be exploited.

Lyoto’s fighting styles

Striking
His base striking skill set is based on Shotokan Karate. Strikes are short and quick, allowing the fighter to fire off strikes without compromising balance even if they miss completely. This style stresses rigid, accurate, often linear strikes with “snapping” motions at the ends to maximize their power. Contrast this with the more widely popular Muay Thai style of kicking which involves the rotational movement of the entire body that causes more of a “plowing” effect. Increasing control and balance while striking reduces the force of the strike, which explains why 8 of Machida’s 13 victories come by decision.

Machida has received some training in Thailand (evidenced in his kicks), but he abandons the mentality of training yourself to take damage. For him, avoiding a strike is a top priority which is a style that reflects his Karate background. In Karate competition, you score on points. He maintains distance, and waits for a moment to come in and strike, then he’s immediately back outside range.

Grappling
I’m including wrestling skill into the grappling section, which covers skill in a clinched fighting range. Lyoto doesn’t have a wrestling background, but he has done a lot of Sumo and jiu-jitsu since he was 15. The level of his jiu-jitsu is very high. He’s technical and strong enough to have beaten (by decision) former Mundial champ Rafael Lovato Jr. in a grappling-only match at LA Sub X. He’s also managed to fend off BJ Penn in their match, although he outweighed BJ by quite a bit in that fight. The ground isn’t likely to be the easiest road to beat Machida.

Opportunities
Cut off the Ring(tagon)
Styles aside, Machida’s greatest skill is his mastery of controlling distance. He dictates the distance, and therefore the fight. First step to defeating Machida is taking away this control. He prefers to move straight back to avoid an attack, although when near the cage wall he switches to move laterally. If you can close the distance on him using the ring and impose your attack, you regain some control over the pace of the fight. Catching him this way was a bit easier back when he fought in a ring, much more difficult in an octagon. I’m not convinced that it’s impossible to cut off the ring against Machida. Perhaps it’s just something his challengers need to be more conscientious of, or just be more willing to make an effort to do. Yes, there will be a lot of running involved.

Keep Balance
Sounds silly, but as soon as he closes distance and connects a few, Machida often plows into his opponent and pushes them away. This makes it almost impossible to mount any type of counterattack because they’re either off balance or pushed out of range. My only thought on how to handle this is to move with him even when he’s in the super-close range so he doesn’t push you off your center. If his opponents could manage to throw counters in this range, they’d fare much better.

Don’t Fear the Hands
Lyoto hasn’t knocked anyone out by punches alone yet, so it may be prudent to take a shot or two to line up an overhand. Take a page out of Sean Sherk’s strategy against BJ Penn (just make sure your arms are long enough to reach Machida’s head). His kicks, on the other hand, his opponents should watch out for. They’re extremely quick, and easily strong enough for a KO.

Exploit the Low Hands
Karate striking style dictates that the hands begin low, then extend out forward to complete the punch. In most of his matches, this is the only time his opponents connect anything. Luckily for Machida, he’s also got a tough chin. Part of the difficulty in pulling this off is that Machida fires straight punches, which have longer range than a powerful hook and have the added benefit of blocking any looping hooks aimed at the head when you leave them out there. Sometimes they come through, and almost all of his opponents have managed to tag him a few times this way. None of them truly exploited it as much as they could have. If you watch the exchanges when he steps into the pocket, it’s mostly his opponent’s head down, arms flailing, Machida’s head is straight up in the air with his arms out in front of him pushing. Occasionally his opponents connect by chance, but by the time they realize they’ve done anything he’s back out of range recovering.

I’m no Greg Jackson, but I think these are the possible key’s to defeating Machida. I know a lot of people hate his style, but I welcome it as a refreshing change from the style that has evolved from the past few years of MMA. It’s effective, and I think a lot of fighters can gain a lot by learning from him. If nothing else, when someone figures out how to beat him it’ll be another step forward in the quest for combat knowledge.