The Cage Clinch Must Be Fixed

As the 2nd round of Rashad vs Rampage finished, my thoughts were off of the hype and everything and onto how disappointed I was once again by the round getting derailed by two fighters clinching against the fence. This for all intensive purposes is a neutral position and I believe there is a need to shorten the time allowed to fighters in this position. In 15 or 20 seconds if a fighter has not engaged a takedown then they need to be separated. The fact that fighters are using this to control and win rounds is a major issue for me.

If Rampage had staved off 7 takedown attempts and gotten multiple breaks then you may view the round differently. It would also encourage fighters to separate and get a shot in if they are not going to take advantage of the position. That round against the cage sucked the life right out of the fight for me. Same thing happened with Couture vs Vera. This is something that can be fixed and they need to get on it quickly cause its hurting MMA.

Shogun-Machida: A Refreshing Main Event

Over the past two years we have seen an increasing amount of main eventers and mixed martial arts fighters as a whole began to try and be very tactical with their fights. I think last night we started to see the speed and fluidity of technicality and skill combined with a killer instinct. From the opening bell you could tell neither Shogun nor Machida planned for this fight to be controversial. Both went out there to win, and it showed with their styles. It was by far the most aggressive Machida we have seen, and while he did get caught, he didn't get caught because he was aggressive, but because another fighter was just as quick as he was.

Often times after a three or three and a half minute fight, I come away feeling disappointed. Last night I came away with so many different things from those three and a half minutes it was insane. The takedowns by Machida were really impressive, and his ability to duplicate his character from UFC Undisputed 2010 and constantly land in half guard impressed me even more (not because he was duplicating the video game, but because he was getting a takedown and immediately creating an advantageous position for himself). This is where the positives stopped for Machida on the ground. The escapes from Shogun from the bottom were so technical and beautiful it left me in awe. He took little to no damage and was back to his feet. I believe this along with the Tito Ortiz near triangle prove that Machida needs to spend extended time working on his top control to continue completing himself as a fighter.

Machida looked good on his feet and was willing to take what Shogun gave him. Unlike previous Lyoto fights though he would not sit back and wait. He would come forward much more as well. Now that I have sufficiently talked about Machida, Shogun was on a different level last night. He was back to being fluid as hell with his strikes and transitions. He was back to having a killer instinct and moving in for the kill. It was refreshing to see a guy that hit such a low when he lost to Griffin, and now was back to 2005 form, or in my opinion even better as he took out one of the best fighters in the world.

The whole event last night had me excited, and part of that was the lead-in to the main event. More fighters were out there putting it all on the line and trying to finish. While from a pure MMA standpoint the WEC PPV might have been better, but last night proved that the big fight can still give you a totally different opinion about an event. Last night’s main event capped off a great night of fights that I won't soon forget. On top of that, Shogun has countless intriguing matchups such as Rampage, Rashad, Lil Nog, and Anderson Silva. I don’t think we will run out of credible opponents anytime soon. That being said, while the opponents may be credible, I have little doubt that the Shogun we saw last night can run this division for a long time.