UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun II- Preview and Predictions

May 08, 2010 | Tim | Comments 0

ufc113poster

UFC 113 is headlined by one of the most highly anticipated rematches in the history of MMA, as UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will face off against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the second time. In the first matchup between the two at UFC 104, Machida escaped with a razor-thin decision victory, a decision that has caused heated debate amongst the MMA community. UFC president Dana White called for an immediate rematch between the two, and it finally happens tomorrow night.

Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens: Stout is coming off one of the best performances of his career at UFC 108, where he battered Joe Lauzon for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. The win moved his UFC record to 4-4 and his overall MMA record to 15-5. His main weapon is his striking, though he lacks the true knockout power to finish guys. However, his speed, accuracy and technique are enough to frustrate and wear down his opponents. Stephens is more of a pure power guy. When he throws a punch, he throws it with the intention of knocking his opponent out. Stephens is 17-5 in his MMA career, and is 4-4 in his UFC career. He last defeated Justin Buchholz at UFC Fight Night 19. I doubt this fight will see the ground very often. Stephens is dangerous because of his power, but Stout’s speed and technical striking will make Stephens look foolish at times during the fight. Stout via unanimous decision.

Patrick Cote vs. Alan Belcher: Cote is making his return to the Octagon after injuring his knee in his middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva at UFC 90. That fight was rather uneventful before Cote suffered the knee injury, but he did display a tough chin if nothing else. Prior to the loss to Silva, Cote had won his previous four UFC fights to earn the title shot. Cote is 13-5 in his career, and is mainly known for his striking. He’s shown good power and as I mentioned earlier, he’s got a pretty tough chin as well. Belcher is also mainly known for his kickboxing. He’s 15-6 in his MMA career, and is coming off a TKO victory over Wilson Gouveia at UFC 107. The problem with Belcher’s stand-up game is that he leaves himself wide open for counters. It’s hard to predict what the layoff will do to Cote’s timing and conditioning, but I think he can find the chin of Belcher early and often. Cote via TKO in the 2nd.

Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione: Well, not much to really analyze in this one. Both fighters won their UFC debuts. Mitrione knocked out Marcus Jones on The Ultimate Finale 10, while Slice won a unanimous decision over Houston Alexander on the same card. Slice trains with American Top Team and showed a little bit of a ground game in his victory over Alexander, though he was fighting a guy that weighs about 45 pounds less than Mitrione. He also fought more patiently and his striking was slightly more technical. Mitrione is a brawler. He’s a big guy who hits hard, and also tries to throw his punches from halfway across the Octagon. Neither has much of a gas tank, so if this fight lasts til the third round, it’s gonna get really ugly. Mitrione certainly has the power to end Kimbo’s night quickly, but if Kimbo fights a disciplined fight like he did against Alexander, he can definitely win. I think Kimbo will batter a tired Mitrione in the 2nd round and finish the fight. Slice via TKO in the 2nd.

Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley: The winner of this welterweight showdown will be featured as a coach in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter against Georges St. Pierre, and will get a title shot against GSP after the show. Koscheck has won his past two fights over Frank Trigg and Anthony Johnson after losing in an upset to Paulo Thiago at UFC 95. Overall, Koscheck is 12-4 inside the Octagon. He came into the UFC from a highly successful collegiate wrestling career, and he’s done a good job of rounding out his overall game. Sometimes he falls in love a little too much with his striking, but he did a good job of utilizing his wrestling in his victory over Johnson at UFC 106. Daley is 23-8 in his MMA career, but has won his first two fights in the UFC, destroying both Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett in the first round. He’s primarily a striker, and has knockout power in both hands. His ground game has been a major weakness for him throughout his career, and I expect Koscheck to fight intelligently and use his huge advantage on the ground. Koscheck says Daley is going to sleep, and I believe him. Koscheck via submission in the 1st.

Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua: The first fight was a great tactical battle and an extremely close fight. I scored the fight for Shogun, but I can see it the other way as well. I definitely don’t feel like the decision was a robbery, as some stated after the fight. Machida is an impressive 16-0 in his career, with UFC wins over Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans and Rua. His Karate style frustrates opponents, and Rua was the first fighter to really test him in the UFC. Rua was once one of the most feared light heavyweights in the world in the mid-2000s, as he ran through opponents such as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. His debut in the UFC was a disappointment for some, as Forrest Griffin was able to take advantage of a clearly injured “Shogun” and won via 3rd round submission. Shogun supporters were likely even more disappointed in his performance against Mark Coleman at UFC 93, a fight he won via TKO in the 3rd round but hardly impressed. Rua looked more like his old self in his first-round win over Chuck Liddell at UFC 97, and his performance against Machida at UFC 104 was masterful. He utilized leg and body kicks to slow Machida down, and kept him off balance throughout much of the fight. Will the same game plan work in the rematch? Probably not. Adjustments will probably be made on both sides, so I’m going to go with who I think is the better fighter. That’s Shogun. Rua via TKO in the 3rd.

Preliminary Card Predictions:

Marcus Davis over Jonathan Goulet via TKO in the 1st

Tim Hague over Joey Beltran via unanimous decision

Johny Hendricks over T.J. Grant via TKO in the 2nd

Tom Lawlor over Joe Doerksen via unanimous decision

Yoshiyuki Yoshida over Mike Guymon via unanimous decision

Jason MacDonald over John Salter via submission in the 2nd

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share and Enjoy: