Lyoto Machida, Cage Fighter with Elusive Tendancies

What would happen if Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida were to
fight himself?

Clearly there would be the potential for a very boring fight. It certainly would not have the pace of a Guida v Guida or a GSP v GSP.

Now, For the record, I love watching him fight and I think he will be a legitimate contender for years. I also like the fact that his base is Karate and that he DIDN'T wrestle in college. Having a diverse mix of top fighters is better for everyone and in that regard, Machida is a breath of fresh air.

He is perceived as a "boring" fighter by some fans...8 of his 14 fights have gone to the Judges scorecard. People like seeing fights finished...plain and simple. However, there is also a group that find his style intelligently elusive...a progression in the evolution of the Mixed Martial Artist.

A big part of Machidas game is waiting for his opponent to strike and then mounting his offense as a counter. In some cases, he just skips the counter strike part altogether...simply moving away from his opponent. As "elusive" as he is...he is also very deft in picking apart the holes in his opponents defense and has the ability to mount a devastating offense (Silva UFC 94, Ortiz UFC 84, Franklin 2003 Inoki Festival etc...) when given the opportunity.

Problem is...if both fighters have the same strategy and they are both waiting for a punch to be thrown from the other guy...that could a while for some action. Even when/if the punch is thrown...the "Other Machida" could simply move away and not counter.

Not exactly a crowd pleasing combination. With that said 2 of his last 3 fights have been finished...choking out Soko and knocking out Thiago Silva with a vicious, last second punch.

Styles make fights and that's why his last fight against Thiago Silva was such a great match up...Silva is a very aggressive striker facing someone who loves to react to strikes. His upcoming title fight against "Sugar" Rashad Evans has the same potential.

What will happen when he faces a fighter with a similar strategy? Who knows...that's one of the reasons why this sport is so amazing...a infinite number of possibilities and outcomes all while being very unpredictable.

A the end of the day, he is a great fighter who has not lost an MMA match while facing "A" grade competition.

It's hard to argue with that.