Originally Posted by MMAWeekly.com

- LYOTO MACHIDA: NOBODY IS UNBEATABLE

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UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida says family is the key to staying hungry.

The Machida clan, including father Yoshizo and brothers Chinzo and Kenzo, insulate Lyoto as he prepares for fights, and his meeting with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 has been no different. With the belt, distractions abound outside the dojo.

"There’s a lot of distractions, a lot of people coming at you, but thank God, I have a team around me that protects me from that," said Lyoto.

A heap of hyperbole has followed the champion since his dominating performances over Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans. Karate traditionalists have been galvanized by his style. Many of the promotion’s top fighters have scratched their heads at how to beat him. But the 31-year-old fighter says he’s still chasing the belt, accolades aside.

“I think my biggest worry and the thing that I’m most concerned with is just staying focused and zoning in on what my goals are, to keep that belt and keep putting on good performances,” said Machida.

The main goal, he says, is to evolve into a better fighter every time he steps into the Octagon. Were it not for family, he might lose sight of that goal.

More than his title grab at UFC 98, Machida said his fight with Tito Ortiz at UFC 84 was the biggest challenge in maintaining focus. In the buildup to the fight, he felt like he was being brought into the middle of a political war between president Dana White and Ortiz.

“I feel like I was brought in and had a lot of weight on my shoulders to beat Tito, for more than just the reason to beat Tito,” said Machida. “So I definitely started to feel the pressure, more the mental pressure versus the technical pressure because of that situation.”

He seems less stressed about the target on his back as champion, although he is well aware of it.

Rua has taken a play from Machida’s book in his approach to the fight, saying that patience is the key to defeat the undefeated champion.

Machida says he has followed Rua’s career and shares a professional respect for him (“He’s had a lot of fights to make the whole country of Brazil proud,” said Machida), but will put it aside when the two meet in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. When they do battle, it’s just business.

Contrary to the hype, Machida says he’s very beatable.

“Anybody can be beat,” he said. “But that’s what motivates me to keep going out there, training hard, staying focused, and my goal is that every time I have the opportunity to present myself in the Octagon... I’m always going to come prepared and come in the best shape of my life. Thank God I have my family around and my team, they always expect a lot of me, so they’re always there to stay on top of me and keep me humble, keep me focused, and keep me motivated to get in there and represent my family and my karate well.”

Originally Posted by MMAWeekly.com

- RYAN BADER READY FOR NEXT STEP AT UFC 104

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Winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” season eight, Ryan Bader is set to make his return following debilitating injuries this Saturday at UFC 104 in Los Angeles.

Bader followed his first round knockout of Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Vinny Magalhaes in the finale with a win over veteran Carmelo Marrero, where he was last seen in action at UFC Fight Night 18 in April.

A clean sweep across the board, all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Bader, which was impressive considering he suffered torn ligaments, including his medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament during the bout.

“When I had the injury, I pretty much did it right,” he explained while speaking with MMAWeekly.com. “I let it heal; I took a month where I didn’t really do anything with my legs, just did some boxing, upper body, and then I slowly got back into it, rehabbing it and now it’s a non-issue. It’s 100-percent.”

Fellow Ultimate Fighter season eight winner Efrain Escudero was in the same boat as Bader not all that long ago. Injury after Injury kept “Hecho en Mexico” out of competition for close to nine months before making an emphatic return, knocking out fellow TUF alumnus Cole Miller inside of the first round at UFC 103.

Originally relegated to the preliminary portion of the card, Escudero’s fight was made available to the public through the efforts of the UFC and Spike TV brass. Two of the untelevised bouts at UFC 103 were aired free and live to the masses on Spike, which generated good numbers and served as an excellent lead in for the pay-per-view. Ryan Bader will serve in his own mini-main event for UFC 104, as Spike again will show at least two bouts prior to the pay-per-view.

“It’s a very cool thing for (Spike TV) to do, get more fights out there for the fans and obviously better for the fighters as far as sponsorship and being on TV. I’m excited to be on Spike again,” explained Bader.

The Arizona Combat Sports product has a stern test ahead of him, taking on Eric Schafer, who’s now on a two-fight win streak inside the Octagon. A proven competitor, “Red” Schafer stands to be a big step up in competition.

“Eric’s a tough dude. He’s got really good jiu-jitsu; he’s a black belt,” said Bader.

“He’s a strong guy, a big guy. He’s six-foot-three and he has that Octagon experience. He’s been in there with guys like (Michael) Bisping, (Stephan) Bonnar, Houston Alexander, and he’s been through adversity with the Houston fight. He was getting beat up pretty good at first and then took him down and submitted him.”

Though “Darth” Bader will be unable to summon the power of the “Death Star” come fight time, he will use his strong wrestling ability. He was a three time Pac-10 championship and held Division I honors as a college athlete at Arizona State University. It’s an area where Bader will hold the advantage come fight time and could help seal his third win in a row in the UFC, slowly breaking his way into the organization’s crowded 205-pound division.

“He’s been around, but I don’t think he’s fought a guy like me, with my wrestling background, and it will allow me to dictate the fight and not get taken down, not let him pull guard. We thought it was a good fight for me,” he assessed.

“I’m comfortable. If I wanted to I can take Schafer down. I believe I can take him down right off the bat and be able to win the fight on the ground, but we have our game plan coming up. I’m looking to stand with Eric. Why even give him the chance to get me down, or me take him down? So all-in-all, I’m comfortable wherever it goes.”

Originally Posted by Sherdog.com

Pros Picks: Machida vs. Shogun

Silver screen starlets, fledgling rock bands, earthquakes, the absence of an NFL team -- you name it, and Los Angeles has it in droves.

Zuffa returns to the City of Angels for the first time in more than three years with UFC 104 “Machida vs. Shogun” this Saturday at the Staples Center. In the main event, light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida defends his title against 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio Rua.

Sherdog.com recently gathered predictions from a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge how they think the UFC 104 headliner will unfold.

Cub Swanson: Machida wins by second-round karate chop.

Jason Lambert: Machida [by] TKO.

Marvin Eastman: Machida by ugly decision.

Rory Markham: I love Shogun and his style, but it’s so hard to bet against Machida as of late. I’ll take the crazy pee-drinking karate man.

Eddy Millis: Machida, Machida, Machida! First-round KO, [courtesy of his] right hand.

Travis Lutter: I think Machida will win this one. Machida’s movement and footwork should be the difference.

Erin Toughill: I’m sure both will have respect for the other’s stand-up at first. I hope Machida starts out a little quicker than usual, but since he’s a counter puncher, he’ll probably wait for Shogun to create an opening, and Machida will capitalize off that. Machida wins by TKO in the second round.

Zac George: Machida uses his bizarre movement and cat-like reflexes to pick apart Rua en route to a second-round TKO.

Nick Thompson: Machida defeats opponents who are overly aggressive, and Shogun is all aggression. That being said, I am always wrong on these things, so bet the farm on Shogun.

Urijah Faber: Machida [via] side kick to the throat.

Roland Sarria: I think Shogun will win with a donkey-bong punch in the third round.

Jamie Varner: Machida defeats [Rua] by TKO.

Tom Gavrilos: One thing an elite counterpuncher loves is over-aggressiveness and wide looping punches. I’ve always been a big Shogun fan, but I choose Machida by decision. If you believe that styles make fights, it’s hard to give the nod to Shogun.

Stav Economou: Machida by KO in the third round.

Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

Machida by landslide.
Michael Guymon: Machida is gonna be too much. Shogun will have trouble with Machida’s distance and game, in general. [Machida by] KO in the third round.

Thomas Denny: Machida by second-round TKO. “The Dragon” will reign supreme.

Ben Saunders: Tough fight to call. Shogun is a badass fighter, and this fight will show how good Machida is, going against a fellow striker. In the end, I believe Machida is just too good at being elusive. Honestly, anyone that is set to fight him should bring in top notch karate guys to work with in order to understand the style matchup. You gotta love the unorthodox fighters.

Mike Ciesnolevicz: I think Shogun is an awesome fighter. Against anyone else, I might pick him, but I don’t even think the fight will be that competitive style-wise. I think Machida has the better stand-up, better takedowns, probably at least equal if not better [Brazilian jiu-jitsu] and better cardio. Add that to the fact he doesn’t even get hit in his fights. I don’t know what Shogun can possibly do to win this fight outside of landing a bomb in an exchange after trying to cut Machida off and make him trade. Outside of Fedor and some of the other top heavyweights in MMA and maybe Anderson Silva -- even though they won’t fight because they are friends -- I don’t see who can really test Machida. Call me crazy, but I actually think Machida would beat Brock Lesnar by being a smarter, faster, more elusive fighter, not to mention a superior mixed martial artist. I think it’s great that he said after five title defenses he wants to fight Lesnar. He is a true martial artist and maybe the greatest fighter in the world. Machida by TKO, round two.

Robin Black: When you hear a guy talking about defending his title five times, then fighting Brock Lesnar, you could be forgiven for thinking he’s looking past his opponent. Hell, probably everyone is looking past Shogun. His in-your-face style is tailor made for The Dragon’s near mythical lightning counter fighting. But don’t just arbitrarily count Shogun out. He’s a proud, explosive athlete who’s been training for his title shot. And this is the UFC. Anything can happen. I’m going out on a limb -- and being mocked by my training partners here at Xtreme Couture Toronto -- and picking Shogun by TKO.

Kit Cope: I think Rua’s aggressive style may just be the key to disarming Machida. It may be tough for Lyoto to set his karate up with Shogun running him down constantly. Conversely, Machida could just have Rua chase him around until he’s tuckered, then take advantage. I tend to believe the latter.

Gabe Ruediger: Machida should win. His striking is too precise and his movement is too good. His ground game is more than competent, as well. It’s a fight, and Shogun is very dangerous, so anything can happen, but I’m going with Machida by TKO in round two or three.

Stephane Vigneault: I think Machida is alone in his division right now. His stand-up style is very, very effective, and he is pretty well-rounded. [I like] Machida by TKO in round three, but we never know. Maybe a Shogun wild hook can [land].

John Hackleman: My prediction is that it’ll be a great fight between two great fighters, but I think Machida’s karate is going to be a little too much for Shogun to handle; a little too unorthodox, a little too unpredictable. I think he’s going to be a little too accurate, and I think he’s going to pick apart Shogun. I think Machida’s karate is almost invincible. I don’t know if he’s going to win by knockout, but I think, if not, it’s going to be a decision. The only reason why I won’t predict a knockout is because Shogun is so good and so tough, but I think Machida’s karate is going to reign supreme in this fight, with pinpoint accuracy, timing and flawless technique.

Pros that picked Machida: 21
Pros that picked Rua: 2