UFC 98

My predictions:
Machida
Hughes
Prof. X
Miller
Larson
Barry
Nover
Soszynski
Yoshida
Roop

Machida v. Evans is a tough one though. Evan's tendency to be a slow starter is really going to cost him with Machida. Machida I believe has much better striking, takedown defense that will make Evans look like he's never wrestled before and a very dangerous submission game. Still, Evans has that one punch knockout power that makes him a threat to anyone. I see Machida taking a decision, possibly a late TKO or submission. Though I wouldn't be surprise to see Evans taking one of Machida's punches and taking advantage of the fact that he never protects his face while moving in for a KO finish.

Machida v. Evans was fucking beautiful.
Straight up work of art.

Evans got destroyed, my god. Sweet fight though.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2q1z721.jpg
lol at rashad trying to talk shit while he's taking punches before he goes to sleep

I liked the Edger Sherk fight. Well deserved victory there.

Machida was without a doubt the best that I've seen him in the octagon against Evans. The guy is just insanely talented and keeps getting better. Evans has extremely quick hands to pull the kind of head movement that Lyoto was showing off against him. Also he seemed much more aggressive in this fight. Machida is going to be the next Andy Silva unless something goes terribly wrong.

Machida as LHW champion makes for some very intriguing match-ups in the division.
Rampage vs. Machida
Arona (assuming he isn't dead and someday joins the UFC) vs. Machida
Wandy vs. Machida (just to maybe test his chin before getting KOed)
Forrest
Luis Cane
and some more.

I think Machida vs Jardine would be neat to see.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tekk

I liked the Edger Sherk fight. Well deserved victory there.

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I thought that fight was horrible. Sherk could have had an easy victory if he fucking took him down and pounded him out, instead he tried to box with his T-Rex arms. Extremely frustrating, especially knowing he was capable of winning but decided to be "exciting" and got fucked up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cdc

Machida as LHW champion makes for some very intriguing match-ups in the division.
Rampage vs. Machida
Arona (assuming he isn't dead and someday joins the UFC) vs. Machida
Wandy vs. Machida (just to maybe test his chin before getting KOed)
Forrest
Luis Cane
and some more.

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Yeah Machida's got some great fights ahead of him.
Rampage, IMO, is going to get destroyed. He's too 1 dimensional, and even if he does go back to slampage I still don't think it will be enough. He is probably the best counter puncher in the LHW division, with more than enough KO power, but I still don't think he can take the belt.
I think someone like Forrest or Jardine will give Machida the most problems. Both are extremely tough and will never break mentally and will be constantly applying pressure. Jardine with his jerky awkward movements and Forrest with his sheer size will make great fights. Not to mention both of them have excellent leg kicks which I think is a major part in breaking down Machida's movement. The only thing is that both Jardine and Forrest have gone down from being tagged on the chin, and Machida is a sharp shooter.

I hope Rampage beats Machida, but I think he's going to get destroyed by leg and body kicks.

I don't think that Machida will beat Rampage with kicks, I'm thinking random flurries of punches to the face will be his downfall. I do agree with Forrest and Jardine being the only guys that will give him real problems though. Forrest has some long legs that will help him out, and the dean of mean is going to be really hard for Machida to time. Other than that Machida will likely walk through anyone else in the LHW division. I'd like to see Franklin get a shot at him even though I don't think he'd fare too well, I just love to see Ace in action.

Ughhh no Rampage vs Machida.

Rampage signed on the next Ultimate Fighter to fight Rashad Evans. Please Quinton, don't let your ego guide your decisions.

I would think that Rampage taking a fight that he has the ability to win is a less ego driven decision than taking one against a champion that he couldn't beat to save his life just to get a title shot.

It's going to be interesting to see who gets the next shot.
Shogun v. Machida would be an interesting fight. If Shogun is back to/better than his old Pride self, this could make for one hell of a fight. Shogun also has extremely effective and unorthodox striking, is hard to hit and has an excellent ground game. I'd still bet on Machida, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Shogun winning some how.

Shogun would be cool.

But as for Rampage, I want him to fight Machida because the goal in MMA is to be the best, not wait until someone else gets the belt by luck and snatch it away.

I don't want another Anderson Silva where he fights not worthy fighters because he cleaned out the competition.