After their epic fight at UFC 104 and the following controversial decision that caused a lot of fans, fighters and the UFC brass itself to shout themselves hoarse on the final result, the UFC decided to right a wrong and cast both the fighters into a rematch immediately. This brings us to UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Machida, I am sure has tried to close the holes in his game that Shogun exploited really well in their first match and come out better prepared for the rematch. For his part, Shogun knows that the match winning game plan will have to be modified now since Machida has time to work on the things that Shogun brought out.

This is a very intriguing match-up for any MMA fan since all our intrigue is built up around how the game plans for this match will be drawn out and what both fighters will bring to the rematch having seen what the other brings the first time they fought. Although the first match was a close one, for Shogun, the path seems to be clear: use what works from the previous match and find a way to finish Machida – whether on the ground or standing up. No mean task.

For Shogun, the main question to answer will be if he can take the beating from Shogun’s leg kicks or will he be able to get Shogun within striking distance and be able to capitalize …

Probably the best rematch in the near past and certainly the most eagerly awaited bout this year. To top all the history off, here’s the amazing promo video that makes me want to watch this one even more!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Machida Ready for Silva

One of the front runners for the title of contender at Light Heavyweight, Lyot “The Dragon” Machida believes that he sees some holes in the new UFC Light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans’ game that he believes he can exploit. However, he says this is not the right time to think about it since he is comlpetely focused and preparing for his next fight against the always exciting Thiago Silva.

This clash of Brazilians will be one of the most exciting matches on the UFC 94 card and is a match with definite title implications. When asked about what he is training most on for this fight against fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva, Machida says:

“I’m training on my Karate a lot since that is my speciality along with the takedown part and the ground game. I train all aspects of the game but prioritize on training my strongest weapon, stand up fight. We always study the opponent completely, for about three months, seeing how he is, where he works, so I can beat up on these things not being surprised.”

Machida also mentions that his weight is where he wants it to be and that he is completely prepared to take the fight to Thiago Silva and come out of the fight undefeated.

When asked about the comments that Dana White had about him, Lyoto mentions that he is pleasantly surprised and honoured by the UFC President’s compliments and that he will work with humility to get better and live up to the expectations of the UFC president and all his fans, especially since every fighter goes through stages in his career and it is important to keep training and fighting to win.