Couture’s Catch coach doesn’t want it to go to decision
Xtreme Couture grappling trainer Neil Melanson reveals I only have the time and energy for a couple fighters at a…
Xtreme Couture grappling trainer Neil Melanson reveals I only have the time and energy for a couple fighters at a time. Any more than that and the quality goes down.
I’ve been working with Vitor Belfort. He’s going to start training again soon. He’s been travelling and has been helping out with charities and fighters.
Frank Trigg and I are training, and are actually working a lot. He’s actually gotten better on the ground, and his stand-up as well. I’m excited for his progression.
He’s got a tough fight with Machida,” Melanson said of his boss, Randy Couture. “It wouldn’t be my first pick – but it’s what he wanted. It only happened because Machida said yes, he wanted it.
I don’t think the UFC wanted this fight to happen because it didn’t make sense to them, but Lyoto said he wanted it and really made it happen for us.
Machida fights on his terms and is pretty masterful at what he does. He keeps plenty of distance, so he’s away from danger, and when he goes in, he’s fast.
Because of that, a lot of his punching is linear, and if you walk straight into him, you’re going to get hit. He’s got a lot of power and he can hurt you whether nor not your guard’s up.
I hope this fight, Randy can actually stop him. I don’t like the idea of going to a decision against Machida because if you stand in long enough, eventually he’s going to get something in and hurt you.”
If you look at the people who were successful in closing the gap on him, there was always a commonality. That’s what we’re trying to do, find some pattern and things to avoid. In reality, it’s going to be Randy’s desire to win that takes this fight.
Despite a full plate, there is one more fighter Melanson would like to bring into his camp, Rashad Evans.
“We’re trying to get Rashad to come here. We got some people asking him to come out here. I know he’s in Denver right now but it’s just because I’ve always been wanting to get my hands on him for a while.
“… I look up to Greg Jackson but what’s Greg gonna do? He’s got Jones. … I’ve been wanting to train with Rashad for a while just because I feel like my style of coaching is perfect for him because he’s a wrestler and I have a lot of experience with these wrestlers here and I think I can help him.
“He’s really good already but I would like to see him finish and I know he can finish on the ground and I think maybe I can help that.”