Lyoto Machida: I may take Jon Jones down
Eduardo Ferreira: You brought Glover and now King Mo is also here to help you. Did you work the stand-up…
Eduardo Ferreira: You brought Glover and now King Mo is also here to help you. Did you work the stand-up with Glover and the takedowns with King Mo?
Lyoto Machida: Actually, I also brought Anderson Bradock, who’s a guy that fights in K-1, he’s a great K-1 fighter. I brought him and Glover on the first moment. They stayed here for two weeks. On that period we tried to do many sparrings, simulating similar situations I’ll might confront during the fight, also on the clinch, the takedowns. We know Glover is a high lever fighter and why he’s been smashing everybody down here in Brazil, and I’m sure he’ll make a good career abroad, and Bradock also helped me a lot to simulate the fight. Then Glover had to go because he was fighting and then I brought King Mo to add a lot. He’s a high level fighter in Wrestling, he has been a world champion on the Pan Am, he has defeated Olympic champions, so he knows the details of the position that can help me block his game during the fight, and I guess that’s the main aspect. I guess the technical part is the most important one for a fight like that, because I’m fighting a very technical guy. Jon Jones knows many techniques, he’s can do many things, so that’s why I’m trying to improve more and more my wrestling.
EF: You brought him eyeing the takedown defense, since Jon Jones is a good wrestler and can take you down? Or will you try to get him on his back, something never seen before?
LM: Well, I guess it’s hard to predict how things will go on during the fight, but we trained a lot offensive wrestling, me taking him down. Besides the takedown defenses, we trained counterattacks with the takedowns, so if I take him down, it won’t be a surprise for me, for my team, because we know what we’ve been doing here. Our greatest goal is to win the fight, in any area it takes place, no matter if it’s on the stand-up, the wrestling or on the ground. I want to have an advantage in all areas.
EF: Many people said Anderson Silva would come here to help you, but he never came. Have you, at least, talked to him?
LM: I talked to Anderson on the phone like three or four times, and we talked a lot. He sent me a video, telling me to train that. He shoot a video there saying what he thought I should focus more my training on for this fight, he showed me a different coup, saying I can use it. So, he always tries to help me the way he can. We can tell Anderson is very helpful, mainly with his friends. You can see his worry to come and talk to me. I know he wants me to bring another title to our Brazil.
