Machida: ‘Nobody is unbeatable’
UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida says family is the key to staying hungry. The Machida clan, including father Yoshizo…
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.