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17/08/09 - Machida talks about his preparations for Shogun title fight
UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has proved that karate is as essential as jiu jitsu, Muay Thai and boxing for mixed martial artists after beating fifteen athletes in a row during his glorious career.
Machida is scheduled to make his first title defense at UFC 104 in October against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and hasn’t given any interviews since he started training for the upcoming fight.
But his local newspaper Diario do Para managed to talk to the champion and TheBrazilianNinja – Fighters Only correspondent in Brazil – today brings the best pieces of the Portuguese-language report to FO fans.
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Machida trains six times a week, being physical part on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and sparring on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus cardio preparation and ground game. The sparring runs as close as possible to a real fight, making it a complete session.
Known as the Ambassador of Karate, Lyoto is also Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt graduated by Ricardo De La Riva, a student of the legendary Carlson Gracie (BTT founder).
Despite having his origin in a striking style, Machida noticed jiu jitsu as an effective martial art and started training it along karate.
“I watched Ultimate Fighting for the first time when I was 15 and wanted to do that. I saw jiu jitsu as an effective and necessary weapon to MMA. So for using my karate calmly I had to learn jiu jitsu. If the fight goes to the mat, I’m ready to get away from submissions attempts to fight my fight standing. I see jiu jitsu as a second option for me,” he revealed.
Lyoto works very well on his feet using a technique called De-Ai (counter-attacking his opponents using kicks after anticipating their strikes) and karate fighters have a great idea of distance in the combat.
“We train the distance point in karate so much and it is essential into the fight because you can have a ton of power in your blow but it’s useless if you don’t land it on your adversary,” the champion explained.
The karate artist also puts Tai-Sabaki ("get into the range of the opponent, attack then leave") in practice during the fights, a technique also used in judo. The knowledge gives him the ability to hit the opponent unexpectedly.
“It was what happened to Rashad Evans at UFC 98 when I caught the belt from him. Karate is based on timing and distance. You could see Anderson versus Forrest Griffin at UFC 101. Silva didn’t strike hard, he struck all the time. That’s the reason Griffin fell down,” says Machida.
Until he fights in the main event of UFC 104 the routine of Machida will be “home-gym-home” without getting out or any kind of enjoyment. It may be a reason behind his success as a fighter.
Explaining the Spartan regime he is adopting in the run-up to his first title defence, the champion says, “I will stay in Belem (hone city) up to a week before the event.
“In this period of time I will keep myself concentrated, trying not to travel and always coming back home after the training in the gym. I called off all of my appointments. That’s the way I’m always been focused to fight.”
NOTE: This content features quotes from Portuguese-language newspaper Diario do Para. If you liked it, click the following link to give their website a hit, it will be appreciated. Obrigado!
LINK: http://www.diariodopara.com.br/
TheBrazilianNinja
(FO Staff Brasil)
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