A championship belt changes everything.
Lyoto Machida was once viewed as a skilled but boring mixed martial arts fighter from Brazil. In becoming the new king of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light-heavyweight division with several impressive knockouts on his record, Machida’s mystique is being saluted by UFC executives as something resembling a revival of Bruce Lee.
“He’s interesting, calm, powerful,” UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said of Machida. “And mysterious.”
On Saturday, Machida made his first title defense and got all he could handle from fellow Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event in the UFC 104 card at Staples Center. All three scorecards had it 48-47 for Machida, though some observers thought Rua had it won.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Machida, who wears a karate suit into the octagon, hasn’t lost a fight (16-0) — and hadn’t lost a round before Saturday — and clearly has performed as someone who knows something his opponents don’t.
Maybe it’s the peace of mind Machida achieves while training at his family’s farm in Brazil — no cell phones, no traffic. It could be because he’s the son of a Japanese karate master who moved to Brazil to improve his skills and began teaching his child the basics at age 3. Perhaps it’s Machida’s observations of fighting in nature, taking the time to watch a wild big cat or a poisonous serpent stalk and kill its prey near a river offshoot of the mighty Amazon.
“There are many techniques I’m aware of, I’m waiting for the right place for them to be used,” Machida said last week as he concluded training for his Rua fight. “There are many secrets, so the people I fight won’t expect them. When it happens, you’ll notice.”
“My first goal was to win the title,” Machida said. “My second is to hang onto it.”
In other fights, Cain Velasquez stopped Ben Rothwell at the 58-second mark of the second round; Gleison Tibau won a lackluster fight against lightweight opponent Josh Neer by unanimous decision.
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lpugmire@tribune.com
