UFC 113 Preview: Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio Rua

The first fight between these two was a battle of tactical brilliance in the stand up game. Rua's Muay Thai attack with his leg kicks and body kicks for the first time put Machida on edge, pushing the Champion off his game for much of the fight. The Champ was able to effectively counter strike at times, but the fight became a bit of a stalemate on the feet leading to a the decision that shocked viewers everywhere.

With most believing Rua won the fight with a 3-2 round advantage at the least, the scores were read and the belt stayed around Machida's waist. With such a controversial call made by the judges that so few agreed with, this immediate rematch was a no-brainer. Of course, the rematch was slightly delayed due to Machida's hand surgery following the first fight.

Now, the two enter Montreal, Quebec, Canada this Saturday night to settle the score, and they see Rua as much more than a deserving challenger, after many didn't see him as such heading into the first meeting in October.

After showing why many had considered him the best light heavyweight in the world upon his entrance into the UFC, Shogun is now out to take the Title that he believed should have been his after UFC 104. He's likely to try to enact a similar strategy as he did the last time out, as it was the first and only time one of Machida's opponents has been able to do much effectively against him. Until that fight, Machida had never lost a round, let alone multiple rounds in a fight, and Rua will need to find a way to replicate what he did in the first fight and then some.

The difference in this fight is with Machida. He was taken out of his game in the first bout and wasn't able to fluster Shogun like he had so many opponents before him. That said, he came away from that fight with belt still around his waist, having not fought up to the level we've seen from him before.

The first meeting was not the best Machida we could have seen, while it appeared to be the best Shogun we were seeing to shake Machida and take him out of his comfort zone. Machida's not going to let that happen again, and I expect to see a much better "Dragon" in this fight. The fight did not hit the ground in the first bout, and I'm not sure that it will in this one, but I am expecting more flashes of brilliance from the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in this fight, and I'm expecting to see a decisive finish. When it comes to that, I like the Champ to legitimately keep his belt in this fight, and leave no questions in doing so.

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