This fight may steal the attention away from the main fight of Penn vs. Sherk. There is so much attention being put on Tito vs. Dana White and their fight. Tito must first put away a hungry Lyoto Machida, which is going to be a very good match. The camera will be on Dana White probably as much as Tito. I can see Dana cheering for Machida to destroy Tito and send him packing to another organization. He has only lost to two fighters since the year 2000. Those losses being to Liddel and Couture. This fight is extremely important to Tito, his fans, and his future. He will be leaving the UFC after this bout and looks like EliteXC will pick him up for a large amount of dough. Tito can always sell tickets and draws PPV viewers. He always brings excitement and drama to his fights, and is a fan favorite.
What Tito needs to do
This fight comes down to one thing; can Tito take down Machida? We know Tito will come out at first on his feet striking, but will eventually go for the shoot. In his past fights, Tito has been shooting too soon and from too far away, giving his opponents time to react and sprawl. Tito is a much bigger lightweight then Machida and if he is successful on his take-downs, I believe he will ride out the decision with elbows and punches from the ground. Tito claims he is 100% healthy and injure-free. I would love to see the old Tito with the heart and passion in his take-downs. If Machida does not stop Tito’s take downs, he’s in for a world of hurt.
What Lyoto needs to do
Lyoto has never taken any real punishment in the octagon, with a perfect 12-0 record, he stands right among the best in the lightweight division. Dana is hoping he’ll give Tito a nice going away beat down. Lyoto has great stand up and if he can stop Tito take-down attempts, it will be a long 3 rounr Tito. Machida doesn’t possess knock out power, but he has enough to get you thinking if he does indeed land one. Even if Tito takes Machida down, he doesn’t have a weak ground game. He’ll make Tito work at it or end up getting back to his feet.
“Dana is my Bitch”
I still think Tito knows what he needs to do and is determined to leave the UFC on top with a win. Lets see if Dana lets him get on the mic after the fight, especially with the t-shirt he was sporting at the weigh-in that read ‘Dana is my Bitch’! Even though Tito is the big underdog here, I still see the fight going all three rounds, with Tito taking the decision.
Prediction by Pat V.
