Anxious to see what Tito does to follow up on his “Dana is my Bitch” t-shirt that he wore at the weigh in yesterday. Machida reminds me of Pernell Whittaker in that he’s not particularly entertaining to watch but he’s tactically excellent and wins all the time. He also seems to have ice water running through his veins which is probably good for this matchup. Tito rolling in to the Public Enemy’s classic “Fight the Power” and getting a nice pop from the fans and slaps high fives on the way. Love or hate Tito he’s a rock star and there’s very few of those in MMA. Rogan and Goldberg giving Tito a lot of props–worth noting that his Dana-diss t-shirt notwithstanding he acted like he had a lot of love for the rest of the UFC crew hugging Mark Ratner, Rogan and Bruce Buffer. Now the picture goes blank, no doubt the fault of my cable company…BRB after we get this technical snafu fixed…ok, only thing we missed was Machida’s walk in. He’s getting quite the heel reaction. Buffer’s done with the intros and we’re ready to fight:

ROUND 1:

Fighters size each other up in the standup, Machida throws a few low kicks while both guys fake jabs. Middle kick by Machida misses. Tito fakes a takedown and now trying to close off the angles, shoots for a takedown but Lyoto’s leg kicks keep him from committing. Tito with a combination but Machida backs up. Tito tries for knee strike that does connect. Another low kick my Machida. Tito tries for a takedown again and Machida pushes him off. Wonder if Tito’s often problematic knee is hurting him. Crowd starts a big “Tito” chant but it disippates quickly. 3 minutes in and its been all Machida on defense, but in a very Pernell Whittaker-esque fashion he’s controling the round. Machida connects with a middle kick. Tito trying everything in his arsenal but Machida is putting on a defensive clinic and tagging Ortiz with kicks when the opportunity presents himself. Ortiz starting to lose his cool. Double kick by Machida. Ortiz tries for a takedown and Machida reverses it with ease. Machida gets side control and starts wailing in punches. Tito gets saved by the bell as Machida had him tied up and helpless. Dominant round for Machida. I’ll call it 10-9 but you could make a case for 10-8. Machida put on a defensive clinic, took Tito down and dominated the striking…

ROUND 2:

It’s downright inexplicable that our relayed Japanese feeds are higher quality than this one. Round 2 starts like the first and this style is frustrating Tito. A few boo-birds in the crowd, possibly thinking that Machida should forget his ungodly martial arts training and just trade. Machida scores with a low kick, Tito misses with a punch which is pretty much the story of the fight so far. Tito might as well be fighting a ghost so far as he just can’t hit Machida. Tito’s aggression has disappeared as he’s flustered by Machida. Low fake, high kick by Machida scores. Another low kick by Machida and it looks like they’re starting to hurt Tito. Machida looks like Floyd Mayweather–you just can’t hit him. Machida scores with another leg kick. Machida trying to lure him into being overly aggressive. Tito shoots for a takedown and Machida effortlessly sprawls out of it. Back to standup with :45 seconds left. Knee strike by Machida. If they had Compubox numbers on MMA this could be a historical fight as Tito has landed only a couple of meaningful strikes the entire fight. Machida putting on an amazing performance, 10-9 he takes round 2 and he’s up 20-18 for the fight. Tito has a cut and his corner and the ringside doctor looking at it. Nasty location right over the left eyelid.

ROUND 3:

Immediately after this round I’m going to try to get a better picture so we’ll skip the postfight interview. Crowd trying to pick up Tito. Double underhooks by Machida, Tito lands a few body shots but Machida pushes him off. Tito throws a right which Machida counterpunches nicely. Kick by Tito blocked. Boo birds coming out. Tito tries for a clinch and gets a halfway knee. Tito lands with a nice combination, his best effort of the fight. Against the cage now trying to take Machida down which hasn’t worked so far. 2 minutes left and he’s got Ortiz pushed up against the cage with nothing going on. Tito throws a tentative knee strike but he’s pretty much bamboozled at this point. Yves Lavigne breaks them up and we’re back to standup in the center of the cage. BIG KNEE by Machida and Tito goes down like he got shot. Machida follows up and Tito covers up nicely. A minute left and Tito has survived the big knee, but he doesn’t have any answers. Out of nowhere Tito slaps on a triangle choke, but Machida escapes. Arm bar attempt and Tito escapes. Round ends, better round for Tito but I’m still giving it to Machida 10-9 and an easy 30-27 win for Lyoto Machida. We’ll wait for the decision…

All three judges have it 30-27 for Machida…

LYOTO MACHIDA WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

We’ll be back momentarily. Machida getting booed bigtime…pretty good metaphor for the changes in MMA over the past decade. Tito came out in great shape and looking like a world beater and he had no answer for an ungodly talented and unorthodox opponent…