We don’t remember when it was we first saw Lyoto Machida fight professionally. It might have been in an earlier UFC tournament on cable TV, or on a hazy lousily-copied pirated “DVD copy.” But since that time, our impression of his fighting skills and mental toughness has grown steadily.Machida is one tough cookie, amassing an immaculate 13-0-0 win-loss-draw pro record. His list of victims is as impressive as his abilities, which include: Rich Franklin (TKO on strikes), Michael McDonald (Submission via forearm choke), B.J. Penn (Unanimous Decision), Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Submission by arm triangle), and the latest, Tito Ortiz (UD).
Three of Machida’s 13 wins came by way of knockout, two by submission, betraying both his strong karate striking and Brazilian jiujitsu background. Machida also trained in sumo as a teenager.
His father, Yoshizo, is a highly-regarded karate master. We assume that Lyoto’s mother is Brazilian, who could be, like many Brazilians, is of mixed white and black descent. At 6-feet-1 and 205 pounds fighting weight, Lyoto is too big to be purely Asian.
Lyoto has two brothers: Chinzo, a multiple-tournament karate champion like Lyoto, and Kenzo, a TV journalist in their home country of Brazil. Lyoto and Chinzo once fought in the final of a karate championship where Lyoto permanently scarred his brother’s left cheek with a strike.
To round girls and other females who are interested, rethink your options; Lyoto is married to the fabulous Fabyola, who is about to give birth to their first offspring.
The fight with Ortiz was one of the toughest in Machida’s career. Surviving a triangle choke late in the third and final round of UFC 84, locked tight in those huge strong legs of Ortiz, Machida twisted and turned to escape and preserve his points lead and clean fight record. That win is as much a testament to Machida’s skills as his spirit. A true modern Samurai warrior indeed.
Banzai! and Mabuhay!...Lyoto.
