Two fighters just outside Sportsnet.ca's Pound-for-Pound Top 10, at least for now, are a couple of light-heavyweights who have worked themselves into title contention. They are each undefeated in 13 career bouts. They're both coming off wins over former UFC champions.
Need one more clue? They're the last two guys to face Tito Ortiz.
They are, of course, Rashad Evans (12-0-1) and Lyoto Machida (13-0-0).
They have something else in common. They each have a very efficient and very successful style, but one which also happens to be very frustrating.
Definitely frustrating for their opponents. But it can also be so for the fans watching them.
Some like to call it "hit and run." It's a more passive or defensive approach. They don't attack aggressively trying to strike. Instead, they wait for an opportunity to strike and then "run away." They make the other fighter spend parts of a round chasing them, but never let them get close enough to actually hit them, at least not effectively. They frustrate their opponents by constantly eluding any attacks. And they score just enough "points" to win.
It reminds me of the New Jersey Devils of the mid-'90s, who mastered the art of the neutral-zone trap in hockey. They were very efficient at employing the tactics, but were also boring to watch. It would be unfair to call it strictly a passive approach but it wasn't exactly aggressive either. Sure they were successful. But when they were sweeping the mighty Detroit Red Wings in the Cup Final, it was hard to get excited about it (unless of course you were a Jersey fan… or a face-painter).
It's similar with Machida and Evans (without the face-painting).
Take Machida. In his five UFC fights, four were unanimous decisions. There's no question he earned those decisions. He is great with takedowns and with takedown defence. He's got strength standing up, and on the ground, in side control Machida can be lethal although he isn't the one to push the pace.
Instead, Machida keeps his distance and simply looks for opportunities. He is almost impossible to take down, and when his opponents shoot in to try, Machida then attacks. His fights can go for full rounds without much action, but he's efficient with his shots, so Machida wins the rounds.
Then there's Evans. In eight UFC fights, five have gone to decision. Quite notably, none has been unanimous (three split, one majority and one draw against Tito Ortiz).
On the other hand, Evans does have the quick-strike knockout power. He was well-known for a while for the brutal knockout of Sean Salmon with a kick to the head on a UFC Fight Night in January 2007. And now people won't soon forget Evans' one-punch stoppage of Chuck Liddell which left The Iceman face down and motionless.
However, in that very fight, Evans basically gave up the first round as he played the defensive game, ducking Chuck's shots while landing his own only when he could. Against Ortiz, he did the same. In fact, Evans lost the second round on the judges' scorecards and only earned the draw by virtue of a point deduction on Ortiz.
I'm not saying his approach is a bad one. It was a great game plan against Chuck and it's smart fighting.
The question is just whether it's exciting fighting.
Again if you're a fan of Machida or Evans, I suppose you would say yes. But wouldn't you prefer to see them push the pace a little more?
Interestingly, Machida has said if he could choose who he would fight next, it would be Evans.
However, Machida appears to be set to face another guy undefeated in, coincidentally, 13 career bouts in Thiago Silva. The two were originally slated to square off at UFC 89 in October, but an injury to Silva put the kibosh on that. However, it appears it may still be a go, though in January instead.
Of the three unbeaten fighters, Silva is the one with the least experience, at least on paper. He is a few years younger, his professional debut came a little later and he only has four UFC fights under his belt.
But Silva's style is a complete contrast. All four of his UFC wins came by TKO, the last three by a barrage of strikes. He also has three KOs outside of the UFC and three other technical knockouts. He has one submission and only one of his bouts has gone to a decision. In fact, that was his only career bout to hear the closing bell of the second round. You can definitely say his approach is an aggressive one.
So which would you rather watch as a fan? Does the style matter? Or is it just a matter of who gets the job done?
One thing is for sure. We'll see whose style prevails head-to-head between a couple of these guys soon enough.
