Originally Posted by
Eccocide
I'll bite one more time I guess lol. Liddell has tremendous wrestling, he used it in reverse to keep fights standing. Just because he didn't use it offensively all that much doesn't mean he was marely a striker or that he isnt well rounded. I can't remember the guy ever being on his back for an extended period of time and he neutralized the wrestling of some of the best in the sport at the time.
As for Machida, its another instance of choosing where he wants the fight to take place. I know Tito is old, but Tito had little to no success taking Machida down, and even got taken down a couple of times himself (and Tito is known for his wrestling, although he is obviously on the decline). Lyoto's top game is underrated, but he rarely uses it. His clinch is solid and his footwork, head movement and countering is top-notch. I know you alluded to the Rampage fight, but I think the fact that Shogun knocked him out cold in his previous fight had a lot to due with his timidness and inability to commit.
Jones is a wrestler with vicious GnP and a lanky frame. He's very early into his career in terms of learning the intricacies of the ground game, his subs are pretty basic right now and as I stated before, his standup needs some work. As well, its a lot easier to look good at what you do when the UFC feeds you wrestler after wrestler who also have basic standup. He wasn't scared to throw down with the likes of O'brien, Hamill and Matyushenko. Mix it up a little bit, then go to the bread and butter with the Trip/TD and GnP. I'll be very surprised if he chooses to stand at all with Shogun, especially early in the fight. If Shogun can land his kicks on those toothpick legs with any frequency in the opening round or 2, a lot of Jones's explosiveness will dissappear. I'm sure Greg Jackson has prepared Jones well for this and I expect to see him work towards the fence and work for the takedown right away.