HYDEN BLOG: Alistair Overeem, Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida, and UFC 125 Aftermath

By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Alistair Overeem crushed Todd Duffee in 14 seconds last weekend in Japan. I really like Overeem, but he hasn't fought the competition needed to call him one of the great heavyweights in the world. At least not with conviction. I have Overeem at number six in my Top Ten, but sometimes I wonder if that's too high. Destroying Duffee makes for a great highlight, but it's like the Baltimore Ravens beating up on a rookie quarterback. It's not the same as beating Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Drew Brees. Duffee has the potential to be a Top Ten heavyweight, but he's not there yet. If Overeem wants to be considered one of the greats, he needs to fight other greats. Until that time, I have to keep him out of my top five. But with Strikeforce's heavyweight tournament, that time may be coming.

*************

Assuming that the reports of Randy Couture agreeing to fight Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in Toronto are correct, this is a very interesting match. Machida employs a very cerebral approach to his fights, but so does Couture. This would be like a fighting chess match. Both guys are going to try to outwit their opponent. I don't want to keep underestimating Couture, but I think Machida would have the edge here; not so much in the mental aspect of the fight, but the physical. We all keep saying this, but time and age have to catch up to Randy eventually. How many more times can Randy turn back the clock to compete at such a high level? By no means would I call a Couture win a monster upset, however. He's proven over and over that experience and guile will trump most anything. I hope this report is true, this is a fight I'd love to see.

*************

Clay Guida finishing Takanori Gomi like he did was pretty damn cool. Guida was one of those gamer-types for a while - he could hang in there with good opponents but he couldn't beat them. Gatekeeper is another term for those fighters. However, Guida has turned that around and has finished his last three fights. Gomi, however, appears to just be a shell of his former self. Gomi has a lot of mileage on his body, and it looks like it's caught up to him, and he now appears to be in that gatekeeper or gamer role. He was a great fighter once, but it looks like those days are over.

*************

UFC 125 Quick Thoughts

-Brian Stann looked very impressive finishing Chris Leben like he did. He dominated Leben like no one has since Anderson Silva. It takes a lot of power to stop Leben, and Stann was up to it.

-Nate Diaz looked at a loss at times as he fought Dong Hyun Kim. He struggled to fend off the larger Kim throughout the fight, and perhaps a move back to lightweight would be best for Diaz at this point?

-Thiago Silva looked pretty good at times, but he really, really should have finished Brandon Vera. The fact that he couldn't says more about him than it does about Vera.

-Brandon Vera is one of the most disappointing and perplexing fighters in UFC history. He has talent that he's shown in his fights. It just seems at times like Vera doesn't even want to fight. I wonder if his heart's even in it. In this sport, your heart has to be totally into it. You have to give a part of yourself in every fight, and the training before the fight. I don't know if Vera has that desire or commitment.

-What happened to Josh Grispi? He got totally dominated by Dustin Poirier. It makes me wonder what would have happened if Grispi had fought Jose Aldo like was originally intended? Would it have been an even more vicious beating?

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/hydenstake/article_8046.shtml

Alexander Ustinov Umer W Chheena Victor Valimaki Mike Van Arsdale