Machida, Victim of the "Jones Era?"

Upon winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Title in 2009, it was proclaimed that a new era had begun. “The Machida Era” as it was called had begun, and it didn’t look like anyone would be able to figure out Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida’s style, let alone beat him and take his title.
Machida began his martial arts career at a very young age. He already had his black belt in karate when he was thirteen years old. He also began training in sumo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before he was fifteen years of age. It is this combination of karate, and ground control that makes Machida a hard opponent to figure out.
His style consists mainly of counterstriking, and he truly uses every limb to strike, his most deadly being his straight right. Machida has shown proficiency in all aspects of his Mixed Martial Arts game, and is truly one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA.
Machida also boasts one of the most impressive records in all of MMA history. He has squared off with the best of the best, including Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and Randy Couture. The only foe on his record he could not best in the Octagon is Rampage Jackson, who he lost a controversial split decision to. In total, he has faced seven former UFC Champions, a UFC Hall-of-Famer, two future Hall-of-Famers, and two former Pride Champions. Lyoto Machida has seen and done it all, and has arguably the best record in all of MMA.
The aforementioned, “Machida Era” was not long lived, and ended after just one controversial title defense over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The unanimous decision, awarded to Machida, was contested within the MMA community, and UFC President Dana White gave the green light for an immediate rematch between the two. Shogun took the second contest decisively, winning with the 2010 knockout of the year in the first round.
After his loss to Rua, Machida was put into the middle ranks of the highly competitive light heavyweight division. He was arranged to square off with the ever-rising Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. More controversy followed at the end of the fight when Rampage was given the unanimous nod over Machida. Rampage, in a post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that he felt Machida had won the fight and even suggested a rematch. White denied the rematch, and Machida was put on the hot seat, facing the prospect of three straight losses.
Machida was determined to not leave his fate up to his bosses, and put on a stunning performance at UFC 129, the biggest UFC event to date. Machida showed early on against Randy Couture that he wanted to strike. He consistently avoided Couture’s clinch attempts, and landed kicks and punches with pinpoint accuracy. Late in the second round, he landed the kick that ended Couture’s career. A fantastic jumping front kick to Couture’s jaw knocked out more than just a tooth and sent Couture to the mat. The fight was called, and it appeared that maybe The Dragon could be champion again one day.
His title aspirations were put on the backburner in possibly the most competitive division in the UFC. Rampage Jackson got his shot, and failed. Rashad Evans was arranged to have his crack at titleholder, Jon Jones, but due to injury he was forced to pull out. Could it have been fate? Machida, after just one win, is back in the title picture, and at the head of it.
The matchup with Jones is scary for fans of Jones, and quite interesting for Machida’s supporters. Jones, who may be considered the most dominant champion aside from Anderson Silva, has yet to taste legitimate defeat in his MMA career. The sole blemish on his record is the result of a questionable stoppage against Matt Hammil after Jones delivered illegal 12-to-6 elbow strikes. Jones is a very aggressive striker, and that plays right into the hands of Machida, a strong counter striker.
If Machida wants his title back, he will have to work for it against one of the best wrestlers in the UFC. Machida will have to carefully counter, and avoid being put on his back against Jones, but I’m not sure that will be enough. Jones has a massive reach at 84.5 inches, the longest in UFC history, and even against a superb counter-striker like Machida that will be a huge advantage. Jones will work his ground game effectively, but it is his striking where he will dominate. No one so far has been able to stop the reach of the freakishly athletic Jones, and don’t expect Machida to do that. Jones will mix in a few takedowns as well en route to his first unanimous decision since UFC 100 in 2009.