When I was a kid, I really loved karate. I felt like I was pretty good at it, but after a while I started to become disillusioned with it. It was really a snowball of things that started with the very first UFC in which pretty much every karate guy got his ass handed to him and ending with me getting my ass handed to me while sparring with a less than competent boxer one day.

I felt as though I had been spending that time, not only learning how not to fight, but also instilling myself with enough confidence in my skills to ensure that if I were to get into a brawl, I’d really get my ass kicked.

Why don’t we focus more on combinations? One punch almost never ends the fight.

Why am I spending all of this time on kata (it’s like karate line dancing)? Unless you have instructed your assailant exactly where and when to strike, a Shuto block is going to fail miserably and even if it didn’t, the scripted reverse punch that follows probably won’t connect.

Perhaps the biggest thing to me was that even my sparring was teaching me to get beat. We’d point spar, so as soon as you got a clean hit, you’d stop the action and be recognized to that. So when it came time to spar with that boxer, I’d hit him, one time and stop while he wore my head out with punch after punch.

To say the least, I was pissed and I thinking karate is garbage.

Enter Lyoto Machida. He’s the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion who has spent his entire life studying karate under his father. Sure he has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well, but his base is karate. Aside from being a champion, he also holds the record for taking the least amount of damage in his fights and is the second highest in strike accuracy. In other words, he’s showing that karate can work.

So now, I’m even more pissed because I now see what I was missing in the instruction I was getting growing up. Mental training and practical application.

I’ll let the mental side slide because I’m sure you’d need more than an hour twice a week for forge a strong warrior mind. Practical application however is different.

Give me the how and why.

Step this way because…

Throw in combinations because…

Be ready for….

This Saturday, Lyoto Machida takes on a tough challenger in Mauricio Rua. If you’re like me and spent time as a kid learning karate only coming to think you would have been better off learning Jedi magic, I highly recommend you check this fight out.

Now the picks:

Steve: 97 - 62 (21 perfect picks)

Josh: 89 - 70 (25 perfect picks)

Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua

Josh: Machida 3^rd KO. I have a feeling that Shogun will try to take this fight to the ground. Machida is comfortable there, but I think he’s also on a mission to show how good his style is by forcing the action to stay on the feet.

Steve: Machida 2^nd KO. Believe the hype. Machida has looked flawless lately and  Rua has not looked impressive.  A loss, a near loss and a shallow victory over the iceman leads to another loss for Shogun.

Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell

Steve: Cain by decision. Rothwell is a solid performer with some big wins under his belt, and some bigger losses.  Cain has been bulldozing through the division and is expecting to be the next contender for the belt.  I see him taking him down for some lay and pray.

Josh: Ben Rothwell by 2^nd round KO. Rothwell has a record of 30-6. That’s an impressive. While Cain is undefeated, he only has as many fights as Rothwell has losses. I think experience plus Big Ben’s desire to make a statement will win out.

Gleison Tibau Vs. Josh Neer

Josh: This is a tough cal. For some reason I just have a hard time picking Neer, but I think I’ll side with him winning the decision.

Steve: Neer by decision. Tibau is a pretty solid fighter who doesn’t lose easily.  Josh is a good striker, but rarely knocks out his opponents.  Most of his recent fights have gone to decision and i expect that to be the case this time.

Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher

Steve: Stevenson, decision. On paper, Stevenson is a bad match up for Fisher.  Fisher is a solid fighter who rarely loses, but he also has only been knocked out once (his other three loses were decisions).  Stevenson is going to work his way back up the ranks.

Josh: I think Joe Stevenson comes out with an agressive game plan to show that he’s still a force to be reckoned with. I see Joe winning by submission in the 2^nd.

Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Josh: Johnson is a monster in that division and he’s been on a tear. I expect him to win this by KO, maybe in the 3^rd.

Steve: Rumble Johnson 2^nd KO. I have not been impressed with Yoshida, and Rumble is a solid puncher.  I predict a nap time for Zenko.

Ryan Bader Vs. Eric Schafer

Steve: Bader 3rd decision. Red is a solid submission guy, but Darth has never lost, shows solid wrestling and I think he will grind out a decision.

Josh: Bader can win this fight in any number of ways. He’s got KO power, he’s got submissions, he’s got the ability to grind out a decision like a typical wrestler. I say he gets the KO in round 2.

Antoni Hardonk Vs. Pat Barry

Josh: I say Hardonk by 3^rd KO. I think he’s just a bit better.

Steve: Hardonk 2^nd KO. Both are coming off losses.  Barry lost to Hague, who got knocked out in 7 seconds.  Hardonk’s losses are more reasonable.  Plus, I love watching that guy fight.

Yushin Okami Vs. Chael Sonnen

Steve: Okami by decision. Sonnen has not been impressive in the UFC and Okami is one of the best middleweights in the world.  He rarely finishes fights, however… expect a snoozefest, with Okami pressuring him against the cage until the final bell rings.

Josh: Okami is a guy who should have fought Anderson Silva by now. He’s a tough guy who might not be exciting, but he’s relentless and he wins. I say Okami gets the decision.

Jorge Rivera Vs. Rob Kimmons

Josh: I don’t particularly care about this fight. I’m just not a fan of his, but Rivera by decision.

Steve: Rivera 2^nd KO. Kimmons has lost to every name fighter he has faced… this will be just the next in line.

Kyle Kingsbury Vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Steve: Razak by decision. Both are coming off losses.  I think Al-Hassan has the chops to win this one, but honestly, it could go either way… they are pretty evenly matched.

Josh: Kindsbury by decision. Just to have some differences here.

Stefan Struve Vs. Chase Gormley

Josh: Struve is an odd guy because of his height and I see him using that to take out Chase with a 2^nd round KO.

Steve: Struve 2^nd submission. It is very hard to fight a guy who is almost 7 feet tall.  And Struve has a lot more experience than the 6-0 Chase.