One of the most debated outcomes in recent UFC history has to be UFC 104’s main event, Lyoto “Dragon” Machida vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The two Brazilian strikers battled head on for five grueling rounds, none of which saw either man truly take decisive control. Some might say that the defending champion, the seemingly untouchable Lyoto Machida, met his match on this night. Fans everywhere continue to debate on who was the better fighter at 104.

On May 8 at UFC 113, the fighters will meet again. The Lightheavyweight title will be back on the line, and we will have one more chance to see these two brilliant tacticians go at it. Both fighters recently spoke to Tatame regarding their upcoming fight…

It’s a new fight. Even by the fact that Shogun is a very eclectic athlete and has this ability for change. This is a new battle, I’m prioritizing certain skills and we don’t know what is about to come. He has well-defined grounds, calculated movements, he’s good in both parts, in striking and on the ground, and so do I,” Machida said, betting that the challenger will not change his tactics for the rematch. “It’s a strategical thing. Of course we end up repeating some moves, it’s normal, no one can change that much.”

In the exclusive report, Shogun reveals that he’s not changing his way of fighting. “I intend to build a strategy and follow it, but I still have the same fight style. I fight for 10 years one way and I will not change now, I’ll fight against Lyoto and do what needs to be done to win,” said the champion of the Pride GP in 2005, explaining a little bit about his strategy. “The kicking part for sure he will try to block, and probably is already working on these defenses. Surely the boxing part is one more option that I intend to use,” he adds.

Source: Tatame