niceness

last night, explaining what was happening to a non-MMA fan friend who was watching UFC 98 with us, my brother was trying to explain Lyoto Machida to him. At one point, he stopped, nodded at me, and said "That guy's been saying Machida will be champ for two years".
We were chatting later, and both agreed that what we saw last night may be another evolution in the sport, much like the evolution from dominant BJJ or sprawl'n'brawl to wrestling, we now have two of the UFC champs as predominantly "elusive" counterstrikers. It's yet another puzzle that must be figured out by their opponents...much like Chuck Liddell was a puzzle, and Matt Hughes was a puzzle, and GSP is a puzzle right now. While the distaste in a lot of quarters is still idiotic, it is also irrelevant. While obviously Rampage could figure something out and end the "Machida Era" in the next fight, it seems unlikely. So go ahead and whine, Machida haters. It's pointless, you were wrong, and very, very dumb.