Entering the era of Machida

Joe Rogan said it best: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Machida era. We have just entered a new era in the light heavyweight division."

Lyoto Machida is a ninja. If he vanished and reappeared on the other side of the cage, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Machida became the new light heavyweight champ in the UFC Saturday night with a knockout over previously unbeaten Rashad Evans. He's now 15-0, as well as unmarked, unscarred, unbruised, undamaged and un-a lot of other things. I've never seen opponents swing and miss on so many punches and kicks.

What's even more impressive is that I think Evans did better than anyone else I've seen Machida fight. He landed a couple punches after a flurry by Machida, and a couple kicks to the body and leg. He was rocked in the first round, but recovered. He was rocked by several shots in the second and even seemed to talk trash in the process before finally going to sleep. He even did a good job of getting Machida to come to him early in round one.

But there's still no fighter that has figured out how to attack the karate black belt. He's patient, avoids all strikes, and doesn't need many of his own to inflict damage. Evans never came close. As big a Machida fan as I've become, and as much as I want to see him hold the title for years, I'm also extremely curious to see what that successful game plan looks like. I can't imagine.