It’s been an odd week in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
Betting ahead of the UFC 129 matchup between Lyoto Machida and Randy Couture was cagey. It would have been foolish to bet against UFC legend Couture causing an upset, despite facing an opponent sixteen years his junior.
After six minutes of absorbing to-and-fro, Machida made his move. In an astonishing departure from cagefighting best practice, he eschewed takedowns or striking, opting instead for the crane kick to finish his opponent.
See the kick here
That’s right. The crane kick. A move immortalised by Daniel LaRusso, “The Karate Kid”, in his victory over arch-nemeses the Cobra Kai dojo.
The last time we saw a crane kick, Nelson Mandela was still in prison, the US and Russia were firmly embedded in a Cold War and the Ford Capri was Britain’s car of choice.
For someone to reproduce that kick, a full twenty-seven years later, and in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the UFC, was truly astonishing.
Even more astonishing was Machida’s subsequent comment that the man who taught him this deadly move was not LaRusso, but action movie star Steven Seagal.
Steven Seagal: back from the wilderness
Seagal’s top-flight career, much like Queens Park Rangers, has been something of a distant memory since the early nineties. He signed off from the top level of cinema after his 1993 hit ”Under Siege”, perhaps most notable for the sight of Baywatch beauty Erika Eleniak emerging topless from a giant birthday cake.
For a generation of young men, that scene proved two things. Firstly, that the pause button was an adolescent’s best friend. Secondly, that back in the nineties, cinema was symptomatic of English football – you couldn’t get success without a big front two.
Since then the movie business has moved on, leaving Seagal has to ply his trade exclusively in the straight-to-DVD section of Blockbuster.
Titles such as “Mercenary for Justice”, “Shadow Man” and “Attack Force” all failed to trouble the scorers at the Oscars.
After such a fall from grace, many wondered which director would be brave enough to give him another job at the top-level.
None, as it happens.
Instead, after various flirts with reality television, Seagal, a 7th dan black belt in Aikido, has re-appeared in the world of MMA.
And the sport is all the better for it.
Grudge Match
What follows will surely be a protracted debate about whose crane kick was the most impressive. Seagal has been all over the MMA media, citing his pride in his protégé, and the difficulty in performing such a kick in the Octagon.
In contrast, La Russo has stayed remarkably silent. His supporters point out his kick was executed under the most extreme pressure.
Not only was he carrying an injury, and shouldering the expectations of his ageing master Mr Miyagi, but LaRusso was facing a brutal truth: Defeat meant he had absolutely no chance of sleeping with Elizabeth Shue.
For me, that makes his effort the more notable.
There is also the question of the resources at their disposal. Seagal’s profile has afforded him considerable wealth and the ability to train in top-class facilities.
I sincerely doubt that Machida’s preparation involved the waxing/ polishing of 1950s cars, and catching insects with a pair of chopsticks.
Perhaps there is a more fitting way to decide this…
UFC 140: Seagal v LaRusso: “No Pain, no Crane”
It can happen. It must happen.
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