In what will go down as one of the worst decisions in mixed martial arts history, Lyoto (the Dragon) Machida earned a unanimous decision victory over Mauricio (Shogun) Rua at UFC 104.
Throughout the bout, the 2005 PRIDE grand prix champion punished his opponent’s legs and body with power kicks. Each time Machida attempted to attack, Rua responded with kicks. At first, many of the counters didn’t land, but as the bout continued Rua began to figure out Machida’s tempo.
After 25 minutes of fighting, the light-heavyweight champion looked tired and frustrated. The story of the match also clearly etched in the huge welts on his legs and body.
For all intents and purposes, the ‘Machida era’ should have come to a screeching halt last night.
Instead, all three judges inexplicably scored it 48-47 in favour of ‘The Dragon.’ The decision earned a loud chorus of boos from the audience at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. With the win, Machida’s record improves to 16-0, while Rua’s now stands at 18-4.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White admitted he disagreed with the call and is looking to schedule a rematch.
"I thought 'Shogun' won the fight," White said. "I think there will be a rematch. I talked to both of them, and they both agreed to a rematch."
VELASQUEZ EARNS BIGGEST WIN YET
In another impressive display of wrestling and ground-and-pound, Cain Velasquez defeated IFL standout (Big) Ben Rothwell by second round TKO in the co-main event.
Though not nearly as contentious as Rua vs. Machida, the bout was not without its controversy.
While attempting to stand up against the cage, Rothwell (30-7) received a flurry of unprotected punches to the head. Despite this, he reached his feet just as the bout was waved off. If Rothwell was out, he did a great job of acting conscious because he immediately protested the stoppage.
Though the ending came too early, Velasquez (7-0) completely dominated the fight in his best performance to date. After last night, the two-time All-American wrestler can’t be far from a title shot.
STEVENSON DISMANTLES FISHER
Joe (Daddy) Stevenson put an end to Spencer (The King) Fisher’s three-fight win streak at UFC 104. The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner showed improved stand-up skills and seemed comfortable to trade with talented striker.
In the second round, Stevenson (31-10) nailed a takedown and secured side-control. From there, he unloaded with elbows on the prone Fisher (23-5), who had no choice but to tap.
Though he needs to string together some more wins to earn another shot the lightweight championship, Stevenson has looked like a new fighter since joining Greg Jackson’s camp.
FULL RESULTS FROM UFC 104
- Lyoto Machida def. Mauricio Rua by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Cain Velasquez def. Ben Rothwell by second-round TKO
- Gleison Tibau def. Josh Neer by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Joe Stevenson def. Spencer Fisher by second-round TKO
- Anthony Johnson def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida by first round TKO
- Ryan Bader def. Eric Schafer by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-26, 30-27)
- Pat Barry def. Antoni Hardonk by second-round TKO
- Chael Sonnen def. Yushin Okami by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jorge Rivera def. Rob Kimmons by thrird-round TKO
- Kyle Kingsbury def. Razak Al-Hassan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Stefan Struve def. Chase Gormley by first-round submission (triangle choke)
