WANTED: GRAND LARCENY AT UFC 104

by Andrew Buhr

What happened last night at UFC 104 has the MMA message boards running out of bandwidth. The popular opinion is that Shogun Rua was robbed of the Light Heavyweight title. What is even more shocking is that this fight even went to a decision. The decision surely shocked everyone in attendance as they booed the decision and Machida during his post-fight interview and gave a rousing ovation to Shogun during his interview. Even Dana White went so far as to say that he thought Shogun won the fight. Let's clear up one misconception: Dana White has no more power than you or I when it comes to these decisions, or referees for that matter. So, please give him a break. He was just as pissed off as you and I at this decision. But, let's step back and take a brief round-by-round look at the fight.

Round 1: Both fighters spent the round feeling each other out. Shogun got a lot of hard kicks in and landed a right hook to the side of Machida's head. Machida landed the same brutal knee that crippled Tito Ortiz in their fight. This was a real close round. I can't see any way you could give the round to Machida, but I could see 10-9 for Shogun. So, if you thought Machida did well in Round 1, you would have to go 10-10. I would go 10-9 Shogun.

Round 2: If you didn't know before, these guys can take some brutal shots to the midsection. Machida is starting to look a little more perplexed. Not too much action, but being a five-round fight, both fighters are wary of making a huge mistake. Shogun spent the end of the round kneeing Machida in the legs against the cage. This round was the definition of a tie. 10-10.

Round 3: The first three and a half minutes were spent still feeling each other out. Shogun is landing some real hard kicks to the midsection forcing Machida to switch stances. Machida started a flurry at the end of the round where he landed a bunch of punches. Replays showed that Shogun landed a couple of hard punches to the face while countering. That last flurry, you could argue, won Machida the round. I thought it earned him a tie, but I could see Machida winning that round. 10-10.

Round 4: Shogun landed a ton of hard kicks to Machida's midsection and a hard knee. Interestingly, Shogun is throwing very few punches to the head and is employing the same strategy that Forrest Griffin used to cut down Rampage Jackson. Machida looked very downtrodden at the end of this round. He is not used to fighting this long. This round is easily 10-9 for Shogun.

Round 5: So far, Machida is losing this fight. If you look at the fight without scorecards, you would say Shogun is winning the fight. His body language is better and he looks better. Scoring-wise as well, Shogun is probably winning the fight. So, Machida really needs to go after it this round to win the fight. At best, he is losing so far. Shogun clearly won Round 5 continuing the theme of brutal leg kicks mixed in with some flurries. It is really strange that Machida showed no sense of urgency. At the horn, Shogun raised his hands and jumped around sensing his victory. If you look at Machida's hand raise, it looked so half-hearted. Then, we know what happened next.

Machida looked completely shocked when Bruce Buffer announced him as the winner. Machida and his corner looked like they caught a miracle card on the river at the World Series of Poker. That is not the type of look that makes me think he thought he won the fight. This nonsense that you have to beat the champion to win the title has no basis within the rules of MMA. The premise is that fighters fight for a specified number of rounds. If no one wins by KO or submission, then each round is looked at objectively and the scores are added together to determine a winner. There is no such thing as a champion's bonus. Machida made some candy ass remarks during his interview: That three judges thought he won the fight, so tough shit everyone. You wouldn't respond that way if you thought you won.

Shogun's strategy was a smart one and should have won a decision. How can three out of three judges give it to Machida? I could maybe, MAYBE, see a split decision towards Shogun. Crazy. No fighter, however, made an effort to decisively win the fight. Both fighters have agreed to a rematch. I can't wait for this one. By the way, this should put an end to Lyoto's talk of fighting Brock Lesnar. I think we all know he would get his ass kicked in that one.