Photo courtesy of UFC - Lyoto Machida takes a big shot to the neck from "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104.

UFC President Dana White wants to see a rematch between light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. “I think there will be a rematch. I talked to both of them and they both agreed to a rematch,” White stated at the UFC 104 post-fight press conference.

White, along with the majority of MMA media and fans, felt that Shogun defeated Machida in their UFC 104 light heavyweight main event title fight Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

The fight marked Machida’s first title defense since he took the belt from Rashad Evans at UFC 98 with vicious punches that left the TUF winner in a crumpled unconscious heap.

The champion was not only undefeated coming into his fight with Shogun, he had never even lost a round inside the Octagon. However, his aura of invincible armor slowly got chipped away as Shogun landed leg kicks, body kicks, and punches.

White gave his opinion on the fight and why he tells his fighters never leave it to the judges to decide who won:

“I had Shogun winning the fight, but one thing I always tell these guys, you can’t leave it in the hands of the judges, you just can’t do it. At the end of every round, neither guy went after it, neither guy tried to steal the round. Machida is the champion and the judges gave it to Machida tonight. And I’m sure you guys are well aware, the athletic commission and judges could give a shit what I think. So, my opinion means nothing.”

Photo courtesy of UFC - Many people thought "Shogun" Rua defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 104 even though the judges did not see it that way.
Photo courtesy of UFC - Many people thought "Shogun" defeated Machida.

White went on to say he had Machida winning the fight up until the third round. He thought the first round could have gone either way and he gave the fourth and fifth rounds to Shogun. He also went on to say he feels it will be a different fight next time.

Personally, as I watched the fight last night while listening to Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg’s commentary, I gave every round to Shogun. I thought for sure he had won and could not believe it when I heard the decision.

As the night went on I checked the forums, message boards, and other MMA sites to get their opinions, maybe I was missing something. Everywhere everyone seemed to be in agreement: Shogun won.

Tonight though, I re-watched the fight with the sound off. If you have never tried that, I highly recommend it on controversial fights. The fight was much closer than what I had originally thought, and in fact, I could actually see how they gave it to Machida.

However, as Dana said, neither fighter “went after it.” Machida did not look hungry and I felt Shogun fought a very smart fight. At the end of the day, a rematch as soon as possible is the best answer in a case like this.

Photo courtesy of UFC
Photo courtesy of UFC - It appeared something was "off" about Machida for most of the fight.

Machida said his father and his friend Anderson Silva both talked to him in the locker room after the fight about the mistakes he made. He also promised he would fight much better next time. While the Machida vs. Shogun fight at UFC 104 was entertaining, it could have been much better.

Hopefully next time we will get to see the fight we should have seen Saturday night.

If you would like to hear Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, and Dana White’s comments after the fight, check out the UFC 104 post-fight press conference video.

By: Jack Bratcher

5 thoughts on “Machida and Shogun agree to rematch following UFC 104 controversy”
  1. I totally agree, I thought the fight would’ve gone to Shogun, but after watching it a second time without sound I believe Lyoto took the first 3 rounds.

  2. Well I watched the fight again with no sound this time and im even more convinced Shogun won. The strikes he landed did far more damage to Machida than what Machida’s did to him. I felt shogun had more octagon control too which is a criteria. One of the problems with judges being cageside is sometimes they can’t see certain things depending on where they are sitting.

  3. i for one wont watch a rematch.. if rua wins, great he one the first time anyway… but if machida wins. well, big deal, he got two chances.. they should have judged fairly and give it to Rua. then sell the rematch.

  4. I think it is sad that many MMA fans are only concerned about the final verdict. First of all there have been many fights in the UFC where I thought it would have gone to the other (a good example would be Hughes vs Serra). When I first watched the fight I was also upset with the result. But let’s take this fight for what it was: A very close fight between two of the world’s best pound for pound fighters. It should be seen as a great match instead of a great controversy.

  5. I think people should take a step back, it was a close fight and could have gone either way. Yes Rua landed more leg kicks, but do leg kicks win a fight? Yes Rua pushed Mashida around the ring, but isn’t that Mashida’s style, to be alusive? There are several fights I thought the fighter that had lost should have won but again they were all close fights and I’m not a MMA judge, there are things I miss. Dana White said it best, turn off the sound, the two commentators were mostly always commenting on Rua’s strikes and really none on Mashida, even though Mashida landed many. I am a huge Mashida fan, I think he is one of the greatest fighters in the UFC at the moment, not only inside the ring but also his dedication and attitude. That being said I thought he was losing the fight also, but going back and watching, I don’t know its just damn close and I’m not qualified to judge that close of a fight. In the end, the overall performance of the fight left me feel there was something lacking in a championship bout, it really didn’t feel like one. I will watch the rematch because I think it will turn out to be a very different match, hopefully we won’t have the same outcome :)

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