
Apparently a lot of people were confused and upset when
Lyoto Machida won his
UFC Light Heavy Weight Title defense against
Shogun Rua. I myself, however, thought while the fight was rather boring, Machida was at no point in danger of losing the title.
Here is an excellent write up by
Gary Whittaker to explain why Machida won in the eyes of the
judges. I like the fact that he reanalyzes the fight after disagreeing with the judges decision. He plays devils advocate well and explains what could have happened on a round by round basis.
I enjoyed the article as I seemed to be the only person at the bar we went to that was confused as to why people thought Machida lost even before the decision came. I was expecting to be proven wrong but the judges agreed with me. Shogun was no doubt aggressive but so far as I can tell 90% of all the encounters he incited ended up as Machida victories.
Did Rua deserve to win? Not at all. Was it close enough to warrant a
rematch? Sure, absolutely. Was it entertaining enough to want to see this match-up again? Not even remotely.