Dana White Explains Why Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua Didn't Get the Title Shot

One of the biggest stories coming out of UFC on FOX 4 is that Lyoto Machida will receive the next shot at the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson. The shot was dependent on an impressive win, and his knockout of Ryan Bader definitely met those criteria. 

There were still some questions as to why Dana White and Joe Silva decided to award the shot to Machida instead of Rua, who picked up an equally impressive knockout over Brandon Vera in the main event.

After the post-fight press conference, White spoke with Bleacher Report and the MMA media to explain why the shot went to Machida. 

"Leading up to this fight Shogun did turn down a fight. Shogun has not been terrorizing me for another shot at Jon Jones. And Lyoto Machida has. Lyoto Machida wants it," White said. "He's been all over me. He's been aggressive about this thing. He went out and fought tonight and he fought a top 10 guy."

White added, "if you go down the laundry list of reasons why he should have gotten it tonight and the fan poll thought so for Machida." 

This isn't anything new for White who loves guys who want big fights over guys who continue to turn them down. Rua's disinterest in facing Glover Teixeira definitely had a major impact on his placement in the company, and the fact that he didn't absolutely smash Vera did as well. 

I'd love to see Rua vs. Alex Gustafsson sometime in the future for the next shot after Machida.