UFC 104 Results: Lyoto Machida Earns Controversial Decision Over Shogun

If you were a fan of kicks, the main event of UFC 104 was for you as Lyoto Machida defeated Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in a controversial unanimous decision win to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight title Saturday night in Los Angeles, CA.

The lackluster fight saw Rua push the action from the center of the cage and keep Machida off his game with plenty of leg kicks, making it hard to understand exactly how Machida won the fight. Even with a few flurries of punches sprinkled throughout, it just wasn't Machida's night but somehow the judges saw it fit to all score the fight 48-47 for "The Dragon".

The crowd heavily booed Machida in his post-fight interview, which was a stark contrast from when he defeated Rashad Evans for the title earlier this year and became an instant fan favorite. This felt like more of the decision-seeking Machida rather than the aggressive guy we saw in his last two fights.

Both Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were pushing hard for the idea of a rematch. Based on what we saw here, that doesn't excite me in the least. This division is severely lacking star power and Machida was the closest thing to a new star coming into tonight.

I also thought the sentiment that you have to go above and beyond to defeat a champ and that a decision going his way should be expected is bullsh*t. A win is a win and Machida didn't win this fight tonight.


In other action:

Cain Velasquez def. Ben Rothwell via 2nd round TKO (:48)

Velasquez (7-0) looked dominant over Rothwell, who was in his first action in almost a year. The finish was controversial as ref Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight in the 2nd round as Velasquez connected with six straight punches as Rothwell was getting up.

Velasquez had no issue taking down Rothwell (30-7) and simply pounded him from every position. No one seemed to doubt Velasquez earned the win, but were critical of how the fight got stopped. I can see both sides of the argument.

Joe Stevenson def. Spencer Fisher via 2nd round TKO 

It's no coincidence that Stevenson has looked great in two straight fights since going to Greg Jackson's camp. The end came when Stevenson had Fisher grounded and laid in repeated elbows/forearms for the win. After a run where he looked like it might be gatekeeper status for 'Daddy,' he's arguably one big win away from inserting himself into the title picture again.

Gleison Tibau def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision

This one didn't do anything for me. Tibau did enough to win, but didn't set the place ablaze in doing so.


Anthony Johnson def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida via 1st round TKO (:41)

Dominant, but he had a huge weight advantage going in and simply unloaded on Yoshida to elevate himself to 8-2. It seems to be a consensus opinion that Johnson will be fighting at 185 from here on out as the weight cut down to welterweight is just too much. When Yoshida gets knocked out, he gets knocked out. This just wasn't competitive at all.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine, Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.