Do Kicks Win Championship Belts?

Shogun changed the preception of the light heavyweight division last night.  He showed that Machida can be hit, beaten up, and worn down.  But he didn't beat Machida.  He didn't walk across the line and claim the victory, when I feel he probably could have. 

Why didn't Shogun finish Machida?  Why did Machida do so little himself?  Did media hype change the nature of the fight for every one?

Shogun found a way to use kicks to set up his own pattern of aggression that Machida could rarely capitalize on.  And when Machida did hit him, it just wasn't enough to slow him down.  Some of Machida's knees and strikes looked really promising, but then the match fell right back into a predictable pattern where Shogun set the pace and Machida looked less and less elusive. 

Hats off to Shogun for executing a precision game plan.  Rua won over a lot of critics, and fans alike last night, but he also left it in the hands of the judges.  The dreaded phrase we all know so well.

Both men had big red welts on their stomachs, but Machida's legs look liked they had been tenderized.  Lyoto's corner had his legs up after every round rubbing bags of ice on the champions thighs. Which, honestly, fed the image of weakness, though it was probably necessary.  Shogun's face was peppered with bruises and welts but he in no way looked bowed.  Then in the final round Machida was dropping his hands looking rather exhausted, in a way nobody has seen before.

Yet, despite the damage done, neither man seemed to have the fire to finish the other. Is it possible they they didn't want to hurt each other?  That they were just a little too friendly inside and outside of the octagon?

Shogun never took Machida down, and never stunned him. Shogun broke Lyoto's rhythm with some counter leg kicks, but never had him in a compromised place where he looked finished. He never prevented him from using his Karate style, or added any significant damage in combination with said kicks.  Is it enough to "out point" a champion fighter with a glut of leg strikes to crown yourself the victor?  The judges didn't think so.  It's ironic considering Machida's past as a karate point fighter, But MMA isn't just about who hit the most, it's about finishing and leaving no doubt in the minds of the judges who is the best.

The first round, especially, could have gone either way, and I think round two was Machida's, where shogun only really landed some knees against the cage.  Round three saw Machida landing a hard body kick and counter around the two minute mark that was just as damaging as anything Shogun threw.  The last 30 seconds saw Machida blast Shogun and take a right hand for his troubles.  No decisive winner there and I would give it to Machida for pushing Shogun back. Round four would go to Shogun.  Round Five was Machida's with some great knees, seeing Shogun only score a grazing elbow and missing a lot with all other strikes, save kicks.

The win would go to Lyoto Machida.

All the hype around Machida's style had to fuel the anger at how the match was judged.  Even people who are big fans of Machida, myself included, were probably shaking their heads last night too.  The collective urge for their hero to do something, anything, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat was palpable.  But, the reality is, he can't shoot lazer beams out of his eyes while dodging every strike, matrix style.   He fought well, but he didn't do enough.

Lyoto is a great fighter, but he still has a lot to learn about aggression, and delivering the power to end fights.  Would there be less anger about the bouts judgement if there had been less hype about his unusual style of fighting?  Maybe. Is this the birth of the next big grudge match in UFC history?  You better believe it.

Maybe it was enough in most people's eyes for Shogun to simply land those counter kicks at will when you're enemy is considered to be unhittable, but prehaps the bar was just set too high on Lyoto's skills, and an objective view of the fight was lost.

But you can be sure that both men will be angry at themselves for next time, and though Lyoto got a break in terms of his record and status, you could tell, both after the fight and at the post fight conference, inside his heart it wasn't what he wanted either.