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Machida Wins a Shocker over Rua
Recapping UFC 104

Posted on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 11:35 PM
By Jason Reynolds

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida earned a controversial unanimous decision victory against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in his first light heavyweight title defense at UFC 104 on Saturday night. The decision was met with loud boos from the Staples Center crowd, who figured that Shogun had done enough over five rounds to earn the victory. The five round technical affair saw both fighters land numerous significant blows. They continually battered each other with thunderous leg and body kicks, with each blow often leaving visible marks on the bodies of the fighters. Machida seemed to be overly patient and worn-out at times while waiting for an opening that never came. Shogun danced around the cage all night, showing no signs of a concerned fighter, and displaying the confidence of a champion.

When the bell finally sounded Rua raised his hands to the sky and celebrated with his team, while Machida looked weary and solemn as he awaited the judges' scores. All three judges had Machida winning a unanimous decision -- a decision that left Shogun wondering what more he had to do to win a belt. In winning his first title defense, Machida looked vulnerable for the first time in a UFC career in which he had never lost a single round before tonight. Look next for Machida v Shogun 2 when both fighters have healed their battered bodies.

Cain Velasquez proved that he’s worthy of the hype by destroying Ben Rothwell’s UFC debut. Rothwell was widely touted as Velasquez’s toughest opponent to date, but he didn’t show up to fight on Saturday night. Velasquez scored numerous takedowns and controlled positions from the start of the fight, constantly punishing Rothwell with his vicious ground-and-pound attack. The end finally came in the second round when Velasquez had Rothwell pinned against the cage where he landed numerous blows to the head of the defenseless MMA veteran. The crowd booed and Rothwell complained when referee Steve Mazzagatti jumped in for the stoppage at 58 seconds into the second round, but the stoppage was deserved. Rothwell was very outmatched in this fight and significant damage could have been done if he'd been allowed to continue. Velasquez improved his perfect record to 7-0 and showed that he is indeed an elite heavyweight prospect.

In a pivotal welterweight bout Anthony “Rumble” Johnson made quick work of Yoshiyuki Yoshida by knocking him out 41 seconds into the first round. Johnson showed the type of speed and athleticism that have garnered him so much praise early in his career. Johnson was rumored to have dropped 55 pounds to make the 170 pound welterweight limit, but he unfortunately weighed in six pounds over and lost 20 percent of his purse. After the fight Johnson apologized to the UFC and its fans, and claimed that the weight-cut issue was due to an injury he’d suffered in training.

In an anticipated lightweight match Joe “Daddy” Stevenson showed UFC fans that he is still a talented fighter by pummeling Spencer “The King” Fisher. Both fighters were all smiles when entering the Octagon, but they got down to business in a hurry. Fisher suffered a cut from an apparent eye poke during the beginning of the first round and never looked the same. Early in the second round Stevenson pinned Fisher against the mat and reigned down with a barrage of devastating elbows to a defenseless Fishers face. The fight was stopped at 4:03 of the second round, giving Stevenson his second consecutive win in the UFC.

Glieson Tibau dominated Josh Neer in their lightweight bout by scoring 10 takedowns. That Neer was able to stand and mount an offense at times proved meaningless to the judges, who gave the unanimous decision victory to Tibau after three hard-fought rounds.

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