Lyoto Machida knocked out Ryan Bader and Shogun Rua knocked out Brandon Vera, but UFC president Dana White granted Machida the chance to fight for the light heavyweight championship.
While Machida is a former light heavyweight champion and deserving of a chance to reclaim his title, Shogun deserves it more.
Though White’s judgement won’t create a major controversy, he made the wrong decision for a few reasons.
Firstly, Shogun has been the better fighter in two career bouts against Machida. Judges for their first fight scored 48-47 and named Machida the winner, while White, many media members and fans believed Shogun was the winner.
In the rematch, which took place at UFC 113 in early May of 2010, Shogun knocked out Machida in the fourth minute.
So, to many, Shogun has beaten Machida in both of their head-to-head matchups.
During their fights on UFC on Fox, Shogun had his struggles but was distinctly the better fighter in his match with Vera. Both men showed signs of fatigue, but Rua was able to KO the crafty veteran in the fourth round.
Meanwhile, Machida, the karate technician, utilized his typically more conservative approach (which has been effective in the past) to defeat Bader.
He eluded Bader for the majority of the fight, but was efficient landing his kicks and punches.
Machida looked to be in more control of his bout than Shogun was, but the men’s head-to-head past should be the deciding factor.
Machida will go on to fight the winner of the Dan Henderson and Jon Jones fight for the light heavyweight belt, with Shogun facing the loser.
Unfortunately, Shogun will have to wait to get another title shot.
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