Many thought they had seen the best fight in MMA history when Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battled in a five-round war at UFC 139, and UFC president Dana White even told them it was one of the best fights he had ever seen in his most recent …
Many thought they had seen the best fight in MMA history when Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battled in a five-round war at UFC 139, and UFC president Dana White even told them it was one of the best fights he had ever seen in his most recent vlog video.
Henderson walked away with a hard-fought but well-deserved unanimous decision victory after a bloody and intense light-heavyweight bout. Some thought Rua deserved the victory based on a dominant fifth round, which was scored 10-9 on all three judges’ scorecards despite the round being the most dominant of the fight.
In the co-main event, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le took on Wanderlei Silva, but lost in the second round after taking a barrage of knees and punches from the former Pride champion. It was Silva’s third victory in his last nine fights, and a much-needed one at that.
Other fighters on the card included Urijah Faber, Martin Kampmann and Stephan Bonnar, all of whom were victorious over their opposition.
In May of 2009, Lyoto Machida faced off against Rashad Evans for the UFC light heavyweight championship. During the second round, Machida knocked out Evans to become the new champ, and truly showcased how his style was a unique and underrated martial a…
In May of 2009, Lyoto Machida faced off against Rashad Evans for the UFC light heavyweight championship. During the second round, Machida knocked out Evans to become the new champ, and truly showcased how his style was a unique and underrated martial art.
When Machida beat Evans, “The Dragon” dropped to the mat in emotional joy, celebrating his continuance of his undefeated record and newly acquired title. Joe Rogan filled with wonder, stated “Welcome to the Machida era,” a notion that would be over just as quickly as the colorful commentator could say it.
After winning a controversial decision, Machida lost the belt to Mauricio Rua, whom Jon Jones defeated to the get the belt and become the current UFC LHW champ. Now, with injuries plaguing the LHW division, Machida was chosen to be the title contender.
The MMA world has given great feedback on how undeserving Machida is of the shot, but at UFC 140, he will have his chance to prove he has what it takes to be on top again.
Deductive reasoning would tell us that Jon Jones beat Shogun Rua, and Shogun beat Lyoto Machida, therefore Machida cannot beat Jones. However, in this sport, the distinctions are not so clear-cut. The difference of styles is what the sport started from, and what has evolved into a generation of well-rounded fighters, usually excelling in one area though.
Lyoto Machida is the biggest challenge Jon Jones has faced so far. Not because of record, fame of name or physical stature; but because Machida’s style of fighting will prove to be a technical challenge for Jones.
When this fight was announced, many expressed their disbelieve, discomfort and disapproval of the matchup. When given further thought, the two facing off for the title is a fantastic potential. This fight showcases two of the most unorthodox and elusive fighters in the LHW division, and in the sport of MMA.
In the blue corner you have Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, a fighter who has a very pure background in Karate and has been the most effective at adapting it to MMA. He is one of the least hit fighters in MMA, due to his ability to sit back, counter, and capitalize on his opponent’s mistakes.
In the red corner you have Jon “Bones” Jones, a fighter who has a great wrestling background, continues to evolve, and is very unorthodox in his striking. He boasts the longest reach of any fighter in the UFC, giving him distance and room for his wild strikes.
Jon Jones is the younger fighter, who will try the more crazy strikes, but this could be the issue for him. Machida is well-known for looking for openings and effectively countering to make his opponents pay. Wild shots from Jones may be the opportunity for Machida to win the fight.
Machida has the ability to be on his heels, and then pounce coming forward. He did this against Rashad Evans in their fight, and proved effective at keeping and adding the pressure.
The only issue with Machida’s quick attacks, is that sometimes it leads to a push forward and thus he does not get in and out like he usually does. Being at close range with Jones is probably more advantageous than being on the outside, but Jones’ wrestling and ground game can be just as deadly.
Jones’s challenge is to figure out where he wants to keep the fight. Lyoto’s striking is his niche, but Jones will be the only one looking for a takedown. An elusive guy like Machida does not give up double-legs very often, so a strictly standing battle may take place.
Jones is the favorite going into his fights, which he would be against practically any other fighter, but the luster lost from Machida’s loss to Shogun is not as great as it is made out to be. The Machida era may be a sporadic one, but a deserving one in some regards. In MMA, Machida is an inimitable fighter that always poses a puzzle for his opponents.
Jones’ win over Shogun was the biggest at the time, but arguably the Shogun that showed up that night was not the true Shogun. Not to take away from Jones, since Jones was not 100 percent himself either, but Shogun and then Rampage were his biggest striking power challenges to date. Machida is not a guy that needs power to put his enemy way though.
Machida is a bigger challenge than Shogun or Rampage due to his effectiveness and overall style. Like Jones himself, you do not truly know what is like to fight him, until you fight him. A fighter can have trainers imitate the style, and can get marginally close to other fighters, but Machida and Jones are both that leave a bigger gap that trainers futilely try to close.
In the Octagon on Saturday night, fans will have two of the most technically unique fighters squaring off for the belt. One man keeps his distance from his stance and footwork, the other with his reach and wild strikes. In martial arts movies, when two guys face off, they do a display of technique before getting into a ready stance and actually attacking each other. This fight could just be that stand off, or the frenzy that follows.
Based on Jones’ and Machida’s styles, though, it is safe to cue the fight music and just wait anxiously for some incredible striking.
(Smiling in the presence of a woman? Automatic one-point deduction. / Photo via Sherdog)
As sort-of hazily defined by Nick Diaz back in January 2010, the Unified Rules of Stockton is an alternate MMA scoring system in which the winner of the fight is the guy who would have won if the match had continued indefinitely, and the loser is the guy who looks more fucked up afterwards. Under Stockton Rules, only the final round is scored, and holding onto top position without doing damage actually counts for negative points.
The more commonly used ten-point-must system keeps things nice and uniform, and doesn’t require judges to predict the future. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the fighter who has more points on the scorecards isn’t always who you would call the “winner.” So which notable UFC fights would have different results if the scoring system was a little more gangster? Let’s get an obvious one out of the way first…
DAN HENDERSON vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA UFC 139, 11/19/11
(Smiling in the presence of a woman? Automatic one-point deduction. / Photo via Sherdog)
As sort-of hazily defined by Nick Diaz back in January 2010, the Unified Rules of Stockton is an alternate MMA scoring system in which the winner of the fight is the guy who would have won if the match had continued indefinitely, and the loser is the guy who looks more fucked up afterwards. Under Stockton Rules, only the final round is scored, and holding onto top position without doing damage actually counts for negative points.
The more commonly used ten-point-must system keeps things nice and uniform, and doesn’t require judges to predict the future. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the fighter who has more points on the scorecards isn’t always who you would call the “winner.” So which notable UFC fights would have different results if the scoring system was a little more gangster? Let’s get an obvious one out of the way first…
DAN HENDERSON vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA UFC 139, 11/19/11
According to the scorecards: Henderson wins by unanimous decision, 48-47 across the board.
What really happened: Shogun got thoroughly handled in the first three rounds, but managed to get some momentum back in the fourth, and spent much of the last round in mount, slugging the crap out of a helpless Hendo who clearly had nothing left. Henderson was saved by the bell, and had fortunately built up enough of a lead early in the fight to clinch the judges’ decision.
According to Stockton Rules: Rua would be awarded a pre-emptive TKO victory, based on the likelihood that he would have finished the fight by round seven.
According to the scorecards: Penn and Fitch fought to a majority draw, with two out of the three judges scoring it 28-28.
What really happened: Penn vs. Fitch is a perfect showcase of the shortcomings of the ten-point-must system. The Prodigy was awarded the first two rounds 10-9, for edging out Fitch by the narrowest of margins. Then, Fitch comes back in round three and beats the living hell out of Penn. Add it all up, and the fight is…dead even? Maybe by the numbers, but in no way was that fight a “tie.”
According to Stockton Rules: An obvious decision victory for Fitch, who would still be punching BJ Penn right now if time limits were removed.
According to the scorecards: Aldo by unanimous decision (48–45, 48–46, 49–46).
What really happened: Just like Dan Henderson’s fight against Shogun, Aldo built up an unsurmountable lead in the early going of this five-rounder. But due to a horrible weight cut and a mysterious infection, the featherweight champ’s body failed him in the fifth round, which allowed Hominick to come back and pour on a heap of abuse which nearly finished the fight.
According to Stockton Rules: It’s a draw. Hominick probably would have won if the fight were allowed to continue to additional rounds, but when you add in the “more fucked-up-looking” criteria, Aldo evens the score by making Hominick’s head look like a damn parade float. Raise both of their hands and make them fight again the next day. (Also known as “Stockton Scheduling.”)
According to the scorecards: The fight never went to the judges. Silva won by triangle-armbar submission in round five.
What really happened: Chael Sonnen spent four and a half rounds taking Silva down at will and smashing him from the top. Hell, he was even getting the better of the standup exchanges somehow. And then, as has happened many times before in his pro career, Sonnen fell into the unforgiving crotch of a Brazilian and got choked out.
According to Stockton Rules: Sonnen by split-decision. Look, I know what you’re thinking — how could the guy who tapped out be considered the winner of a fight? Well, you clearly haven’t read the Stockton Rules fine print. As Nick Diaz explains at the 10:50 mark of his interview with Ariel, “I say, even if you tapped the guy out and you got your ass beat, you still got your ass beat, you know what I mean?”
Or, as Sonnen himself put it later, “In what parallel universe can you punch a man 300 times, he wraps his legs around your head for eight seconds and they declare him the winner? On the streets of West Linn, Oregon, if you lay on your back with your legs wrapped around a man’s head for eight seconds, that does not make you a winner. That makes…not a winner.” The man’s got a point — and it’s pretty obvious that Chael Sonnen is a Stocktonite at heart.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua failed to walk away with his hand raised in victory against Dan Henderson at UFC 139, a fight many fans are considering one of the greatest bouts in UFC history.Prior to the bout, Rua opted to train in Brazil to prepare for his op…
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua failed to walk away with his hand raised in victory against Dan Henderson at UFC 139, a fight many fans are considering one of the greatest bouts in UFC history.
Prior to the bout, Rua opted to train in Brazil to prepare for his opponent as opposed to training with longtime mentor and trainer Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, Calif. The Brazilian reunited with Cordeiro to prepare for Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 which saw Rua knock him out in the opening round.
And although Rua engaged in an exciting five-round matchup with Henderson, earning praise and respect from fans, Cordeiro wasn’t impressed in the performance of the former Chute Boxe standout.
In fact, Cordeiro suggested that Rua needs to take his training camp more seriously in order to become successful again.
“I don’t know about this fight because he didn’t train with us for this fight. What I can say, is that if he wants back to the top he needs to start training,” Cordeiro told MMAWeekly.com. “He needs to start training as much as he can. He needs to work hard it’s no joke; this sport is a hard sport.”
Rua has shown glimpses of brilliance, but he has failed to meet fans’ expectations since coming over from PRIDE FC in 2007; he currently stands at 4-4 inside the Octagon. Also, a history of cardio problems and recurring knee injuries have prevented “Shogun” from reaching his potential in the UFC, despite capturing the UFC light heavyweight title last year.
Cordeiro said Rua has the potential to regain the light heavyweight title and have a successful future in the UFC, but said the real success begins from incorporating a strong work ethic into the training camp, something Rua needs to learn.
“In my gym, I don’t have fighters, I have students there. My students work and my students learn martial arts, respect and discipline and it makes a difference,” he said. “UFC is a great show and for you to fight here you need to work hard and you need to work on your techniques and your cardio. He needs to put that in his head if he wants back to the top.”
Most are calling it iconic. Some are calling it a classic, and a few are calling it the greatest fight in UFC history.At UFC 139, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson put on a bout for the ages, but was the right fighter’s hand raised at the end of …
Most are calling it iconic. Some are calling it a classic, and a few are calling it the greatest fight in UFC history.
At UFC 139, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson put on a bout for the ages, but was the right fighter’s hand raised at the end of the fight?
The extra couple of rounds recently attached to non-title main event bouts did both Shogun and fans a great service. While fans got to watch 25-minutes of magic unfold between two MMA legends, Shogun was able to muster up a comeback in the final two rounds after being dominated by Henderson early on in the bout.
The fifth round in particular was a big round for Shogun. Henderson, who was clearly gassed , spent the entire round on his back in survival mode eating punch after punch from a fully mounted Shogun.
The night’s judges certainly weren’t stingy in handing down 10-8 rounds. In the first bout on the main card, Stephan Bonnar did significantly less from top position against Kyle Kingsbury, and judge Jackie Denkin awarded him a pair of 10-8 rounds.
Bare in mind, Denkin wasn’t one of the three judges calling the main event, but it still brings up the age-old question: What constitutes a 10-8 round?
The FightMetric stats are quite telling when comparing the bouts. Shogun’s offense over Henderson towers in comparison to Bonnar’s over Kingsbury.
The decision not to give Shogun the 10-8 round speaks volumes to the numerous gray areas in the world of MMA judging, and every judge seems to have his or her own criteria for certain aspects of the sport.
As MMA continues to grow, the judging will obviously improve, but it’s tough to see any fighter denied a just verdict after such a gutsy performance.
“Don’t let it go to the judges.”
This has always been the saying that has served as the scapegoat for those charged with the duties of actually watching fights and rendering a decision.
Along with fighters, the judges also have a job to do, and there is no excuse for botching a decision based on the mere principle of a fighter not finishing.
Judging an MMA bout isn’t an easy job. It should take years of training and a deep understanding of every aspect of fighting. Unfortunately, the sport has yet to take that leap, and some high profile bouts are delegated to judges with little to no MMA experience.
Luckily, the fact that Shogun and Henderson put on perhaps the greatest fight of all time somewhat shrouds the atrocity that occurred at the end of the bout, and fans are already clamoring for a rematch.
For Shogun and his camp, nothing can make up for the endless hours spent training and the blood and heart spilt to come out on top.
For them, UFC 139 will always represent the 10-8 round that should’ve been.
On Jan. 14, 2012, the UFC will make it’s return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for UFC 142. Thus far, the event is headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo taking on Chad Mendes. Also featured on the event are former champion Vitor Belfort, A…
On Jan. 14, 2012, the UFC will make it’s return to Rio deJaneiro, Brazil for UFC 142.
Thus far, the event is headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo taking on Chad Mendes.
Also featured on the event are former champion VitorBelfort, Anthony Johnson, rising stars Edson Barboza and Terry Etim and the always exciting Sam Stout.
Although UFC 142 may see like a lesser card, anything can happen in MMA.
Many thought they had seen the best fight in MMA history when Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battled in a five-round war at UFC 139, and UFC president Dana White even told them it was one of the best fights he had ever seen in his most recent vlog video.
