When I watched it at the time, I had Rua winning 4-1 and subscribed to the view that it was a flatout robbery, despite being first and foremost a Machida fan. Re-watched it today for the first time since it happened, and I still had Rua winning 3 rounds to 2, Machida winning rounds 2 and 3, Shogun winning rounds 1, 4 and 5, but to be honest rounds 1 and 5 were so close that it's really not surprising at all that judges gave either one of them to Machida. The only really clear rounds were 3 (for Lyoto) and 4 (for Shogun). I think because (a) most people expected Machida to dismantle him and were shocked that didn't happen, (b) Mike "Travis Lutter is the Michael Jordan of Jiu-Jitsu" Goldberg seemed to have made his mind up during round 2 that Shogun had already decisively won the fight, and (c) Shogun's leg kicks were louder and more noticeable than Machida's equally excellent knees to the body, this all gave the impression of a robbery. But it wasn't really, not like some other fights we've seen. I think Rua edged it, but it was a very close fight. :bbb
I thought it was a clear robbery. I had it 4-1 on first viewing and 5-0 on the second. Disgraceful judging.
When I looked back on it I saw Shogun take most of the round leading in to the fifth minute and whilst Lyoto put together the most eye catching flurry of that final minute Shogun landed the two hardest punches.
Actually I take this back, I just rewatched that round again, and Shogun does land quality strikes. I still think it's a Machida round, but it is also close, definitely not as clear as round 4 was for Rua, clearest round of the fight by far (another reason which encourages the view that the decision was a bona fide robbery).
Not for me, I think it was a Machida round, Rua lands some big leg-kicks, but I think Machida lands more, controls the round, and has that flurry near the end. A close and competitive round, but one for the Dragon IMO.
What a great striking match this one is! One of my all-time favourite MMA fights, even though it doesn't have the high drama/frenzied excitement that many great fights do.
To me (as I explain at length in the article) the fight is a classic example of why TPMS is ****ed. Because those first three rounds looked close but in reality Shogun's attritional tactics were really taking their toll on Machida - the leg kicks were ****ing up his legs something rotten* and the way Shogun was pushing him up against the cage was sapping his conditioning. The reason Shogun won the last two rounds so clearly was because he was by the more effective fighter in the first three rounds. Problem is the judges had no way of knowing that until it was far too late for them to do anything about it. *There is the interesting point that somebody raised that the judges couldn't see how bad Machida's legs were busted up because of his long shorts. It does raise the question as to whether fighters should be allowed to obscure their upper leg like they currently do.
