Machida: ‘I Was Superior’

Following his controversial unanimous decision over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104, UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida discussed the fight via phone with Sherdog.com’s Marcelo Alonso.

“I thought it was a very even and tough fight,” Machida said. “I had the opportunity to see the fight again and I thought I won four rounds and Shogun took the last one. Some people say he won the fourth and fifth round, but for sure I won at least the first three rounds. The American commentators were pretty much biased. If you see the fight without audio, you will probably see a different fight.

“Shogun was a great opponent and had a nice strategy. He deserves all my respect as a fighter, but I was superior. I had three or four chances to finish the fight, and he never put me in danger. I didn’t get (dazed) at any moment of the fight, but I put him in danger three or four times. He kicked my legs a couple of times, but he wouldn’t knock me out with that.”

Machida guaranteed that his disappointed expression immediately after the fight did not stem from a belief that he had lost.

“My leg started to hurt in the fifth round, and I was very upset that I couldn’t knock him out as I had planned,” Machida said. “I had two chances where I felt him really (dazed), but I lost it and I get really upset when I leave the decision in the judges’ hands.”

After confirming that he totally agrees with a rematch, Machida also addressed UFC President Dana White’s statement that he thought Shogun was the winner.

“Anyone who has a mouth can talk. I respect his opinion and I’m ready to fight Shogun or any other challenger UFC decides, but I would like to say that this fight was not judged by myself, my father or Anderson Silva,” Machida said. “This fight was judged by professionals, so I’m pretty much comfortable with the result.”

After taking two weeks vacation in Hawaii with his family, Lyoto is planning to return to his training routine in Belém.

“It’s time to celebrate the win and relax from the hard training routine,” he said. “After that I will check what happened to my hand (it’s hurt), if it needs some surgery, then analyze my mistakes in this fight carefully with my family to restart my training routine. No matter who is my next opponent, I’ll give some rest to my mind and body and return 100 percent to the training to get ready for my next challenge. If it’s Shogun again, I’ll study his game and make a different strategy to please the fans with a better fight.”

Shogun, Ulisses Pereira, Wanderlei Silva and Lyoto Machida in 2005,
when Machida trained at Chute Boxe.