UFC 113 Results: Mauricio Shogun Rua Slays the Dragon, Lyoto Machida

The rematch all the fans had been calling for lived up to the hype as Fighters.com third-ranked light heavyweight “Shogun” Mauricio Rua went from being “the people’s champion” to becoming UFC light heavyweight champion after knocking out top-ranked and now former UFC light heavyweight champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-1).

The first fight went the full five rounds and was left in the hands of the judges. What transpired was, in my opinion, highway robbery. The judges gave the fight to Machida despite the fact that Shogun constantly attacked the legs of Machida which effectively took away his ability to attack. He used Octagon control and effective striking yet lost the fight.

Shogun was visibly stunned by the loss and the UFC agreed to an immediate rematch between the two men. Shogun used that 25 minute fight as a learning experience and came into this fight determined to not let the fight get in the hands of the judges.

“For my first fight, I trained and studied Lyoto Machida‘s game and tried to fight according to his style – in a safer way,” Rua said. “For this fight, I knew him better, so I tried to exploit him and to take more risks and take more chances and go to try and finish the fight.”

This is exactly what happened as he pushed forward from the start of the fight. Machida used that aggression to take Rua down but the often talked about yet seldom seen ground game of Rua’s allowed him to get back to his feet. Then the aggressive Shogun of old paid a visit to the Octagon. He used strikes to push Machida against the cage, unleashing a flurry. Machida slid his way out and they stood in the center of the Octagon, Rua pushing forward and Machida delivering a good body shot. Then Shogun caught Machida with what appeared to be a glancing shot off his head that sent the champion to the mat. Shogun wasted no time following him, achieving full mount and unloading powerful shots. The “Dragon” had been knocked out cold and before the referee could even stop the fight, Shogun was already standing up to celebrate. Things were suddenly right in the world as the man many called the champ had just become the champion.

All of this came from his new gameplanning which is an added component to his approach to fights. This is the reason he seems to be a much smarter fighter than during his streak back in 2005.

“I think now I’m a different fighter than I was back then,” Rua said. “I think now I train much more based on my opponent because I think this is the evolution of MMA nowadays.”

There are many journalists and fans alike that had given up on any of the old Pride fighters, especially on Shogun. His loss to Forrest Griffin (17-6) at UFC 76 followed by his abysmal performance at UFC 93 against “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10) led fans to believe he was finished in the sport. However there were a select few who still believed in the man that was once one of the most feared strikers on the planet. Those who supported him through thick and thin were given a gift unlike any other. The gift of redemption as their fighter came back from the dead to become a world champion.

The comeback of a lifetime even had Dana White singing the praises of Rua. “To go out and knock out Lyoto Machida in the first round in the way that he did, I mean to say it’s impressive is stupid,” White said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible.

“When [Rua] first came over into the UFC and I was talking about the ring rust – he had had the back-to-back knee surgeries – I always believed that once this kid got back in and was active, he had the possibility to do some great things again. Let me tell you what: ‘Shogun’ Rua is back. Not only is he the champion of the light heavyweight division, he is back.”