FanHouse Lyoto Machida

Two days ago, I don't think anyone had Jose Aldo listed as one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts. But after what Aldo did to Mike Brown on Wednesday night, I don't think there's any way to exclude him.

The light heavyweight title rematch between champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is set for May 1 in Montreal.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports tweeted Wednesday that UFC President Dana White told him the Machida-Rua date.

Lyoto Machida's unanimous decision victory over Shogun Rua at UFC 104 has been the talk of the MMA world this week, because hardly anyone who watched the fight agreed with the three judges that Machida won it. Count Randy Couture among those who think Shogun deserved to win.

"I thought Shogun came out with an interesting game plan, stuck to it, and it proved to be pretty effective," Couture said Wednesday in an interview with FanHouse. "I thought his leg kicks controlled the tempo and did the most damage. I was surprised by the judges' decision -- I thought it went the other way -- but it was a great fight."

Couture said he'd stop short of the cries of "robbery" or "outrage" that some fans have expressed, but he said he scored it 49-46 for Shogun, and he had a hard time seeing the fight as 48-47 for Machida, which is how all three judges scored it.

UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida walked away with $200,000 and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua with $155,000 for main eventing this past Saturday's UFC 104, according to salaries disclosed to FanHouse Tuesday by the California athletic commission.

Machida won a unanimous decision over Rua to retain his belt, but even if he had lost the controversial five-round showdown, he would have still earned the same amount as there was no win bonus attached to his bout agreement.

For the first time since his loss to Forrest Griffin more than two years ago, Shogun Rua can legitimately be called one of the top 10 fighters in MMA -- and it took a loss to get him there.

Rua's unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida in the main event at UFC 104 was a fight that most people thought he deserved to win, and a fight that makes one thing very clear: Shogun is back.

But where does Shogun fit in our list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in MMA? Find out below.

Lyoto Machida is still the light heavyweight champion of the UFC, but not many people agree with the three judges who allowed him to keep his belt after 25 minutes in the Octagon with Shogun Rua on Saturday night.

So does Machida keep his status as the top light heavyweight in MMA in my latest Top 10? He does, but Shogun also moves up in the rankings after a very close fight with the champ. The full rankings are below.

LOS ANGELES -- The UFC 104 post-fight press conference was buzzing after the controversial main event between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua.

Below is a highlight video package of the conference, which featured comments from Machida, Rua, Dana White, Cain Velasquez, Joe Stevenson and Anthony Johnson.

(Warning: video contains some explicit language.)

If the Lyoto Machida-Shogun Rua fight at UFC 104 had gone the way everyone expected -- Machida handily defeating Shogun to retain his title -- the UFC would have faced a quandary with its light heavyweight division. Machida would be perceived as so dominant that there wouldn't be any particularly interesting fights for him, and the stacked UFC light heavyweight division might have started to feel a little stale.

That's why Machida's controversial unanimous decision victory on Saturday night was a great thing for the UFC: It sets up a Rua-Machida rematch that will be a bigger fight than the first one, and it buys time for the UFC to re-establish some of its other light heavyweights as contenders to take on the Rua-Machida 2 winner.

The final horn sounded and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua raised his hands towards the roof of the Staples Center, sure he'd just won the UFC light-heavyweight championship. The building's 16,000 fans cheered him, ready to shower him with glory to match his new gold.

The judges' decision, they decided, was a formality, but still they'd wait for it. And then it was read. Rua and the fans, it seemed were wrong. At least in the eyes of the three judges who mattered. Lyoto Machida was declared the winner, with 48-47 scores across the board.

The reaction was instantaneous. It was a "robbery," a "farce," and "ridiculous." The audience hurled venom at Machida, the same man they'd adored a few minutes earlier, as the belt was re-strapped around his waist.

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Mauricio "Shogun" Rua won over the fans, but it was Lyoto Machida who walked away with the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 104 Saturday in Los Angeles.

In a very close fight, Machida won on the scorecards 48-47 through five rounds. According to the judges, two gave Machida the first three rounds and one gave the retaining champ rounds two, three and four.

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