FanHouse MauricioShogunRua

The legend deserved the benefit of the doubt. He deserved the chance to go into the cage against another top fighter, to measure himself up, to see where he stands in the modern MMA world.

The legend deserved the opportunity to prove that he was back, to illustrate that he was healthy, to showcase a dynamic and revitalized body.

But after last night's loss to Forrest Griffin, now we know that the legend of Tito Ortiz is almost all that we have left.

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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.

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.

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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This is the UFC 104 live blog for Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the main event of tonight's pay-per-view in Los Angeles, Calif.

Machida, coming off a title win by knockout over Rashad Evans in May, makes his first light heavyweight belt defense against the 2005 PRIDE GP champion Rua.

The live blog begins below.

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UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida weighed-in Friday at 202.5 pounds and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua registered at 204.5 for their UFC 104 main event fight happening Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

Full results of the weigh-ins for all 22 fighters are below, and video of the weigh-ins is available here.

In short order, Lyoto Machida has become MMA's golden child, captivating fans around the world with his inimitable style and perfect record. But it wasn't too long ago that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was MMA's flavor of the month.

So will Machida continue his unbeaten run at UFC 104, or will Shogun rediscover the glory that made him one of the sport's rising stars just a few years ago?

Let's take a look at how Machida-Rua will play out.

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It's been a long time since Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has walked into a fight as the underdog, with the odds stacked against him and the fans doubting his ability to win, but that's exactly what he'll face on Oct. 24 when he steps into the octagon at UFC 104 and stares across the cage at unbeaten champion Lyoto Machida.

Lyoto Machida says one of the great pleasures of being the UFC light heavyweight champion is his position to represent traditional martial arts.

"I feel that not only have I been out there promoting my style of Karate, but just promoting the traditional martial arts, and it makes me very happy," Machida said Thursday through a translator on a media call to discuss his UFC 104 fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on Oct. 24.