FanHouse Shogun Rua

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.

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.

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.

As soon as the UFC 104 fights end on Saturday night, UFC President Dana White, main event fighters Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, as well as other victorious fighters, will meet the press for the live UFC 104 post-fight press conference. The press conference should start around 1 AM ET on Sunday, and we'll have the live video right here at MMA FanHouse.

UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida defended his belt for the first time Saturday at UFC 104, defeating Shogun Rua to retain his title and remain undefeated in a tough, close unanimous decision that left the fans in Los Angeles booing.

I scored the fight for Shogun, three rounds to two. But all three judges gave it to Machida three rounds to two. It was a close enough fight that it could easily have gone either way.

"I trained hard for this fight for four months," Shogun said afterward. "My corner was telling me I won the fight. I feel like I won this fight but a fight is a fight. What can I do?"

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LOS ANGELES -- The Staples Center in Los Angeles is buzzing for Saturday night's UFC 104 event, and FanHouse is on hand to take it all in.

Behold the premiere edition of FanHouse at UFC, where UFC.com head writer, Thomas Gerbasi, and I preview tonight's UFC light heavyweight title match between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua and Ben Rothwell vs. Cain Velasquez. We also look at some of the other interesting fights and storylines from Saturday night's card. Enjoy FanHouse at UFC below.

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FanHouse has UFC 104 results for all of the Oct. 24 UFC 104 fights, plus live UFC coverage from Los Angeles, live blogs of all the fights and live UFC Twitter updates.

The UFC light heavyweight title is on the line in the main event, featuring Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua. In the co-main event, heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell will square off inside the Octagon.

Full UFC 104 results are below.

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