SIMPLE SOLUTION: DON’T LEAVE IT TO THE JUDGES

The outcry following Saturday night’s Lyoto Machida versus Mauricio “Shogun” Rua UFC 104 main event came in fast and furious after Machida was handed what many deemed and “champion’s decision.”

It appeared to most onlookers – casual fans, fighters, and even UFC president Dana White – that Shogun should have run away with a five-round unanimous decision. The California State Athletic Commission appointed judges saw it differently, unanimously keeping the light heavyweight belt around Machida’s waist.

All three judges – Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, Cecil Peoples, and Marcos Rosales – issued scores of 48-47 in the champion’s favor. Peoples and Rosales both scored the first three rounds for Machida and the final two for Shogun. Hamilton’s card had it rounds one and five for Shogun, sandwiching the favor for Machida in rounds two, three, and four.

Never one to bury his opinion, White didn’t waver in his assertion that Shogun won the fight. However, when he offered a detailed assessment of the scoring, like most who were pressed, he wasn’t far removed from the commission’s judges.

“The first round could have gone either way. I gave the second and third to Machida and then I gave the fourth and fifth to Shogun,” he revealed. “So assuming that Shogun won the first, fourth, and fifth, he wins the fight. Was it a close fight? Yeah, it was a close fight.”

While fans and fighters alike come down hard on the overall state of judging in mixed martial arts, White repeated the words he has uttered often, “You can’t leave it in the hands of the judges. You just can’t do it.”

Most fighters that weighed in after the bout vehemently favored Shogun as the winner, but echoed White’s sentiment.

“I honestly thought Shogun won and I thought it should have went to him, but like Dana says, you can’t leave it to the judges,” said Joe Stevenson, who won earlier in the night.

Anthony Johnson also fought at UFC 104, assessed it the same, “I think Shogun won, (but) neither one of them went out there like they should have.”

Fighters from Kenny Florian to “Razor” Rob McCullough to Efrain Escudero voiced their opinions that Shogun had earned the belt, but Joe Lauzon summed it up succinctly on his Twitter account, “This is why… You NEVER leave it to the judges! When you finish your opponent, you don’t need to worry about judges!”

White, at the post fight press conference, said he talked to Machida and Shogun shortly after the fight and both agreed to a rematch. No date or location was discussed.