Lyoto Machida is one of the greatest counterstrikers to ever fight in the UFC. He's also perhaps the only successful MMA fighter to list karate as his true background in fighting. On the flip side, his challenger coming into UFC 104, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, was all about Thai kicks and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In essence, the fight ended up as advertised- a battle between Muay Thai striking and karate- and it was a good one.
Rua connected with some very strong low kicks and body kicks throughout the fight and a few hard punches on his adversary, leaving Machida's legs and body red. Machida, on the other hand, caught his adversary with punches on numerous occasions when he was coming in. Further, he hit home with some kicks of his own that left a mark on Rua's midsection. This was a very, very close fight. Both Rua and Machida fought very technically on their feet. Rua did damage with those low kicks and looked fresher and more active by the last round, but the points that Machida did collect throughout the fight were hard to ignore.
In the end, Lyoto Machida won by way of a unanimous decision. There were significant boos afterwards, as many seemed to believe that Rua had won. That said, after the fight there were others (this writer, for example) that wondered aloud who deserved the decision; it was that close.
This was a good fight that ended with a highly controversial decision. Thus, the stage seems set for a rematch, which is something that Machida said he'd be willing to give Rua afterwards.
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