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Man this is a clusterfuck. The entire problem stems from the scoring system, and the lack of declaring draws.
Shogun did not beat the shit out of Machida. Not even close. They both fought amazingly, and neither dominated at any moment. Not only does it seems that everybody has forgotten that Machida always *looks* like he's losing until he streams together a successful barrage, but everybody also disregards the fact that their margin of error on both perceiving the fight and what actions warrant what kind of scoring is higher than the difference between these combatants.
This was ridiculously close. This is not point fighting, but you wouldn't know that if you attempt to score the bout based on points and round by round. Changing just one iota of how the battle is scored changes the entire outcome. For example: Shogun had two takedown attempts, but they were stuffed; Shogun initiated several clinches against the cage, but did nothing with them. Now, how do you score this? Do you give Shogun the points for attempting a takedown (aggressor, Octagon control, etc), do you score points for Machida for stuffing Shoguns attempts, or do you call it draw? How this is scored is very important because the smallest alteration in philosophy completely changes the final outcome
I could have easily scored this 5-0 Machida, and easily 5-0 Shogun. The problem is that we all have huge egos and think that our highly inefficient brains can tackle a one time, real time analysis of an insanely close fight, full of incredible dynamics in which neither combatant ever got rocked, ever gassed, or ever had the clear upper hand
Shogun did get robbed, but not because he didn't get the W, but because he got the L. This was a draw all day long. People are mad, and rightfully so. Neither fighter earned the decision, yet one fighter has suffered because of it.
I hope that Shogun wins the rematch simply because he was robbed, but also if it means that he will fight Anderson.
Also, IMO, Neer also got robbed. Tibau took him down several times, but did absolutely nothing with them, and Neer promptly got back up. I'd have to watch this fight again to be sure. As far as I'm concerned, takedowns mean nothing. Not awarding points for takedowns would benefit the sport as well since it would not dissuade striking or pulling guard as easily.
I also completely disagree with fights going to decision. Not only is point scoring in this insanely elaborate sport retarded, but round by round scoring also deteriorates from the fight. What if Fighter A wins the first 4 rounds but then Fighter B rocks the crap out of Fighter A in the end of round 5, looking for the TKO, but gets stopped by the clock. Who wins? According to points it's Fighter A, but according to reality it's Fighter B
IMO, draws should be announced much more often, and the only times we should be seeing victories and defeats declared via decision is if the dominance is very clear, something like Velasquez vs Rothwell but for all 3 rounds. Which brings me to how awesome Cain looked. His fight with Lesnar is going to be amazing. His wrestling is superb, and if everything they say about his cardio is true, it'll be a fucking war.
Anyways, attempting to score Machida/Shogun accurately is a joke. I mean, c'mon, just rewatch the fight. Neither fighter had the edge on offense or defense or countering or preemption. The only difference is that Machida's style looks like it's losing because it's a bunch of dodges, mainly counterstriking, and a few short preemptive strikes. Because Shogun's defense was good enough, Machida could not capitalize the same way he did against Thiago and Rashad, but Shogun also did nothing. He got Machida to slightly change his stance because he was throwing lots of low kicks. Whoop de fucking do. Machida got hit with a few power strikes, but so did Shogun. Did anybody notice those two times that Shogun was closing in on Machida, but gets completely reversed and ends up with his own back against the cage? How do you score that? Seriously?
This is one of the closest fights in the history of the universe. I feel sorry for Shogun for getting robbed, I feel sorry for Machida for losing several fans due to Shogun getting robbed, and I feel sorry for the judges being forced to score within a terrible system that often shows its weakness by declaring victories when there were none.
And things that everybody are saying like thinking that Machida *looked* like he thought he loss is just silly. He listens to his corner and they were telling him that he won, his demeanor is normally calm and passive, and even if he was downtrodden, it could easily be because he was saddened that he didn't get a finish or something
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