Ding-ding! The relieving sound signaling the end of a grueling match up between two worthy fighters. The announcer stands in the middle of the ring with the final decision, “After five competitive rounds of mixed martial arts, the judges have come to a decision (rips open the envelope) and the winner of the light heavy weight championship fight by unanimous decision is, Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida!” The crowd goes silent, was there a mistake, did the announcer read the card right?
These were the emotions felt by many viewers and UFC president, Dana White, after the light heavy weight championship fight between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, California on October 24, 2009. This outraged fans, they felt that the result was a sham and Lyoto was victorious because of his stature and fighting prestige. The judges were viewed as biased because they scored the fight based on their fight predictions, but not what actually occurred. Infuriated, President Dana White did something that he has never done before; he scheduled an immediate rematch set for May 1, 2010 in Montreal, Canada.
As you know, Lyoto is my favorite fighter and I do believe that he won, and to his credit each judge scored the bout the same (48-47). So when I first heard the news of the rematch my emotions resembled a schoolgirl’s going to see The Jonas Brothers in concert. My fellow avid UFC watching friends and I discussed that this is an event that we cannot miss. With some basic planning and the nod from out parents, we are set to witness history. May 1, 2010 marks the day that I, Zachary Harrison Hurwitz, will leave New Jersey a boy and will return, a man (I might get my first chest hair!).
I look forward to sharing details about the fight with my followers after I return from the greatest trip ever.
Not a Jonas Brothers fan...((for obvious reasons, one of them dumped Taylor Swift)).
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought Dana was a girls name and got really excited that the president of this was a woman...but then I read further and saw the pronoun "he".
I hope you have a great time at this fight!! Hopefully this time soar losers won't call a rematch.
Haha sorry to disappoint Lacey, and if one of the JB broke up with ma girl T-Swift they must be horrible
ReplyDeleteI have been a fan of Lyoto's since he stopped Tito [Ortiz[ at Ill Will, but I truly believe that Shogun has returned to top form...remember the Pride days when he would make world-class guys look like amateurs?
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough one to call, and I still am undecided about the first fight, though I know one judge later admitted that he should have given it to Rua.
Shogun really didn't deserve a title shot in the first place...Rampage passed up his opportunity to settle with Rashad, and Henderson got into a contract dispute. Evans, Griffin, and Franklin were all coming off of losses as well, and Dana White's Shogun obsession got the best of him.
But respect to both for putting the "martial arts" back in "mixed martial arts." I'm glad that the world's biggest MMA organization finally has a champ that doesn't carry the "cage fighter" stigma.
I agree with you regarding Shogun's controversial title shot, but I am happy that it did happen. Machida finally had a worthy competitor and hopefully the next fight will be equally or more exciting.
ReplyDeletelol ahahaha yesss you just made my day with the "ma girl Taylor Swift"...lol this class has truly paid off.
ReplyDeleteSee, this why I prefer WWF to UFC - the winner's have been preselected so there's no ensuing debate over who deserved to win. Time to evolve, man.
ReplyDeleteZach, will going to this fight be like Bar Mitzvah...the Sequel? (Becoming a Man the 2nd Time)??
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