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Last night's main event fight between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua had a bunch of fans screaming "robbery". It was close, controversial, and you may disagree with the decision, but no, it wasn't a robbery. To refresh your memories, I again bring up a quote from the excellent piece by BadLeftHook's Brickhaus:
What is a robbery in boxing? Here's a hint - it's not a decision that you merely disagree with. It's a decision that is impossible; that there's no reasonable way the judges could have scored the fight in favor of the fighter who actually won.
Lyoto Machida vs Shogun Rua was a very close fight. It was a controversial decision because people are arguing about it, but it wasn't a robbery. (see Beebe/Eason). Pretty simple right? But some people aren't satisfied, they say "It's impossible. No way! the fight wasn't even close" or "How is it not a robbery when all the top websites like Bloodyelbow, Sherdog, Yahoo, Fan House etc.. scored it for Shogun?"
Well to answer that, lets take a closer look on how those MMA experts, and the three judges scored the fight:
Round 1 Round 2
Jordan Breen 10-9 Machida Jordan Breen 10-9 Machida
Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua Brian Knapp 10-9 Machida
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Rua Cagewriter 10-9 Machida
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Machida
Michael David Smith 10-9 Machida Michael David Smith 10-9 Machida
Josh Gross 10-9 Rua (changed it to 10-10 after re-watching it without sound) Josh Gross 10-9 Machida
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua Kid Nate 10-10 tie
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Rua 'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida
Total: 5-Machida 7-Rua (6 if you count Josh's change) Total: 10-Machida 1-Rua 1-tie
Round 3 Round 4
Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua
Brian Knapp 10-9 Machida Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Machida Cagewriter 10-9 Rua
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Machida Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua
Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua
Josh Gross 10-9 Machida Josh Gross 10-9 Rua
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua Kid Nate 10-9 Rua
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Rua
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida Cecil Peoples 10-9 Rua
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida Marcos Rosales 10-9 Rua
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida 'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida
Total: 8-Machida 4-Rua Total: 1-Machida 11-Rua
(What were you thinking Doc Hamilton?)
Round 5
Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua
Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Rua
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua
Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua
Josh Gross 10-9 Rua
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Rua
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Rua
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Rua
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Rua
Total: 0-Machida 12-Rua
*note: names in bold are the actual judges
Judging is subjective, and everyone sees fights differently. Based on this, the only rounds where the consensus agrees is Round 2 for Lyoto, and Rounds 4 and 5 for Rua. If rounds 1 and 3 'weren't even close' and if it was indeed a 'clear cut landslide victory for Shogun', wouldn't all these experts score it like they did for rounds 2, 4 and 5? Rounds 1 and 3 are the razor close ones and it is evidenced in the way most of the knowledgeable MMA guys scored it. Based the simple fact that all of them, even those who scored the fight for Shogun, those who were shouting "robbery", have various opinions on who won the close rounds, it shows the possibility for an outcome that has Lyoto squeaking through three rounds. It's not a robbery, it's just a decision in a very close fight that those people don't agree with.
It is also interesting to note that Judge "Doc" Hamilton was the only one who scored the fourth for Lyoto. For what reason? I have absolutely no idea, because Shogun won the last two decisively. Correcting that mistake would still make it a split-decision victory for Lyoto either way, but sadly, that would mean less people complaining about it.
Shogun Rua may have had solved the Machida puzzle. He would've clearly won the title had it been on PRIDE scoring. He may have even deserved to win that decision, but what's sure is that he certainly wasn't robbed.
What is a robbery in boxing? Here's a hint - it's not a decision that you merely disagree with. It's a decision that is impossible; that there's no reasonable way the judges could have scored the fight in favor of the fighter who actually won.
Lyoto Machida vs Shogun Rua was a very close fight. It was a controversial decision because people are arguing about it, but it wasn't a robbery. (see Beebe/Eason). Pretty simple right? But some people aren't satisfied, they say "It's impossible. No way! the fight wasn't even close" or "How is it not a robbery when all the top websites like Bloodyelbow, Sherdog, Yahoo, Fan House etc.. scored it for Shogun?"
Well to answer that, lets take a closer look on how those MMA experts, and the three judges scored the fight:
Round 1 Round 2
Jordan Breen 10-9 Machida Jordan Breen 10-9 Machida
Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua Brian Knapp 10-9 Machida
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Rua Cagewriter 10-9 Machida
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Machida
Michael David Smith 10-9 Machida Michael David Smith 10-9 Machida
Josh Gross 10-9 Rua (changed it to 10-10 after re-watching it without sound) Josh Gross 10-9 Machida
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua Kid Nate 10-10 tie
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Rua 'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida
Total: 5-Machida 7-Rua (6 if you count Josh's change) Total: 10-Machida 1-Rua 1-tie
Round 3 Round 4
Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua
Brian Knapp 10-9 Machida Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Machida Cagewriter 10-9 Rua
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Machida Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua
Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua
Josh Gross 10-9 Machida Josh Gross 10-9 Rua
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua Kid Nate 10-9 Rua
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Machida Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Rua
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Machida Cecil Peoples 10-9 Rua
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Machida Marcos Rosales 10-9 Rua
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida 'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Machida
Total: 8-Machida 4-Rua Total: 1-Machida 11-Rua
(What were you thinking Doc Hamilton?)
Round 5
Jordan Breen 10-9 Rua
Brian Knapp 10-9 Rua
Mike Fridley 10-9 Rua
Cagewriter 10-9 Rua
Mike Chiapetta 10-9 Rua
Michael David Smith 10-9 Rua
Josh Gross 10-9 Rua
Kid Nate 10-9 Rua
Brent Brookhouse 10-9 Rua
Cecil Peoples 10-9 Rua
Marcos Rosales 10-9 Rua
'Doc' Hamilton 10-9 Rua
Total: 0-Machida 12-Rua
*note: names in bold are the actual judges
Judging is subjective, and everyone sees fights differently. Based on this, the only rounds where the consensus agrees is Round 2 for Lyoto, and Rounds 4 and 5 for Rua. If rounds 1 and 3 'weren't even close' and if it was indeed a 'clear cut landslide victory for Shogun', wouldn't all these experts score it like they did for rounds 2, 4 and 5? Rounds 1 and 3 are the razor close ones and it is evidenced in the way most of the knowledgeable MMA guys scored it. Based the simple fact that all of them, even those who scored the fight for Shogun, those who were shouting "robbery", have various opinions on who won the close rounds, it shows the possibility for an outcome that has Lyoto squeaking through three rounds. It's not a robbery, it's just a decision in a very close fight that those people don't agree with.
It is also interesting to note that Judge "Doc" Hamilton was the only one who scored the fourth for Lyoto. For what reason? I have absolutely no idea, because Shogun won the last two decisively. Correcting that mistake would still make it a split-decision victory for Lyoto either way, but sadly, that would mean less people complaining about it.
Shogun Rua may have had solved the Machida puzzle. He would've clearly won the title had it been on PRIDE scoring. He may have even deserved to win that decision, but what's sure is that he certainly wasn't robbed.
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