After reading through all the posts on many of the MMA sites out there, I've decided to throw my two cents into the mix. Going into the fight, I was expecting a Machida victory, but it became very clear in the first round that he may have met his match. When the fifth round ended, I was so busy getting excited about Rua having the belt that I almost missed the fact that he didn't actually win the fight.

The general consensus is that Rua won the fight, and I certainly agree. They were very well matched, but I think that Rua was in charge of the pacing, had more effective strikes, superior grappling and definitely showed more aggression. But the judges obviously saw something else, and thats where the problem lies. Decisions like this reinforce my belief that MMA needs a new and improved scoring system.