Shogun Rua knocks the piss out of Lyoto Machida, earns title and redemption

Expect enrollment at karate dojos to take a steep dive following the main event of Saturday’s UFC 113. It took just 3:35 for the head-stomping former PRIDE FC terror Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to slay the “Dragon,” capture the light heavyweight title and wash away the sour-bitter taste that lingered following the previous bout.

There was no way that the rematch between Rua and the implacable zen karate master Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida was going to go to the judges, not after what happened last time. But few could have predicted the devastating ease with which Rua dispatched his undefeated foe.

Combining fearless aggression with immaculately timed strikes – an overhand right to the skull followed by a flurry of piston-like punches on the ground – Rua transformed the Machida Era into the Machida Error, the mistaken belief that the now-dethroned champ was an unsolvable, unbeatable karate-powered puzzle.

It was like watching the Shogun of five years ago, the nervy 23-year-old who tore through Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona en route to the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix title, only smarter, more mature. And you could see it in Machida’s face – confusion, doubt, fear – as he was stalked, hunted down and put away. Why is my training failing me, he seemed to be asking. Anyone who argues that you have to beat the champion in order to be the champion – a ridiculous view involving the undisputed obliteration of the titleholder that only seems to exist in MMA and boxing – should have no qualms about recognizing Shogun’s supremacy. At least for the moment.

As Machida lay stunned and bloodied across the mat, as Shogun raised his arms in victory, as UFC president Dana White wrapped the belt that was rightfully Rua’s seven months ago around his waist, the MMA world breathed a collective sigh of relief. Disaster had been averted. The biggest judging blunder in UFC history had been rendered moot, the Earth had been set comfortably back on its axis and today is a new day in the Shogun Era.

Already, though, there is talk of Shogun vs. Anderson Silva. According to White, the middleweight champ still has a couple of corners to sweep up – Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort – before the division is cleaned out and Silva can move up to 185 pounds. That’s assuming Alan Belcher doesn’t get the shot at Silva he begged for after beating Patrick Cote last night, a shot Belcher has no business getting, btw. That’s also assuming Silva’s first fight once he moves up will be for the title, a shot Silva has no business getting without at least one more win at 205.

That gives Shogun time for at least a couple of title defenses, the first likely coming against the winner of UFC 114’s Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson (and imagine the stories we can spin about the clash of old PRIDE rivals should Rampage best Evans to earn the title shot).

But more on that at a later date. Today, it’s Shogun’s triumph, Machida’s downfall and the sense that order has been restored to the universe that prevails.