This Saturday live from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on pay per view at UFC 104 the Lightheavy Weight title is up for grabs; when Machida and Shogun meet inside the octagon and heavyweight Ben Rothwell makes his UFC debut against Cain Velasquez.
UFC 104: The Main EventLyoto “The Dragon” Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
With an unbeaten record of 15-0, Machida captured the Lightheavy Weight title from former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 98 after a second round TKO. First making his UFC debut against Sam Hoger at UFC 67 Machida walked away with the unanimous decision victory. Now in his first title defense Machida faces fellow brazilian and former PrideFC Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Shogun was awarded the title shot against Machida when Quinton “Rampage” Jackson opted to take the coaching position on the UFC reality series The Ultimate Fighter’s tenth installment. Shogun made his UFC debut at UFC 97, where he was submitted by Forrest Griffin in the third round. After a lackluster performance at UFC 93 against Mark Coleman, the old Shogun returned at UFC 97 when he defeated “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell via TKO of the first round.
This Saturday Shogun has the opportunity to hold gold once again as he steps into the octagon to face Lyoto Machida for the Ultimate Fighting Championships Lightheavy Weight title.
UFC 104: The Main Card
The Heavyweight bout on the main card features the debut of former Independent Fight League (IFL) fighter Ben Rothwell. Rothwell comes into his UFC debut on a loss to former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at the now defunct Affliction: Banned pay per view. Standing in the way of the successful debut of Rothwell is Cain Velasquez who has won all but one of his six bouts by TKO; Velasquez last competed at UFC 99 where he defeated Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision.
The Lightweight bouts on the card see Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau face off. Neer coming in off a loss at UFC 101 to Kurt Pellegrino was originally penned to face Sean Sherk before Sherk injured himself and Tibau stepped in as the replacement. As his opponent Tibau is coming in off a loss to Melvin Guillard at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, for both these Lightweight a win is needed.
In another Lightweight matchup Ultimate Fighter 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson meets Spencer Fisher. With two back to back losses Stevenson was able to get back on the winning road after his unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz at the Ultimate Fighter 9 finale. Victorious in all of his last three bouts since his lost to Frank Edgar at UFC 78, Fisher has gone through Caol Uno, Jeremy Stevens and Shannon Gugerty and now has the opportunity to add Joe Stevenson to the list of names he has defeated and continue his winning streak.
The last bout rounding out the main card is a welterweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Yoshida makes his fourth appearance in the octagon, holding submission victories over Jon Koppenhaver and Brandon Wolff who he last faced at UFC 98. In the other corner Anthony Johnson makes his return with two back to back wins under his belt over Kevin Burns and Luigi Fioravanti at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens.
See the undercard
UFC 104- Results
Mellissa Scotland - Mellissa Scotland is a freelance writer residing in Toronto, ON Canada. Mellissa currently works within the Canadian media industry. ...
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