RematchQUOTE
“I think there will be a rematch in that fight," said White. "I talked to both of them and they both agreed to a rematch.”
Rua voiced his opinion at the post-fight press conference that he's welcome to a second bout with the champion.
“Of course I’m thinking about a rematch ever since the fight, and if that’s Dana’s wish and Lyoto’s wish, I’ll fight him anywhere, anytime, wherever. It’s just a matter of people wanting to put the fight together," said the former top ranked 205-pounder in the world.
Machida also expressed that he'd take the immediate rematch. “Of course if the UFC decides we should have a rematch then let’s have a rematch," said the champion.
White feels the rematch will live up to expectations.
“You never want to hear people booing the main event. It’s unfortunate. That’s why I truly believe, I think this will be a good rematch," White told the media following UFC 104.
"I think they’re both going to come in and not make the same mistakes they made this first fight. They’re going to come in and each one is going to try to win decisively.”
“I’m pretty confident the rematch will be a different fight for both guys," said the UFC president. “I guarantee the next fight is going to be much different.
“I think that the second fight will be the fight we want to see," White added. “I love this rematch. I think it’s a great rematch.
I don't think anyone will say the fight was a war, but it was definitely technical in the way that the fighters game planned and executed their strategies. Hopefully, we see more from both in the rematch.
Don't leave it to the judgesQUOTE
“The first round could have gone either way. I gave the second and third to Machida and then I gave the fourth and fifth to Shogun,” he revealed. “So assuming that Shogun won the first, fourth, and fifth, he wins the fight. Was it a close fight? Yeah, it was a close fight.”
While fans and fighters alike come down hard on the overall state of judging in mixed martial arts, White repeated the words he has uttered often, “You can’t leave it in the hands of the judges. You just can’t do it.”
Most fighters that weighed in after the bout vehemently favored Shogun as the winner, but echoed White’s sentiment.
“I honestly thought Shogun won and I thought it should have went to him, but like Dana says, you can’t leave it to the judges,” said Joe Stevenson, who won earlier in the night.
Anthony Johnson also fought at UFC 104, assessed it the same, "I think Shogun won, (but) neither one of them went out there like they should have."
Fighters from Kenny Florian to “Razor” Rob McCullough to Efrain Escudero voiced their opinions that Shogun had earned the belt, but Joe Lauzon summed it up succinctly on his Twitter account, “This is why... You NEVER leave it to the judges! When you finish your opponent, you don’t need to worry about judges!”
They always say don't leave it to the judges. It's always about finishing fights. However, I think judges need to be more educated on how to score bouts. We have a lot of regulations as to what is and isn't allowed, but there hasn't been much on how to score a fight. I don't want to start with the ten point must system, but I did like Pride's scoring better.