On Saturday's Ultimate Fighting Championship, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, 30, was passed up for fellow fighter and Brazilian Lyoto Machida, who nabbed the title of No. 1 light heavyweight contender, being granted the chance to fight in the championship, shocking many UFC fans who felt that Rua should have advanced.
Machido knocked out Ryan Bader and Rua defeated Brandon Vera, but in the end UFC president Dana White advanced Machida, who will next take on the winner of the fight between Dan Henderson and Jon Jones, while Shogun will contend with the winner.
"It's okay," said Rua through an interpreter, reports Fox Sports. "I respect the decision …. Lyoto is a top fighter and he deserves right now to be the contender. Let's wait for my opportunity," he said.
"It really wasn't a hard decision," said White. "Lyoto wants it more than Shogun does. [Rua] didn't dispute that tonight either."
Even Machida isn't completely clear on why the decision came down the way it did. "It's very hard to say," he said. "Maybe my knockout was more impressive."
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