LOS ANGELES ---Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida showed why his karate style can be so difficult to solve in the world of mixed martial arts with a uanimous decision over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104 on Saturday night at Staples Center.

Machida uses a lot of defense and distance to set up bursts of action. There is a lot of time where he isn't being offensive at all.

It might not be a fan-friendly style at all times, but it is very effective. Machida retained his UFC light-heavyweight title with his first title defense since he defeated Rashad Evans for the championship in May.

"It was the most difficult fight I've had in the UFC," said Machida, who had never lost a round in any of his previous seven fights in the UFC.

Machida said he believed he won three of the five rounds, and he added that he would give Rua a rematch whenever he wants one.

All three judges scored it 48-47 across the board for Machida. But the crowd of 16,000 sided with Rua, booing loudly when Machida was announced as the winner.

"I trained hard for this fight for four months," Rua said. "My corner was telling me I was winning the rounds. I thought I won the fight."

The opening round was very close as both fighters maneuvered to find the right distance for their kicks. Rua did land the best punch of the round, a right hand that wobbled Machida briefly.

Machida thwarted any of Rua's takedown attempts and nullified him in the clinch. Machida's speed and ability to counter started to become a factor in the second round.

There was very little offense coming  from Machida in the third round, while Rua fired off a few  salvos. But Machida came on strong in the final minute of the round, backing Rua into the fence with a series of rights.

Machida whinced a number of times throughout the fight after Rua landed leg kicks, and Rua landed a few of them in the fourth round. Machida was effective when he went on the offensive, but those times were few and far between.

Rua was the one pressing the action in the fifth round, and Machida didn't seem to feel the need to be more aggressive.

After only seven professional fights, it's clear that Cain Velasquez (7-0) of San Jose is one of the most dominant heavyweights in the UFC.

Velasquez completely manhandled former IFL standout Ben Rothwell (30-7) of Davenport, Iowa, en route to a second-round TKO victory.

Velasquez, a 6-1, 238-pounder, got Rothwell, a 6-5, 265-pounder, down with a single-leg takedown in the first 30 seconds of the fight. Rothwell struggled to get back to his feet put him back down. This time, Velasquez punished him with some bruising shots. It took everything Rothwell had to escape from the ground and Velasquez planted him on the ground again. Velasquez was manhandling Rothwell for the final two minutes landing vicious punches from the top position.

Velasquez opened the second round by cracking Rothwell with a right to the chin. Velasquez quickly took the fight back to the ground where he continued his brutal ground-and-pound assault of Rothwell. Rothwell tried to stand up by using the cage, but Velasquez pinned him against the cage and landed six consecutive left hands before referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped it 58 seconds into the second round.

The crowd booed Mazzagatti's decision to stop the fight. It might have been a little premature, but things were only getting worse for Rothwell.

"I just want to keep improving and get better," Velasquez said.

Lightweight Gleison Tibau (30-6) of Coconut Creek, Fla., scored takedowns at will en route to a three-round unanimous decision over Josh Neer (25-9-1) of Des Moines, Iowa.

Lightweight Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (36-10) of Victorville turned in his second straight impressive victory under the direction of trainer Greg Jackson, stopping Spencer Fisher (24-5) of Bettendorf, Iowa, with a brutal barrage of elbows in the second round.

Stevenson opened up a nasty cut above Fisher's right eye after connecting with a left hook early in the opening round. Fisher was able to stuff Stevenson's first takedown attempt, but Stevenson eventually took him down late in the round, got his back and pounded away with punches until the round ended.

Stevenson had a much easier time securing a takedown in the second round. Stevenson went to work on Fisher with elbows and punches. Fisher was pinned against the cage and Stevenson had one of his arms trapped. Fisher had nowhere to go and Stevenson landed about a dozen elbows before Fisher tapped out under the brutal barrage at the 4:03 mark.

"My little sister and big sister used to team up on me and put me in that position to put makeup on me," Stevenson said.

Welterweight Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-2) of San Jose was all over Japan's Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-4) from the opening bell and finished him in 41 seconds with a right hook to the jaw.

"I saw a big face in front of me and I decided to punch it," said Johnson, who also apologized for coming in six pounds over the 170-pound limit.

THE UNDERCARD

"The Ultimate Fighter 8" light-heavyweight winner Ryan Bader (11-0) of Tempe, Ariz., maintained his unblemished record with a three-round unanimous decision over Eric Schafer (13-4-2) of Milwaukee, Wisc.

"I felt like my standup was a lot better," Bader said. "I was pretty exhausted after the first round. Going into the second my arms were really tired. But because my camp (Arizona Combat Sports) pushed me and my conditioning was strong, I was able to get the strength back in my arms."

Bader leveled Schafer with a winging right hook and unloaded a ferocious barrage of follow-up punches midway through the first round. Schafer tried to stand up and Bader slammed him back to the canvas. Schafer went for an arm triangle, but Bader powered out of it and smashed him in the face with a right hand. Somehow, Schafer survived the first round.

Schafer accidentally poked Bader's right eye early in the second round. Both fighters chose to stand and trade in the second round. Schafer landed a few more clean right hands that might have picked up the round for him.

Bader, a former two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, cracked Schafer with a looping right hand that dropped him for a knockdown. Bader went to work with some punishing shots that busted open a cut on the bridge of Schafer's nose. But Schafer weathered the storm and referee Josh Rosnthal stood them up. Bader got a takedown late in the round and ran out the clock.

All three judges had Bader winning, 30-27, 29-26, 30-27.

Heavyweight Pat Barry (5-1) of Milwaukie, Wisc., stunned Antoni Hardonk (8-6) of L.A., stopping him at 2:30 of the second round for a TKO victory.

Hardonk, a 6-4, 245-pounder, had significant height and reach advantages over Barry, a 5-11, 235-pounder, but that didn't stop Barry from exchanging on equal terms with the big man. Both fighters landed some big-time kicks and punches. Barry was the victim of two accidental eye pokes and Hardonk had a bloody nose after the first round.

Barry dropped Hardonk with a straight right early in the second round, but allowed him back to his feet. Barry was definitely getting the better of the standup. A right hook sent Hardonk slumping to the canvas. Barry landed a right and a left on his fallen opponent before the referee Josh Rosenthal stopped it.

"The first thing I learned when I started MMA is that looping punches don't work all the time," Barry said. "My standup coach Duke Roufus told me to use straight punches all the time against tall guys."

Team Quest middleweight Chael Sonnen (25-10-1) of West Linn, Ore., picked up a solid three-round unanimous decision over Yushin Okami (24-5) of Kanagawa, Japan.

"That was the plan, I went right after him," Sonnen said. "Yushin doesn't push the action, but he's always ready to fight. But he definitely hit me hard."

Both fighters landed some good shots when they were standing, but Sonnen had the edge in the first round after slamming Okami twice with hard takedowns.

Sonnen was applying all the pressure in the second round and mixing his attack with punches and kicks. Okami was able to land some solid counter lefts, but Sonnen picked up another round.

Sonnen slammed Okami with a takedown midway through the third round, took his back and landed some clubbing shots. Okami struggled to get to his feet and Sonnen deposited him back on the ground. Okami was unsuccessful on a kimura attempt and Sonnen closed out the round with some ground-and-pound.

All three judges scored it 30-27 in favor of Sonnen.

Middleweight Jorge Rivera (17-7) of Milford, Mass.,  beat up and busted up Rob Kimmons (22-5) of Liberty, Mo., before stopping him with ground-and-pound at 53 seconds of the third round.

"My main motivating factor for this fight was my children," Rivera said. "I have three kids to feed. My biggest fear is not being able to provide for them."

Light-heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury (8-2) of San Jose pulled out a three-round split decision over Razak Al-Hassan (7-2) of Des Moines, Iowa.

"You never want to go the distance," Kingsbury said. "I know I made some mistakes. I'll tyweak some things and work on my cardio. The fans let us know they weren't happy."

Heavyweight Stefan Struve (22-3) of Beverwijk, Netherlands, submitted Chase Gormley (6-1) of L.A. with a triangle choke at 4:04 of the first round.

"I felt right away that I was better than him on the ground," said Struve, a 6-11, 238-pounder. "I like fighting wrestlers because they take me to the ground. They take me right into my game.

"I'm only 21, and in my opinion, I'm getting better every fight, so keep looking out for me."

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