Sherdog’s Top 10: Worst Decisions

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5. Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis
UFC 163 “Aldo vs. Korean Zombie”
Aug. 3, 2013 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
If Leonard Garcia, who might very well lead the world in gifted decisions, only receives one entry for his considerable body of work, how does Machida warrant two spots on this list? Unlike Garcia, whose style generally finds favor with the judges -- his loss against Max Hollaway was a rare exception -- Machida’s trademark approach cost him dearly against Davis.

Machida entered the matchup as something of a No. 1 contender in waiting. Following victories over Ryan Bader and Dan Henderson, “The Dragon” was thought to be next in line for another shot at light heavyweight ruler Jon Jones. Both times, once by his own choosing, Machida missed that opportunity. Another victory figured to strengthen the Brazilian’s lofty status in the division.

In front of his countrymen, Machida countered Davis effectively, and for the most part, thwarted the takedowns of the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler. Although striking totals were quite close, Machida passed the eye test when it came to determining who landed the most significant blows. Case in point: all thirteen media members/outlets tracked by MMADecisions.com had the former 205-pound titlist winning, and 10 of those unofficial scorecards did not award Davis a single round.

Of course, the judges saw it differently. Sal D’Amato, Chris Watts and Rick Winter all submitted 29-28 scorecards giving Davis his biggest victory in some time. The Alliance MMA product credited last-minute takedowns in rounds one and two for putting him over the top.

“Please don’t boo. This man is a champion,” Davis said. “The late takedowns definitely helped. It’s always my strategy to get takedowns and work all the time.”

Nearly four years removed from his controversial verdict over Mauricio Rua, Machida was perplexed.

“I don’t really know what they are judging,” he said. “Just listen to the crowd. They will tell you what happened.”

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