UFC 104 -- Post event analysis

With UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun now in the rearview, it's time to look at how the event helped or hurt each of the top fighters involved.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson: It took him barely 50 seconds to overwhelm Yoshida but then again let's hope he's able to beat someone he was probably 30 lbs heavier by the time the fight started. Plain and simple Johnson is a beast at welterweight. For him to cut down to 170 from weighing about 215 every day is huge for that weight class. There aren't going to be a lot of guys that can deal with what he can bring to the table. His next fight should be a big step up in competition, perhaps somebody like Josh Koscheck.

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson: Listening to him in the post fight press conference was like watching a kid at an amusement park. He was just so excited about his new found game, it was really interesting to hear him speak about being re-energized and excited to put his repertoire into action. Stevenson remains one of the top lightweight fighters in the UFC, perhaps a fight with Gray Maynard or Frank Edgar.

Cain Velasquez: Absolutely dominated Ben Rothwell as I thought he would. Rothwell is an overrated fighter, after all he was fighting in the IFL for a reason. Velasquez on the other hand is a very talented prospect and that is why the UFC picked hip up at the starting point of his career. At 7-0 and with some top wins in his last two fights, Velasquez is really positioning himself for a run at a title fight. I think he needs one more top win before getting that shot and I think he should have to fight Frank Mir provided Mir beats Kongo at 107.

Shogun: Looked like the Rua we've all been waiting to see in beating up Machida. "The Dragon" was thoroughly confused in how to deal with Rua's Muay-Thai. Shogun won that fight but was handed probably the worst decision in MMA history when he was robbed of the title. Now he's left having to repeat what he just did a few months down the line after Machida has had a chance to recover and work a new gameplan to try to compensate for what Shogun wants to do.