I don't see how you don't get Machida-Shogun 3. There's virtually no one in the LHW division worthy of a title shot at this point in time. Jones is already booked up and probably needs another 2 fights. Little Nog is a worthy contender but is fighting next month, and probably needs a big win (Forrest would have been perfect) to set up the hype for the casual fans who don't know just how good he is. Silva's an ideal opponent but he's going to have to fight 1 or 2 more times at MW before taking a shot at the LHW belt. Rashad-Rampage? Please. Rua would tune either of them up. Machida just lost for the first time in his career, he deserves an immediate rematch much more so than a guy who he already destroyed or a guy who hasn't fought in over a year because he threw a hissy fit when people laughed at him for wanting to be an actor.
As much as people disagree with the decision of Machida-Shogun 1, the fact is Machida won on 3 judges scorecards. Given the judge's scoring criteria, he obviously won the fight. Doesn't matter what you, or me, or Dana White, or anyone on the internet thinks, Machida landed more damaging shots which judges allegedly score substantially more points for than leg kicks, despite how much damage they do. Last night's fight was going to be great, I'm disappointed it ended as early as it did. I need to rewatch it because my memory is a little off right now, but Machida was getting the better of Shogun in the standup, scored 2 takedowns (although he couldn't hold Rua down) and then decided to get agressive and walked into a shot that put him down. There was no domination on Shogun's part last night up until the end of the fight. How you don't set up the trilogy is beyond me. After they fight for a 3rd time, the UFC should be ready to set up the winner vs. Silva, and by then, Little Nog or Jon Jones should be ready to step up for a title shot provided he doesn't have any lapses prior to that.
By the way, tons of respect for Shogun knowing Machida was out during the ground and pound and letting up before the ref stepped in, knowing it was about to get stopped. Very, very classy move on his part.