the new Light Heavyweight Champion at 3:35 of round 1, with Machida suffering his first MMA career loss. Back to title contention In his first fight after losing the title, Machida faced Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on the main event of UFC 123. During the first round Machida landed several leg kicks and some counter punches while Rampage predominantly landed from the clinch, utilizing stomps and punches to Machida's side. Both Compustrike and Fightmetric records show that Rampage out-struck Machida when counting blows such as stomps and elbows to the thigh in the clinch, while Machida landed more strikes during the standup exchanges. In the second round, Compustrike and Fightmetric records show Rampage as the busier overall fighter, and Rampage also scored a takedown. The cleanest and most significant blow of the second round was an uppercut landed by Rampage. In the third round, Machida landed a counter left that stunned Rampage and followed it with a flurry of punches, kicks and knees that backed Jackson into the cage. When Rampage tried to retaliate, Machida scored a takedown, eventually gaining full mount and attempted a submission. At the end of the bout, Rampage was declared the winner via split decision. In the post-fight interview, Rampage expressed that the fairest thing would be to offer Machida an immediate rematch, as he felt he had lost the fight. Five of 7 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Machida. However, since UFC President Dana White personally felt that Rampage won the fight, he denied the possibility of an immediate rematch. This generated some controversy, as White had previously awarded an immediate rematch to Rua in spite of a unanimous judgment decision awarded to Machida in that fight. Machida was then set to face UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture on 30 April 2011, at UFC 129. UFC President Dana White had indicated that Machida was under pressure to perform in his upcoming bout against Couture, saying, "this is a must-win for him." Machida defeated Couture via KO with a jumping front kick to the face at 1:02 of the second round, earning his third Knockout of the Night bonus award. Machida's kick received praise for being similar to the Crane kick featured in the 1984 movie The Karate Kid. Dana White commented that Machida's performance versus Couture put him back into the mix at the top of the division, but stated that