A quick note on Machida vs. Rua: people need to remember that if you are going to beat the champion by decision, it has to be decisive. Championships are different than normal fights. Bottom line: Rua wasn't decisive.
-- Jason

TJ De Santis, radio host: Can you please tell me where this “beat the defending champion decisively” rule is located within the unified rules? Let me save you some time: it doesn’t.

One point or five. A victory is a victory. If you beat the champion by one point on two of three scorecards, you have beaten the champion.

The New York Yankees are currently playing the Philadelphia Phillies in this year’s Major League Baseball World Series. Philadelphia won last year’s. That makes them the current and defending champions of baseball. Does that mean the Yankees need to win fives games out of seven instead of the standard four? Or maybe because the Phils’ are defending champions, they should only lose games when they have been defeated by two runs, instead of one.

To be the champion, you do need to beat the champion. However, it only needs to be one point better on two judges’ cards.

---

Please send feedback to mailbag@sherdog.com. Your letter could appear in the next edition of “The Doggy Bag.”