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Mousasi gives a lot of credit to Machida for that fight.. No excuses or complaints on how that fight went down... I think that's a first time I've ever heard someone not complain of Machida's style

“I don’t know. I think he was just better,” Mousasi said at the post-event news conference after suffering his first loss in the UFC. “I couldn’t get into my game. He was just a step before me always. I don’t know about the scoring – maybe I had one round. Maybe two.”

As many others have experienced against Machida in the past, Mousasi said finding a way to score points against the karate expert became an issue.

Machida, a former light heavyweight champion, won for the second straight time after dropping down to middleweight and may have put himself in line for a title shot – though he’ll have to wait to see what happens between champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort in May.

“It was difficult to get the rhythm,” Mousasi said. “I didn’t feel like I had the range. He was masterful in his defense. I just couldn’t get started.”

Mousasi also shrugged off the thought that his 10-month layoff since his UFC debut win over Ilir Latifi this past April, and his subsequent knee surgery, had him experiencing any of the dreaded cage rust.

“It could be, but I don’t think so,” he said. “I think rhythm helps always. But I felt good going into the fight and I had no injuries.”