Now while this card doesn't feature any championship bouts, there are several very intriguing matches set to take place. The main event and co-main event lay host to four former UFC champions in Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, BJ Penn, and Matt Hughes. The rest of the main card is rounded out by extremely exciting prospects who have been barreling through their opposition.
And just in case you're still having trouble deciding whether to purchase or not, there will be free preliminary fights airing live and free on Spike TV at 9pm. I'll cover these fights at the end. Without further ado, the main card...
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205lbs)
Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis vs Tim Boetsch
Davis entered into the UFC in early 2010, boasting a 4-0 record and impressive wrestling credentials (4 time All-American and 2008 National Champion @ 197lbs fighting out of Penn St.). Since his arrival, Davis has notched three wins under his belt and hopes to get his fourth before the end of the year, moving him one step closer to the upper echelon of the division.
Tim Boetsch burst onto the MMA scene in 2008 when he took on David Heath and literally tossed him like a rag doll.
*http://www.mma-core.com/videos/_Tim_Boetsch_vs_David_Heath_UFC_81?vid=10000990* - fast forward to about the 10:00 point of the video to see when Boetsch starts to turn it on. Slam comes with about 18 seconds left in the round.
Boestch went on to lose two of his next three fights in the Octagon, and was given the boot. After collecting four wins since that time, Boetsch is now back in the UFC and ready to prove he belongs there.
Both of these fighters come from strong wrestling backgrounds, with Davis holding the advantage. Phil has shown to be very adept with submissions already, which is a surprise because not too many wrestlers are able to pick up jiu-jitsu right away. While Boetsch may have the better stand up of the two fighters, that just gives Davis more incentive to bring the fight to the mat, where he will most likely pass and work some ground and pound en route to a decision win. Depending on how impressive of a victory this ends up being, we may finally see Davis be thrown in with some legit competition.
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185lbs)
Gerald Harris vs Maiquel "Big Rig" Falcao Goncalves
Harris was initially one of the favorites to win Season 7 of the Ultimate Fighter reality series. That was before he ran into soon to be winner Amir Sadollah. Since losing on the show, Harris has gone 9-0, finishing eight of his nine fights, with six finishes coming inside the first round. Harris also comes from a wrestling background, and has proven to be a powerful, explosive middleweight.
Goncalves is making his UFC debut, having accrued a 25-3 record, with 24 wins coming via stoppage (21 TKO/3 Sub). Of those 24 finishes, 22 came inside the first round. Needless to say, this guy has a lot of power.
This fight has fireworks written all over it. Falcao is a monster, normally fighting around 205lbs, if not heavier. He will be cutting a lot of weight to make it to 185, and this could take a serious toll on his cardio. There also lies the fact that Falcao has barely ever been out of the first round, and that could factor into his cardio as well. Look for these fighters to exchange on the feet early as Falcao tries to make quick work of his opponent. If Harris is able to weather the early storm and score a couple of takedowns, it should be an easy night for him, as Goncalves will likely gas out as time goes on, making it easier for Harris to unleash his ground and pound and take home a victory.
LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (155lbs)
Joe Lauzon vs George Sotiropoulos
I may be looking forward to this fight more than any of the others. Lauzon made a name for himself back in 2006 when he shocked the world with a first round KO over Jens Pulver. He then went on to appear on the Ultimate Fighter, where he trained with BJ Penn. Following the show Lauzon collected impressive submission wins before being stopped by Kenny Florian. Lauzon again picked up two impressive wins, but was slowed up once more, this time dropping a decision to Sam Stout. Following the loss, Lauzon went on to destroy Gabe Ruediger, and is now hungry to climb back up the LW ladder.
Sotiropoulos, also an alumnus of the Ultimate Fighter show, has tallied six wins since joining the promotion, with his last loss coming against ground wizard Shinya Aoki in '06. Sotiropoulos has won three of his last six bouts via submission, and showed incredibly technical Jiu-Jitsu in his bouts against Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino. Another win here and George could be in line for a shot at the title.
Both of these fighters have very exciting and technical ground games to watch. In past bouts they have made opponents looked foolish on the ground, and it will be great to see how they fare against one another. In the striking department, Lauzon may hold a slight advantage, but the ground aspect seems to favor Sotiropoulos. Let's not forget Lauzon is no slouch on the ground either, as Jiu-Jitsu is his primary discipline. I'm hoping to see these guys go at it on the ground for the full fifteen minutes. A win for Sotiropoulos could very well mean facing BJ Penn in his next bout, considering the LW title is currently up for grabs between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, followed by a UFC-WEC LW Unification match. Lots going on in this division.
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170lbs)
Matt Hughes vs BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
This match could be possibly the most legendary rubber match to take place since Chuck - Randy III. Hughes is widely considered the greatest welterweight champion the world has seen, and until GSP notches a few more quality defenses, it seems like it will stay that way for a few years. Penn remains a figure who needs no introduction. Unworldly Jiu-Jitsu and lethal counter boxing have made Penn one of the most feared fighters at any weight.
In their first bout, Penn entered the ring as a smaller LW moving up to challenge a bigger stronger WW. But, to everyone's surprise, Hughes was unable to score takedowns on this smaller fighter, and found himself having trouble holding on to BJ. Before he knew it, he was on his back taking punches, and eventually was submitted.
In the second fight, Hughes once again had little success trying to take Penn down. BJ, considered to be one of the hardest fighters to get on the mat, was able to keep the fight standing for a majority of the first two rounds, and worked Hughes over with his boxing. That was when BJ's cardio shit the bed. The third round rolled along, and Hughes was finally able to get a takedown. At this point Penn was noticeably worn, and Hughes pounded him out for the win.
Coming into this third fight, not much has changed. Hughes is riding a three fight win streak, all against BJJ black belts (Serra, Renzo Gracie, Almeida). Although BJ is coming off of consecutive losses to Frankie Edgar, he still remains the dangerous fighter he always has been.
This should be a very easy bout for BJ to win. Considering it isn't a title fight, it can only go three rounds. BJ should have no trouble getting his cardio to the point where he can go three rounds easily. Now remember that Hughes had a lot of trouble taking Penn down in their first two fights. If you look at Matt's more recent fights, he has begun to work more on his stand up, due to the fact that he doesn't have that explosive shot anymore. With virtually no chance of taking Penn down, Hughes will have to rely on his stand up. This is Penn's bread and butter. In his fight against Sean Sherk, Penn used his jab to pepper and pick apart Sherk, as well as landing hard counters whenever Sherk tried to get inside. The same thing happened to poor Diego Sanchez. Unless Hughes is somehow able to drag BJ to the floor, he is in for a long night, as Penn will keep that jab in his face for the full 15 minutes.
MAIN EVENT
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205lbs)
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
As far as style matchups go, this has got to be one of the more interesting bouts we've seen in a while. Ever since his Pride days, Rampage has been known for his rock 'em sock 'em approach. He'll come into the right, throw huge haymakers and uppercuts at you, and without a second thought, pick you up over his hand and slam your ass to the mat. Having always relied on his boxing and power, Rampage seldom adopts any sort of game plan, and instead just goes in and tries to take your head off.
Lyoto Machida on the other hand is the complete opposite. A student of Shotokan karate, Machida's style revolves around being elusive, avoiding any potential damage, while still striking with sharp, accurate blows. It has always been a belief in karate that all you need is one clean shot to the correct part of your opponent's body to neutralize them. This can be seen in the way Machida fights, as he will fire off quick kicks, knees, and counters that seem to always catch his opponent off balance.
On paper, it appears Machida has the much more effective style. Rampage's weakness has shown in many fights to be his inability to block leg kicks (one of the key reasons he lost his title to Forrest Griffin). Against a karate master, Jackson will be taking on a lot of kicks, and unless he tries to check them, they will slow him down tremendously, leaving him as nothing but a punching bag for Machida to unleash upon.
Another problem area for Rampage lies in the sense that he is most effective when either throwing his counter hooks, or coming forward with big upper cuts. Since Machida's style relies on being elusive and keeping his head back and chin tucked, it is unlikely Rampage will be able to get anywhere near close enough to Machida to land those uppercuts. But, and this is an important but, if Rampage is able to land one of his patented counter hooks, as we saw against Chuck and Wanderlei, then it may very well be lights out for Machida. When Shogun knocked out Machida, it was a counter right hand that Shogun landed when Machida was moving in. It is very possible that Quinton can land a counter that will put Machida to bed.
We do still have to keep in mind that Rampage looked slow against Rashad, and unless he has really dedicated himself in the gym, it's likely he could come in to this fight out of shape as well. If that ends up being the case, Machida should have no problem staying outside of Rampage's reach and picking him apart. My mind says Machida by decision, but my heart says Rampage by 2nd round KO. Come on Quinton.
So that's it for the main card. A lot of exciting fights going down. Here's a quick look at the prelims which will air live on Spike TV.
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185lbs)
Aaron Simpson vs Mark Munoz
Aaron Simpson comes in to this bout with a 3-1 record inside the Octagon. This may be a little bit misleading though, as one of his victories came due to his opponent blowing out their knee, and another victory coming via a close split decision. He was then put away by Chris Leben via punches.
Munoz is also 3-1 in his last four fights, but has been much more impressive. Munoz put away Ryan Jensen and Kendall Grove with punches before dropping a very close split decision to Yushin Okami, who just defeated Nate Marquardt.
Both of these fighters are wrestlers, with Munoz probably being the more powerful and more dominant. Expect to see the Philippine Wrecking Machine pick up another TKO victory somewhere around the second round, as Simpson is unable to stop Munoz's takedowns and is pounded out.
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170lbs)
Brian Foster vs Matt "Immortal" Brown
So this fight was initially intended to be Matt Brown vs Rory MacDonald. MacDonald, only a 20 year old kid, showed tremendous heart and fought his ass off earlier this year against Carlos Condit. I was really looking forward to seeing him fight again, but he unfortunately was injured during training.
Matt Brown appeared on TUF 7, where he was a quiet guy in the house, but feared by all. Brown comes into the Octagon with every intention of smashing your face in. He comes to fight and he comes hard. Although he is just 4-4 inside the Octagon, the Immortal has put on plenty of exciting fights, and the fans always welcome him back for more.
Brian Foster, training out of the HIT Squad (Hughes Intensive Training) with Matt Hughes, comes into this fight with a wrestling background. Having gone just 2-2 in the UFC since arriving in 2009, Foster will need to put on an impressive performance to ensure that he continues fighting in the UFC.
Should be an exciting matchup, but am still disappointed that MacDonald isn't gonna be fighting.
So that's it. UFC 123, Saturday November 20th, Live on Pay Per View. Make sure to check it out, hope you enjoyed the read.
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