November 12, 2010, UFC 123 preview for Metro NYC Newspaper
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It has been 14 years and six months since Detroit hosted a UFC event. The drought ends at next Saturday night’s UFC 123 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The main event is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida, and the co-main event will be the third Matt Hughes-B.J. Penn fight.
Jackson’s pointed criticism of Machida highlighted Thursday's chatter. Machida is a practitioner of Shotokan karate, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and sumo wrestling, and employs a counter-attacking style. Jackson, who employs wrestling and boxing, has repeatedly expressed his disdain for what he believes is Machida’s boring fights.
“I’m not worried about anything. The fight is going to go the way it goes. I’m going to fight my fight and not worry about Lyoto,” Jackson said. “I’d rather fight people who put on a show. I’d had to see (mixed martial arts) become boxing.”
It appears that the winner of Jackson-Machida will fight Rashad Evans sometime in 2011. The winner of that fight should meet UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio Rua before the end of next year. No matter who meets Evans, it will be a rematch. Machida knocked out Evans at UFC 98 to win the Light Heavyweight Championship. Evans decisioned Jackson in their highly anticipated grudge match at UFC 114 in May.
“I know exactly why I lost the fight. I lost the fight before I stepped into the cage,” Jackson said but would not elaborate why he lost at UFC 114. Jackson said that he would like a fight against “whoever has the belt” and he (wants) to “beat whoever has beaten me.”
The finale of the Hughes-Penn trilogy will determine who the better fighter was. Penn submitted Hughes at UFC 46 with a rear naked choke, while Hughes evened the series with a TKO of Penn at UFC 63. The last fight has Hall-of-Famer Hughes somewhat uneasy as he admitted that there is pressure going into the final fight with Penn
“He beat me so easy the first time and the second one (was tough), explained Hughes. “(It) will be like losing three fights or winning three fights. This is a great fight for me and a great fight for B.J. I’m not Frankie Edgar. I don’t move like Frankie Edgar.”
That may benefit Penn, who lost the UFC Lightweight Championship to Edgar in April and the August rematch by unanimous decisions. To fight Hughes, Penn stepped up in weight class to welterweight. The winner of the Hughes-Penn fight should jump up in the welterweight rankings and possibly be in line for a shot at reigning champion Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre is scheduled to fight Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 in Montreal.
“What went wrong was that I didn’t win,” Penn said. “Edgar did a great job. He’s the champion right now. I want to be the champion again.”
But whereas Penn is lusting for another title, Hughes is at the point in his career and life where he is fighting because he enjoys fighting. Still, the Hall-of-Famer recognizes that he has a finite amount of fights left before he retires.
“No pressure is part of it. I have a fun time training. I have a fun time traveling and have a fun time in the octagon,” said Hughes. “I’m kind of at the point now (that) whatever they offer, I’m set. I’m not a guy to chase the record books. I still love to compete.
“I’m sure I’ll miss it. It’ll be because my heart and mind aren’t into it.”
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/690236--jackson-criticizes-machida-a-week-away-from-ufc-123
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 1:02 PM
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