Quinton Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida: A Light Heavyweight Dream Match is Official

Since both fighters have tasted defeat this past year, it is only logical for Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida to square off against each other at UFC 123.

Jackson is coming off a one-sided loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114 and Machida recently suffered the first loss of his career after he relinquished the UFC light heavyweight title to Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 113.

This mega-fight will not only draw huge pay-per-view buys but it will instantly propel either fighter back to the top of the 205-pound division.

Both fighters were exposed in their last fights and this bout surely would tell which one of them has improved.

Rampage is one of, if not, the hardest hitting fighters in the UFC. The former UFC light heavyweight champion has absolute knockout power in both hands and has the ability to finish any fighter in the UFC. His victory over longtime rival Wanderlei Silva was evident at UFC 92.

Rampage came out and fought a bit more cautious, timing his opponent with hard body shots and quick jabs. Not too long after, Jackson countered Silva with a hard left hook that dropped the Brazilian and knocked him out cold. 

Jackson also has solid wrestling, which allows him to stuff his opponents’ takedowns and forces them to stand and trade. Jackson, who uses his size and strength, is also known for bringing his opponents to the ground with thunderous slams. 

However, in his last fight with Evans, Rampage showed none of these skills and was picked apart the entire fight. At one point, Rampage seemed to have caught a break after an uppercut dropped Evans in the third round, but he was not able to finish him.

The fight was a three round snooze fest and the result did not sit well with fans or Jackson either.

Jackson claims that the year layoff from filming “The A-Team” and the distractions around him affected the outcome of the fight. But it is easier to make excuses and acknowledge what went wrong after the fact.

Could it be that Jackson’s stand-up and punching power, his overall strength, was exposed and is now looked at as a potential weakness?

His stand-up is what he relies on mostly and he looked quite slow and stiff trying to throw against a much faster, well-rounded fighter in Rashad Evans.

Is his cardio an issue?

He was taken down relatively easy by Evans and certainly had a chance to win but didn’t capitalize on the opportunity, looking uncharacteristically gassed trying to finish. 

What does it tell us about Jackson?

He still does pose a huge threat to the division, but it’s obvious that he needs to evolve and not just rely on his brute power and strong stand-up skills.

If Rampage can’t fix his weaknesses then he’ll begin to slowly move down the ladder in the light heavyweight division, becoming an afterthought in the UFC, while other fighters like Ryan Bader and Jon Jones will quickly move up.

Lyoto Machida is one of the most elusive and unique fighters to ever step foot in the UFC. His quick foot movement frustrates his opponents, while his unorthodox stand up makes them a bit hesitant to exchange with the karate-based fighter.

At UFC 98, Machida challenged then-UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans for the belt and it was the first time in UFC history that two undefeated fighters would face off in a UFC title fight.

In the opening round, both fighters spent the first two minutes getting a feel for one another and in an instant Machida fired first, leading with a feint leg kick and a straight left punch that sent Evans to the floor. From that point on, Machida would dictate where the fight would go as he pushed the pace and even at one point almost successfully took Evans down.

As they got back to their feet Machida continued to obliterate his opponent and then he connected with a hard left cross that sent Evans to sleep and was crowned the new light heavyweight champion.

When it was official that Rua would be the next to challenge Machida for the title, it was expected that Machida would walk through the fellow Brazilian and continue his reign as the 205-pound titleholder, however, it didn’t turn out how people expected.

The clash between the two Brazilian’s at UFC 104 was a back-and-forth battle that ended in controversy.

Machida kept his belt and survived the five-round war and an immediate rematch was made for May 2010. The two squared off once again at UFC 113, but this time it didn’t go the distance.

It was noticeable that during the rematch, Machida didn’t look like the same fighter who won the light heavyweight crown a year ago. He was much more hesitant and appeared to be overly aggressive, a style that ironically plays into his hands.

Following the loss some MMA fans saw Machida as an “overrated fighter” or “figured out,” but it is highly unlikely that he will suffer many more losses in his career.

Obviously he has holes he needs to fix as well, but it is very foolish to over look him and discredit what he has accomplished thus far

Machida, like Jackson, is in a tough position at the moment.

The talks of a match up between Machida and Jackson have surfaced for awhile, but now the two light-heavyweight contenders will finally meet. This is the first time they'll square off and they do pose different problems for one another.

Machida’s chin and physiological state must come to mind following his loss to Shogun, and Rampage can hit harder and is a much stronger fighter than Rua.

However, unlike Rua, Jackson isn’t the most technical fighter and he usually swings big punches when looking to win a fight, which could tire Jackson out very easily and very quickly especially dealing with the caliber fighter that Machida is.

Exchanging blows with Jackson could make Machida’s night end in a similar fashion like it did against Rua. On the other hand, if Jackson comes into the Octagon with the same gameplan he had for Evans, Machida will easily pick apart the former Pride FC star and make him look like an amateur fighter.

Both fighters have the potential to become champion once again and they both have the ability to win fights in devastating fashion. This bout will determine the future for both Jackson and Machida.

Whichever fighter is victorious, one will continue to climb the ladder of success while the other fighter  falls to obscurity.