UFC 123 Fight Card: Predictions for Every Fight
Attention Rampage: You aren't doing yourself or your sport any favor.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson returns to the octagon on Saturday to take on Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC 123 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. It will be a three-round non-title fight, and the winner will be right back in the mix in the light heavyweight division.
Having Rampage on the card usually means plenty of entertainment will follow, but he isn't expecting that, and even admitted as much Thursday morning on Sportscenter.
"The thing that really concerns me is that it could be a disaster," Rampage said. "It could be a boring fight. I'm trying to make it more exciting because I like exciting fights. But his style is boring to me, and he's coming off a loss where he got knocked out for the first time and a lot of times when people get knocked out for the first time they're gun shy."
Machida's style may be completely different from his, but Rampage isn't in for a cakewalk.
Here's a breakdown of the main event, and others on Saturday night's card, with predictions:
205 Pounds: Rampage Jackson Vs. Lyoto Machida
1 of 11
It's the brawler against the tactician.
Rampage's strength is his one-punch knockout power, but he's going to have to get really lucky to drop Machida, who is coming off a loss to Shogun Rua. Machida's style isn't conventional, prompting Sports Illustrated's Ben Fowlkes to write that he is "either brilliantly elusive or painfully boring."
Rua weighed in on the matchup, and gives the edge to Machida.
"Lyoto is really good and it's hard to pick up on his game," Rua told Graciemag.com. "Rampage is really strong, has a dangerous hook. But I feel Lyoto will win this one."
Both fighters are still young enough to be contenders for the light heavyweight title, but since this is a non-title fight, watch and see if both fighters pick up the pace since it's just three rounds.
Prediction: Machida by decision.
170 Pounds: Matt Hughes Vs. BJ Penn
2 of 11
The two fighters have already split two preview bouts, and now it's time for the rubber match.
This may actually be the best fight on the card. Hughes is a tremendous wrestler—35 of his 45 wins have come by TKO or submission—and Penn is desperate for a win after consecutive losses to Frankie Edgar.
Hughes already has two big wins over Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida this year, but Penn's stand up and ground game could cause problems.
You could make a convincing argument for either fighter to win. Whoever emerges would have another shot at Georges St. Pierre, who's beaten both fighters twice already and is considered one of the UFC's best. Great incentive, huh?
Prediction: Hughes by decision.
205 Pounds: Phil Davis Vs. Tim Boetsch
3 of 11
Davis (7-0), a four-time All-American wrestler at Penn State, is clearly the more talented fighter but will take on an opponent who's won four straight.
Davis (pictured) recently told USA Today he is pleased with his grappling but needs to become a more complete fighter. In August, Davis defeated Rodney Wallace by unanimous decision, which is especially impressive considering he took the fight on three weeks notice.
Keep an eye on Davis. He could be one of the sport's rising stars.
Prediction: Davis by 1st round KO.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
155 Pounds: George Sotiropoulos Vs. Joe Lauzon
4 of 11
Sotiropoulos (13-2) is on the cusp of stardom.
A jiu-jitsu fighter and a semifinalist on season six of "The Ultimate Fighter", Sotiropoulos (pictured, left) has six straight wins and expectations are growing with each victory. Lauzon's gotten 15 of his 19 wins by submission, with the other four coming by knockout or technical knockout.
If Lauzon (19-5) gains momentum, this fight gets interesting. He can handle himself on the ground, but has a solid standup attack as well.
Prediction: Sotiropoulos by decision.
170 Pounds: Matt Brown Vs. Brian Foster
5 of 11
Foster (16-5, pictured) barely needed a round to beat Forrest Petz with some devastating hammer punches in his last fight and now takes on Brown (13-9), a former contestant on season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter" who has a brown belt in judo and blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Brown is coming off consecutive losses, both by submission.
Prediction: Foster by 2nd round TKO
185 Pounds: Gerald Harris Vs. Maiquel Falcao
6 of 11
This could be a real action-packed fight.
Harris (16-2, pictured), a former contestant on season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter", is making his fourth appearance in the UFC. His previous three fights have all been wins by knockout or technical knockout. Falcao (25-3) is making his UFC debut, and comes from the Chute Box team, the same one that's brought you Shogun Rua, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva. Falcao has won 23 of his 25 fights in the first round.
Prediction: Falcao by decision.
185 Pounds: Aaron Simpson Vs. Mark Munoz
7 of 11
Another potentially action-packed undercard fight pits Simpson (7-1) against Munoz (8-2) in a battle of two friends and longtime training partners.
Munoz (pictured) is 3-1 since he moved back to middleweight and had a stunning knockout against Kendall Grove earlier this year. Both are former college wrestlers, but Simpson comes from Arizona State, which also produced new heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez.
Prediction: Munoz by decision.
155 Pounds: Paul Kelly Vs. TJ O'Brien
8 of 11
O'Brien (16-3) is a replacement for Gabe Ruediger, who had to withdraw from the card because of an injury. It's a big opportunity, especially after suffering an embarrassing 13-second knockout loss in tryouts for season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter."
Kelly (11-3) also needs a win, or could be back to small-time cards, after losing two of his last three fights.
Prediction: O'Brien (pictured) by decision.
170 Pounds: Karo Parisyan Vs. Dennis Hallman
9 of 11
The two fighters have a combined 25 years of MMA experience.
Hallman (64-13-2, 1 no contest) made headlines when he said that 50 percent of MMA fighters take performance enhancing drugs. He'll have a tough time against Parisyan, an Armenian who is making a surprising return to the UFC a year after withdrawing from a scheduled bout. He was then fired by UFC, and President Dana White vowed that he'd never invite Parisyan back.
Parisyan's fight with Diego Sanchez in 2006 is still regarded as one of the best in UFC history, and there's no way he'll blow this second chance on Saturday.
Prediction: Parisyan by decision.
155 Pounds: Edson Barboza Vs. Mike Lullo
10 of 11
Barboza (6-0) has won of each of his fights in the first round, five victories coming by knockout or technical knockout. Lullo has rebounded (8-2) after losing his first two pro bouts, and has six straight wins by submission. Barboza specializes in Muay Thai, and is a native of Brazil.
Prediction: Barboza by decision.
155 Pounds: Tyson Griffin Vs. Nik Lentz
11 of 11
Griffin (14-4) is coming off back to back losses and is fighting for the third time since June. Lentz (21-3-2) is coming off an unanimous decision over Andre Winner in august, and has admitted he started slow in the fight.
Prediction: Lentz by submission.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
