Former UFC Champs Lyoto Machida, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Could Fight Next
Another matchup between a pair of former UFC light heavyweight champions could be on tap, as UFC President Dana White suggested after Saturday’s UFC 114 that Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson could square off next.
“I’m going to get together with Machida in the next couple of days, maybe Rampage,” White said, according to MMA Weekly.
Returning to UFC action for the first time in over a year, Jackson dropped a unanimous decision to former champ Rashad Evans in the UFC 114 headliner, while Machida lost the 205-pound title to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua last month after suffering a first-round knockout in the main event of UFC 113.
Evans will look to reclaim the belt when he squares off against “Shogun” later this year, while the winner of a potential matchup between Machida and Jackson could earn the next title shot.
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Pictured: Lyoto Machida
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Poor Rampage he has to fight another fast guy with good counter punching. The only thing he has in his favor is that he does not have to worry about the takedowns, and Rampage has more power. I dont see my boy Rampage winning this fight id like to see him against Thiago Silva.
Too bad Thiago is already booked, I would of really enjoyed that fight. This fight makes sense since both are coming off losses but stylisticly, this fight is weird.
I think Thiago would out strike Rampage too, he almost had rashad in their last round.
and so did rampage, in fact rampage was alot closer to getting the stoppage then thiago was so i dont see your point
yeah man, you have no point whatsoever
with the depth that 205 apparently has id like to see other fighters get title shots… it doesnt make sense(to me at least) that both rampage and machida who have just lost should get a title shot chance with there next fight…
unless its a totally dominant showing by either fighter it doesnt seem right… hell even Rashad getting a shot for out pointing rampage doesnt seem right… maybe if he had made rampage’s head look like a bobble head toy, but alas that didnt happen…
Rashad did more than outpoint Jackson, he controlled him and made him fight his(Rashad’s) fight for all but 3 minutes of the fight.
I would rather see Rampage fight Forrest again, but this is an interesting fight as well
Yeah, Rampage – Griffin 2 would be PERFECT.
I hope this is a fight at UFC119 because Im going anyway!!! PLEASE FIGHT AT UFC119….!!
This one’s gonna be a barnburner, i can’t wait!!
My prediction is that this fight will be exactly like the Tito / Machida fight. Same action, same result. Machida will out-everything Rampage.
i’d agree with that
and then get caught in a chain of submissions at the end of the fight? I hope not…
I don’t think either guy deserves a title shot after just coming off a loss . Maybe a Jon jones.
X-factor in this fight… whose mentally all there? Before the Shogun rematch I’d easily give it to Lyoto but coming off such an emphatic KO loss you never know. I think Lyoto has a clear edge and I wouldn’t be surprised if “the Dragon” was more of “the ghost” that many complained about before he showed his KO ability.
I agree that Machida will look to capitalize on his elusiveness and return to his old form instead of being as agressive as he had been against Rua.
I hear you, but I’m not sure if Machida is responsible for all that careless aggression that cost him his title, or if the blame lay with his trainers/coaches.
IMO Machida looked…off…in that second fight with Rua, and that was before Rua went all “Virtua Fighter” on him.
Maybe Machida was nursing some sort of undisclosed injury, maybe he had a bad camp or some personal issue, or maybe BlackHouse just flat fightplanned incorrectly and cost their boy his gold…
I hope the challenge of the Machida match-up will prompt a change in camp from Rampage. If he spends next few months promoting the A-Team movie and jamming in a 60 day training camp at he Lion’s Den prior to the fight, I think we will see a repeat of the Rashad loss.
Rampage trains at the Wolfslair, and I really don’t have a problem with him being at that camp.
Sorry about mixing my predators! Where do you rank that camp versus some of the other leaders (e.g., BlackHouse, Jackson, etc.)?
I’m not going to rank the camps because certain camps are better fight for certain fighters. I don’t see how they hurt Rampage, but getting him out of his comfort zone where he has to focus is a good thing. He lost to Forrest and went on his “Rampage” when he was with Ibarra, went to Wolfslair, refocused and and knocked out a man who had KOed him twice previously. It is my personal opinion that had this fight taken place in December like it was supposed to, or sooner, Rampage would have performed much better than he did. He is the one that decided to do the movie and take time away, not the camp.
if Rampage fought Lyoto Machida.Rampage would get dismantled.rampage style wise is the perfect fighter for Machida.
How about Bader v. Machida and Jon Jones v. Rampage, (or Bader/Rampage and Jones/Machida) the winners fight each other, then get a title shot. C’mon, throw the young guys in the mix. It’s what everyone wants.
Whether or not that is “what everyone wants” is one argument, but whether or not that is what’s best for Jones’ or Bader’s careers is another thing. I think the UFC is doing the right thing by bringing them along slowly, instead of throwing them in the deepenend like Sengoku did Satoshi Ishii.
Justin, I know that is how you feel, but we disagree on this issue my friend. When you make the leap from amateur to professional you can be put against any other professional. That is the way it works in any promotion. If Bader or Jones are not ready for better competition, then they lose and have to work their way back up. They are both undefeated (other than the DQ) and need to be put against real competition. I HATE that the UFC worries so much about records. Let them fight man. Keep winning, keep moving up. You lose, you take a hit in the rankings, fight better next time. No matter how you look at it, this is a sport–this is entertainment. ENTERTAIN ME!!!
What other promotions have a roster of 200+ of exclusive fighters? Other promotions do not have the luxury to develop talent. The UFC does have that luxury. GSP was brought up gradually. Lauzon was rushed too quickly and ended up mauled by Florian. You bring young talent up too quickly and they’re mauled and it can take years to get over a beating like that. 205 is the deepest division in the UFC and MMA as a whole. What’s one more year? A fighter like Jones can benefit from the expierience and become a monster. It’s not like they’re doing the same as Lashley is doing and fighting competition that doesn’t even belong at the pro level.
They’re not facing tomato cans, they are facing good fighters, and gaining valuable experience. I agree with Chris, throwing them in the deep end too early can drastically damage their confidence and set them back years in their progression, or even damage them permanently. I have seen fighters take a loss that devastated them to the point their career never recovered, why take that chance on two rising stars? In addition, if these guys get thrown in with the big dogs before they’re ready and get smashed, all the fans will turn on them and say they were overhyped/overrated and may never tune in to watch them again.
For the sake of Jones, Bader, and the UFC’s long-term viability it’s better to bring stars up methodically, while continuing to challenge them so that five years from now they have big name stars like GSP, Forrest Griffin, and Rashad Evans, who they carefully built into stars.
In addition to what some of the other frenZied cognoscneti [Justin, chrisl] have posted, I’ll add that while IMO Jon Jones MIGHT indeed be ready for primetime [and could probably handle Jackson], Ryan Bader is not.
Beating Keith Jardine means you’re ready for a fight with Rich Franklin or maybe Thiago Silva [if he weren't previously obligated].
It most certainly DOES NOT mean Bader is ready for a fight with Lyoto Machida.
Don’t get me wrong, Bader is a solid fighter and a great prospect with a bright future, but Jones is a singular talent destined for gold, and its unfair to both men to lump them together at this stage of their respective careers…
it can also be argued that Jon isn’t completely ready if he still throws a 12-6. Imagine if he’d done that against a higher up. He’d be blacklisted.
Speaking of those 12-6 elbows; I know this is off topic, but I just have a feeling that Jardine may be Hamill’s last UFC opponent. I just don’t see Hamill getting past him. I would love to be surprised, but I don’t see it.
@ chrisl – you just clam up with your 12-6 sense-making ways.
Jones is the future of the sport, and…er…apparently 12-6 elbows will be legal in the future?
;-)
@Justin – I hate to agree but it’s true
@Jcohl – hahaha just saying…
Maybe its just me there is just so much depth i hope these two don’t get a title shot after their fight. Jon Jones has been stepping his game up. There is always Thiago Silva who should be considered, and sadly i think Ryan Bader should step up in some competition so his metal.
rampage could win by stoppage machida will be ahead on points, machida may easily win on points but won’t finish rampage.
cardio rampage cardio
Regardless of any outcome, I just dont want to see a Machida vs Shogun 3….
Well then you’d better hide your eyes, because I’m fairly certain that if Machida beats Rampage, especially if he does it easily, he’s going to be looking for a title shot, and reasonably so.
Also, if Evans beats Rua, the two will rematch for a future title shot.
When you have fighters like Rua/Machida/Evans/Jackson being logjammed at the top of the sport’s deepest weightclass, rematches are almost inevitable.
Unless someone goes and does something completely stupid and loses embarrassingly to a 185er…
its this re-shuffling of fighters in 205 that is gonne get boring really fast…
@ GarRule – I agree that Machida will in all likelihood beat Jackson, but the more I think about this fight, a couple of things pop up in my mind.
- If Jackson were to find a camp more suited to his once-PRIDEful skillset, instead of just screwing around with his UK drinking buddies who are kind enough to hold the pads for him while he works his striking and little else, he could in theory do exactly what Tito Ortiz did in his fight with Machida.
Speaking of which, [apologies in advance for the off-topicality] Ortiz did a great job with Machida, and did it fighting at less than 100%, as the last 2 surgeries would indicate.
He should get credit where its due, even if you think he’s a disgrace for having kids with Jenna Jameson or that he’s overrated or over the hill or just a d!ck.
I know Ortiz isn’t exactly a frenzy favorite, but in his last few fights, again fighting hurt, he lost to former 205 champion Forrest Griffin in what some considered a shady decision. snatched a draw from the jaws of victory against former champion Rashad Evans due to a foul, and delivered the best performance against Machida until Rua came calling.
Imagine if the surgeons can sort Ortiz out, and return him to the Octagon at 100% for a final run at the 205 title?
Back to the matter at hand.
- Jackson looked less like Rampage and more like rummage sale partially because of a long layoff, the same sort of layoff that allowed Jake Shields to grind out a UD over Dan Henderson after getting his a$$ handed to him in the first 5 minutes of the fight.
Taking a year off in modern-day MMA and then stepping in against a guy in the groove is almost going to be a recipe for disaster.
Jackson’s cage rust should have been scraped off by Rashad Evans, and Machida’s undefeated finish has been scraped off by back-to-back Rua fights, so this is a singluar opportunity for Jackson to prove to himself and everyone else that MMA matters to him, as does being the 205 titleholder.
I suppose its possible that Jackson is content finishing out his fighting days as a well-paid “attraction”, as opposed to being a viable contender.
There is nothing wrong with that, because men like Matt Hughes and Randy Couture are essentially doing the same thing.
The loser of the Franklin-Liddell fight will join them, and some would say the winner as well.
If guys like Mirko CroCop, Stephan Bonnar and Keith Jardine could put some wins together, they would also work in this “attraction” [catch] weightclass.
And if BigNog can’t get a handle on today’s HWs, he’ll be unfortunately joining them.
My point here is that if Machida and Jackson gets signed, it will serve as the determinant for the rest of Jackson’s career. if he wins, he’s back in the game. If he loses again, well, lets just say I hope for his sake that the A-Team flick does well enough to spawn a sequel or trilogy, so that Jackson can succesfully fund his retirement…
I would like to see Bader and Jones go at it myself. Or maybe Phil Davis take on one of the two. I’m not big on Phil Davis or Bader’s fighting style per say, but Davis’s submission game is pretty sick. He should have got submission of the night in his last fight but the gave it to Dos Anjos probably because he was on the main card against Etim when Davis was a prelim fight. Machida Rampage makes for a great fight and imo is worth the next title shot for the winner.
Go Lyoto!!!!!
Bad matchup for Rampage.
Rampage is an aggressive fighter. He’s also not very fast.
Lyoto Machida is a lightning fast counter striker. I don’t think he’ll KO Rampage (although it is possible), but I think he’ll win a VERY one sided decision.
Rampage is stylistically perfect for Machida.
Machida’s loss to Rua and also Rampage’s known KO power will most likely prompt him to use his elusiveness rather than focus on aggressiveness. Because that’s what wins fights for him. I love watching him fight. You don’t see many guys with that kind of skill and technical ability.
But, of course, Rampage has a Matt Serra’s chance to win. It’s not likely, but it is possible. If he can’t get the early stoppage (and he most likely won’t), he will most definitely lose a decision.
This is kind of off-topic, but I wanted to clear up one thing about Machida. I HATE it when everyone who doesn’t like him says “all he does is run”, that is such BS. He’s not running, he’s avoiding damage. What’s he supposed to do? Stand there and get hit? No. What Brock Lesnar did at times in the first round in his fight with Shane Carwin was running. Lyoto Machida avoids damage. It’s called “fighting the smart fight”.