UFC 123 Headed to Auburn Hills, Michigan; “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida Headlines

Residents of Michigan State, who’ve had more than their fair share of sh—ty news to deal with over the last few years (during this tiresome run of ‘economic uncertainty’), have reason to smile today, as the Detroit Free Press is reporting that UFC 123 is headed to Auburn Hills. According to the report, the card […]

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Residents of Michigan State, who’ve had more than their fair share of sh—ty news to deal with over the last few years (during this tiresome run of ‘economic uncertainty’), have reason to smile today, as the Detroit Free Press is reporting that UFC 123 is headed to Auburn Hills. According to the report, the card is “almost certain” to take place November 20th in the Detroit suburb, and will be hosted by the 20,000 seat plus Palace. The report included a comment from Dr. James Weber, chair of the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission (versus armed combat commission….) who stated:

“Detroit deserves this. It is a boxing and MMA town. It would be a great boost to the economy and represents the character, fight and will of the people in this area. It is a dream of mine come true.”

Amen to that. What’s even better for Michigan MMA fans is that the expected headliner for UFC 123 is a light-heavyweight tilt between former champs Lyoto Machida and “Rampage” Jackson. We immediately jumped on board with that bout as soon as it was rumored to be next in line—not only could it be an outstanding fight from a talent / technical perspective, but both Rampage and Lyoto need a win big time.

MMA Junkie has also confirmed the location and date for UFC 123 in a follow up report.

Backstage With Ed Soares

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosEd Soares is one of the most recognizable and influential managers in mixed martial arts. With a stable of fighters that includes the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo, Junior dos …

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Ed Soares is one of the most recognizable and influential managers in mixed martial arts. With a stable of fighters that includes the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo, Junior dos Santos and the Nogueira brothers, Soares has quickly put together one of the most impressive list of clients in the entire sport.

And just 48 hours before before UFC 117 in Oakland, which featured both Silva and dos Santos, MMA Fighting sat down with Soares in the latest installment of our “Backstage” series.

Watch below as Soares discusses how he got into MMA, Silva’s performance at UFC 112, his relationship with Dana White and much more.

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Anderson Silva Slips

Filed under: UFC, WECThere’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved A…

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There’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved Anderson Silva to the top. But on Saturday night we watched the worst performance of Anderson Silva’s UFC career, and although Silva pulled off a brilliant submission to win the fight, he struggled enough through the first four and a half rounds that he deserves to drop in the rankings.

Find out who’s No. 1 now, and how far Silva fell, below.

Exclusive Video: Forrest Griffin Talks Writing, Fighting, Fans and Fecal Matter

Cage Potato vs. Forrest Griffin – Watch more Funny Videos
We caught up with Forrest Griffin at the MMA Expo last month in Toronto (before news of his rumored third match-up with Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 was leaked) and we spoke with the former UFC light…

Cage Potato vs. Forrest Griffin – Watch more Funny Videos

We caught up with Forrest Griffin at the MMA Expo last month in Toronto (before news of his rumored third match-up with Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 was leaked) and we spoke with the former UFC light heavyweight champ about a variety of topics including returning from his shoulder injury, the possibility of facing Lyoto Machida, his new book and how dirty he feels after shaking hands with fans and signing autographs all day. 

Lyoto Machida Would Welcome “Test” Against “Rampage” Jackson

Yesterday we passed along the word from MMA Junkie, who reported that “Rampage” Jackson has apparently verbally agreed to fight Lyoto Machida, November 20th. In addition to that report, which cited “sources close to the organization”, a recent ‘tweet’ from Rampage stating he’s ready to fight some dude whose name he can’t spell (another zinger […]

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Yesterday we passed along the word from MMA Junkie, who reported that “Rampage” Jackson has apparently verbally agreed to fight Lyoto Machida, November 20th. In addition to that report, which cited “sources close to the organization”, a recent ‘tweet’ from Rampage stating he’s ready to fight some dude whose name he can’t spell (another zinger from Jackson’s ‘am I illiterate?’ material), certainly seemed to jive with the story.

Well, here’s move evidence to toss onto the ‘looks like this is really happening’ pile; in a video interview posted on Sherdog today, which was apparently taken earlier this month, Machida talked about a variety of things including his recent KTFO loss to “Shogun” Rua and helping Anderson Silva prepare for Chael ‘Don’t Be Shy’ Sonnen. Machida conceded that although he would love to fight Rua for a third time, he understood that the UFC wasn’t likely to go in that direction for his next bout (also because Shogun is on the DL). When asked who would be his second choice- the former champion said this:

“I think Quinton Jackson would be the ideal guy for me; a guy who was champ and among the best. He is a great opponent; a very tough guy. I have a respect for him as does everyone else, but I’d like to test my technique against him.”…“I’m sure it would be a tough fight. He is a fighter who has been champion but I believe a lot in my work.”

Looks like the MMA gods are probably blessing us with another great tilt huh?

Rampage Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida in November Likely, but Not Finalized

Filed under: UFC, NewsIf signed, it would be a battle of former UFC light-heavyweight champions, but a reported Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida matchup has yet to be officially added to the UFC calendar.

That’s the word coming from UFC Pre…

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If signed, it would be a battle of former UFC light-heavyweight champions, but a reported Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida matchup has yet to be officially added to the UFC calendar.

That’s the word coming from UFC President Dana White, who responded to an MMA Fighting inquiry about whether the bout was finalized with a text reading “Not yet.”

Still, at least one of the fighters has agreed to it. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting that Jackson has agreed to the November bout.