‘UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida’ to Go Down 11/20 in Auburn Hills

(Some fan-made video hype from SandmanMMAPromotions)
MMAFighting has confirmed that the previously reported bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida will headline November 20th’s UFC 123 card, which wi…

(Some fan-made video hype from SandmanMMAPromotions)

MMAFighting has confirmed that the previously reported bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida will headline November 20th’s UFC 123 card, which will take place at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It will be the UFC’s first event in the Great Lakes State since the spectacularly bad UFC 9, which was marked by an official ban on head-punches and a 30-minute Superfight Championship between Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn, in which both future Hall of Famers refused to engage, circling each other for the majority of the bout. That ill-fated event was held at Detroit’s Cobo Hall; now that Detroit has returned to wilderness, the UFC will instead head north to the suburb of Auburn Hills and the longtime home stadium of the Detroit Pistons.

At this point, the only other match reported for the event is a welterweight scrap between Matt Brown and Rory MacDonald. Brown is coming off consecutive submission losses against Ricardo Almeida and Chris Lytle, while MacDonald most recently succumbed to a TKO with just seven seconds remaining of his UFC 115 fight against Carlos Condit. You could say it’s one of those "must win" fights for both sides. And yet one of them will inevitably lose. Doesn’t seem fair, does it.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(We know that expression. Looks like somebody needs a James Toney upset to hit their $42,500 parlay bet. Check out more exclusive photos at FightMagazine.com’s UFC 118 photo gallery.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphe…

Arianny Celeste UFC 118 ring girl
(We know that expression. Looks like somebody needs a James Toney upset to hit their $42,500 parlay bet. Check out more exclusive photos at FightMagazine.com’s UFC 118 photo gallery.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– After Perfect Performance at UFC 118, More Tests Await Edgar (Versus MMA Beat)

– Kenny Florian Says Dana White Is ‘Dead Wrong’ About Him ‘Choking In Big Fights’ (MMA Convert)

– Wanderlei Silva Recovering, Hoping for February Return vs. Leben or Belfort (MMA Fighting)

– Roger Huerta vs. Eddie Alvarez set for non-title fight at Bellator 33 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr now sells cars in Scottsdale, Arizona. (MiddleEasy)

– Fan Opinon: Top 10 Personalities in MMA (LowKick)

– Tito Ortiz and Shaquille O’Neal face off at the UFC Fan Expo in Boston (Watch Kalib Run)

– Brett Rogers to Return Against Ruben "Warpath" Villareal Next Month in Halifax (Five Ounces of Pain)

– If Don Frye Says You Should Watch Shark Fights, You Should (MMA Scraps)

Breaking News: Kimbo Slice To Leave MMA To Become a Boxer

Michael Woods of ESPN is reporting that Kimbo Slice has decided to leave MMA for a chance to box.
Kimbo rose to fame with viral videos on the Internet and has since been participating in fights in Mixed Martial Arts for the past 3 years. The thing is h…

Michael Woods of ESPN is reporting that Kimbo Slice has decided to leave MMA for a chance to box.
Kimbo rose to fame with viral videos on the Internet and has since been participating in fights in Mixed Martial Arts for the past 3 years. The thing is he has mostly been all hype. 
This could serve […]

UFC Betting

Breaking News: Kimbo Slice To Leave MMA To Become a Boxer

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(Nick Thompson is stretchered to safety after getting smoked by Taisuke Okuno at Sengoku 14. Check out FIGHT! Magazine’s exclusive gallery of photos from the event right here.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogos…

Nick Thompson Okuno Sengoku 14 photos MMA japan
(Nick Thompson is stretchered to safety after getting smoked by Taisuke Okuno at Sengoku 14. Check out FIGHT! Magazine‘s exclusive gallery of photos from the event right here.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– BJ Penn Hopes James Toney Does Well Against Randy Couture (MMA Convert)

– Facing your "Mirs": Where do Lashley and King Mo go from here? (Watch Kalib Run)

– 5 Things To Watch For At UFC 118 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua’s Return Delayed Until Mid-2011 (Versus MMA Beat)

– Why Nick Diaz vs. ‘Mayhem’ Miller Is the Fight Strikeforce Needs Now (MMA Fighting)

– Exclusive Interview With Bellator Middleweight Tournament Winner Alexander "Storm" Shlemenko (LowKick)

– Outstanding Wrestlers and the Lessons Learned (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Kickboxing Legend Andy Hug, R.I.P. (MMA Scraps)

– This Rampage vs. Machida trailer will be the greatest thing you will see today, guaranteed (MiddleEasy)

‘Strikeforce: Houston’ Weigh-in Results

("Actually, Bobby is the one who’s adopted. Long story." Photo courtesy of allelbows.)
Clear your schedules, Potato Nation. CagePotato.com will be liveblogging tomorrow night’s Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Houston starting at 10 p.m. …

Bobby Lashley King Mo Tim Kennedy Strikeforce
("Actually, Bobby is the one who’s adopted. Long story." Photo courtesy of allelbows.)

Clear your schedules, Potato Nation. CagePotato.com will be liveblogging tomorrow night’s Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Houston starting at 10 p.m. ET, so be sure to stop by. The fighters just stepped on the scales at the Toyota Center, and 86% of them were able to successfully hit their marks. Pretty impressive, guys! The numbers are below:

Main Card
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (203.75) vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (203.5)
Tim Kennedy (185) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (184.75)
K.J. Noons (156.25)* vs. Jorge Gurgel (154.75)
Bobby Lashley (246.5) vs. Chad Griggs (228.5)

Preliminary Card
Daniel Cormier (249) vs. Jason Riley (256.5)
Andre Galvao (170.75) vs. Jorge Patino ()**
Vinicius "Draculino" Magalhães (144.5) vs. Rocky Long (146.25)
Kier Gooch (155.5) vs. Adam Schindler (155.5)
Jose Santibanez (154.25) vs. Reynaldo Trujillo (155.25)
Humberto DeLeon (127.25) vs. Chad Robichaux (131)***
Chad Cook (205.25) vs. Arteneus Young (204)

* Gurgel allowed Noons the extra quarter-pound; Noons will not have to shed the additional weight.
** Wasn’t present at the weigh-ins; will weigh-in later this evening.
*** Was given an extra hour to lose one pound for the 130-pound catchweight bout.

Unrelated: You have the rest of the weekend to get in your final submissions for our ongoing desktop wallpaper contest with Throwdown. The entries have been awesome so far — but we want MORE! So get hustlin’ for your chance to win that $250 gear package.

The Curse Is On: Matt Wiman Becomes the Latest Main-Carder to Drop Out of UFC Fight Night 22

(Matt Wiman’s face-off against Shane Nelson gets heated before UFC 107. Poor, sweet Natasha. She has no idea what’s going on. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
Just one day after his opponent Mac Danzig fell off the card, UFC Fight Night 22 co-headliner M…

Matt Wiman Shane Nelson Natasha Wicks UFC 107 photos
(Matt Wiman’s face-off against Shane Nelson gets heated before UFC 107. Poor, sweet Natasha. She has no idea what’s going on. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Just one day after his opponent Mac Danzig fell off the card, UFC Fight Night 22 co-headliner Matt Wiman has also withdrawn from the event due to a broken arm suffered in training. The Curse of Fight Night 22 has already claimed Alan Belcher (detached retina), as well as Nick Catone (shoulder and back) and Aaron Simpson (staph). Austin-area police are currently rounding up local witches and voodoo priestesses for questioning.

Still, one man’s misfortune is another’s unbelievable opportunity. Stepping in for Wiman against Efrain Escudero will be undefeated Brazilian prospect Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira, who made his UFC debut in dramatic fashion earlier this month at Jones vs. Matyushenko, when he tapped Darren Elkins via armbar in just 41 seconds; the performance scored him the event’s Submission of the Night bonus. Another big win just a month-and-a-half later could put Oliveira on the lightweight map. Will he rise to the occasion?