(The belt is now being gently caressed by Shogun as he relaxes at home watching SOAPNet. How does that make you guys feel?)
According to a new report on MMA Junkie, the rumored fight between former UFC light-heavyweight champs Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida has been targeted for a yet-to-be-announced event on November 20th. As Rampage tweeted last night, "almost ready 2 sign the bout agreement! i would tell yall who im gonna get down with, but i cant spell his name….hahaha." As always, Quinton, your near-illiteracy is hilarious. (Come on, it’s not like he’s fighting Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz.)
Both fighters are coming off of tough defeats, with Jackson suffering a unanimous decision loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114 in May, and Machida getting KTFO’d by (and losing his belt to) Mauricio Rua earlier the same month at UFC 113. The winner of this fight would rebound to the top of the light-heavyweight pile, while the loser would plummet out of title contention. Can Rampage follow the Shogun game-plan and smash the Dragon, or will he be a sitting-duck for Machida’s unorthodox attacks?
No other matchups are currently rumored for the 11/20 event, which would come just a week after the UFC’s return to Germany at #122.