UFC 123 "Rampage vs. Machida" Picks and Predictions

This weekend marks one of the last major UFC shows of the year and of the decade, as the promotion looks to put on UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida” on November 20. The main event sees two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions clash in an epic showdown with serious title implications, while the co-main event sees two former UFC Welterweight Champions meet for a third and final time. As is customary for any major MMA event, I’m bringing the crystal ball back out and giving my official picks and predictions for all the major fights of UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida”. Let’s get to it.

George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon: This could end up being a great fight…depending on which George Sotiropolous shows up. But I don’t think there’s any doubt that George will win this one. At least, I’d be incredibly surprised if Lauzon pulled out the victory. For all intents and purposes, Sotiropolous is being groomed as the next big threat at Lightweight while living up to that mantle. Look for him to take the submission win during Round 2.

Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch: I have to admit, I’m not too familiar with either fighter. To me, it seems as if Boetsch has more experience in the UFC while Davis has more potential as a young and undefeated UFC newcomer. We might just have a very entertaining war on our hands. Based on his undefeated track record and his penchant for toughing it out, I’m thinking that Phil Davis takes a hard-earned Unanimous Decision at the end of three good rounds of action.

Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcao: There seems to be no stopping Gerald Harris. The man is on a ten-fight win-streak, a five-fight TKO streak, and has stopped each and every single one of his opponents since August 2008, when he last recorded a Decision win. But Maiquel Falcao is also on a very high win-streak (seven) with a huge amount of finishes. This fight doesn’t just have sneaky “Fight of the Night” potential, it may be good enough to land on some people’s “Fight of the Year” lists. Look for Gerald Harris to win by KO in Round 2 after an amazing Round 1.

Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn: If you had asked me about this match back when Penn still had the UFC Lightweight Championship, I would have answered without a moment’s delay: this is BJ’s fight to win. Now I’m honestly not so sure. I look at where Penn is right now compared to where Hughes is, and I’ve got to say: Hughes seems to have the better mentality going into this fight. Now that Hughes is fighting just for the fun of it, he’s able to take a lot of risks that end up paying off more often than not. I hate to pick against someone I’ve been such a big fan of for such a long while, but both my heart and my head tell me that Matt Hughes is going to fight his way towards a Unanimous Decision win.

Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton Jackson: I’ve said a whole lot about this fight in the days and weeks leading up to it, so I’ll keep my predictions short and sweet. We’re going to witness the rebirth of “The Dragon”. He’s going to come on strong and finish stronger. “Rampage” will put forth a solid effort, but he’ll crumble underneath a resurgent and resurrected Machida. Lyoto Machida KO’s Rampage Jackson by Round 2 at the very latest.

So that’s what I think is going to go down, fans and friends. What about you? What does your inner Nostradamus have to say regarding the big match-ups at UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida”?