Lyoto Machida "prepared for anything" when he faces Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 123
by Giada Esposito on November 03, 2010

Former UFC light-heavyweight champ Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida is expecting a standup battle but coming ready for anything when he faces Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 123.

Machida lost his belt in May to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, in a rematch of a fight that resulted in a controversial decision win for Machida last year. This time around Rua left nothing in the judges' hands, finishing Machida with a first round knockout and handing him the first loss of his career. 

Now "The Dragon" will be looking to begin the path back to title contention with a matchup against another former champ, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Jackson lost his last fight after returning from a brief retirement in a rather lackluster performance against Rashad Evans at UFC 114, but Machida isn't taking him lightly.

"Well, I always think for a MMA fight, despite the specialties of each fighter, you have to be prepared for anything, because we can never know what the guy is up to," Machida told Tatame.com when asked about his gameplan for Jackson. "I don't underestimate any fighter. I think that, just as I'm prepared for anything during the fight, so are they: the stand-up game, the takedowns and the ground game. Of course we have our game plan set, our strong point is Karate and the exchanges, but if we need to use the other skills, we will do the takedowns and the ground game that I train here with Valter Broca, who's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, graduated by De La Riva, who always helps me in this area."

Jackson has criticized Machida in the buildup to their fight for his evasive style, accusing him of "running away" during fights, but Machida isn't bothered by his words.

"No, I think that each one has their own way of thinking; I think Quinton is a great fighter, I respect him, he always does his game and I try to do mine and keep improving so I can please the audience and the fans all around the world because it's a part of MMA," Machida said. "We have to win and please the public and the fans that cheer for you, you can't do things on your own."

Machida says he isn't worrying yet about another chance at the belt, although he would like to face Rua again one day for a decisive third fight. He does admit though that he is looking forward to facing young guns Jon Jones and Ryan Bader, who have been making an impressive run up through the ranks of the light-heavyweight division.

"Of course," Machida stated when asked if he thought he might fight Jones or Bader en route to another title shot. "I believe that this new generation is a really conditioned generation, has begun to build the pillars for being great fighters, and they are great athletes that are popular, and now me, Rashad, Rampage and Shogun will have to face those guys."

Machida (16-1) will face Jackson (30-8) at UFC 123 on November 20 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 123 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!

 |  (64) Comments B_Type13X2: So who here thinks Rampage shocks the MMA world and beats Machida? I don't think it'll happen but I'll put money on Rampage cause that bet would pay out dividends if it goes down. shawnb: Lyoto's gonna freaking destroy him take it to the bank horizontalcracker: Machida via Rampage's aggression B_Type13X2: Yeah machida takes this, but it would shock everyone if Rampage somehow got it. Storm: i dont see that fire in Rampage anymore. even in his interviews... just seems like he is just trying to finish out his contract. doesnt seem as interested to fight. definitely pick Machida to win, but hope Rampage comes out focused. mike5k: Rampage has to go after him and keep the gap closed or very tight. Someone else said Rampage has to be willing to take some damage to get in there and I agree. Machida and Silva are different fighters but that game plan worked well for Sonnen in the standup. You can never let a guy with that kind of skill get in his comfort zone. Marker28: Rampage is sort of predictable, he's not going to kick with power if at all and he's not going to go for the takedown unless you give it to him, but he can take a good shot and he will throw a good punch. Machida has to fight the same fight he did with Tito, he can't get into early exchanges and he has to catch Page sleeping. If Machida decides to stand in front of him like he did with Shogun, he's going to get ko'd. Wandering_Minstrel: Shogun displayed Machida's only real weakness... attacking his legs. Is Rampage going to do that? Fuck no. Is Rampage going to cut Machida off from escaping and engage him in a slug-fest? Fuck no. Is Rampage going to eat a few to give one back? Fuck no. Machida has power. He beat a guy who was previously undefeated (Rashad) via KO. Will he KO Rampage? Highly doubtful, but if Machida throws those knees, look to Rampage to have flashbacks from the Pride days. nygiant: My boy Machida is making his comeback people!!! The Hitman: I'm going machida bu UD. I would love to see page knock him out but I don't see him being able to land on Lyoto. nygiant: Only way Rampage wins this fight is with a lucky punch ala Serra/GSP... D_V: It won't be lucky if Rampage hits him. And Machida can KO Page but he's just going to have to do it with his under rated knees from the clinch. IwishIwasMMA: Machida should honestly destroy him. It should not be much of a challenge either.. Page is no longer Page. The Hitman: These are the type of matchups that make me wonder what happened to the old Rampage. When he would TAKE GUYS DOWN when needed, and beat them up there. At least attempting to take Machida down would be a smarter gameplan then standing with him, but the chances of Page actually doing that are around 0. Machida will make Rampage look silly in the standup, and he will lose. arlovskiviako: Rampage could get Machida down. He doesn't go for the traditional takedowns, he grabs you under the nuts, picks you up and slams you down. I am almos willing to guarantee this fight hits a clinch up against the cage, Rampage flips Machida around and could slam him if he wanted. Hoping for a Rampage win. Vicous knockout. More than likely a Machida win via Decision. But possibly Rampage comes in, takes a few shots and smashes one of those anvels on Machidas chin. horizontalcracker: Machida is a tough person to clinch up on, he doesn't let people cut him off from the direction he's going, he'll swap directions and go the other way, he's faster than Rampage on the feet by a lot. Rampage can get the clinch but it's going to take a lot of energy on his part. illegalpoke: So worried for Rampage. B_Type13X2: Guys I have been getting this weird feeling that Rampage wins this fight. Its the same sort of weird feeling I had the night of Fedor vs. Werdum... I'll naturally pick Machida on my pro pick em thing but I am getting that funny feeling that says upset. D_V: I want to believe in Rampage too. I've just been burnt too many times recently. He won't be scared though, he hits like a truck and Machida just had his face broken, so it's not completely outrageous to think it could happen. I think Machida is just more professional now than Rampage. He will come into the fight in shape, for sure. He will come in prepared, for sure, with a plan that can work, for sure. Rampage may or may not look like a tomato can. It's hard to say if he even cares anymore. It's also hard to say that he could win even if he did care. This fight has "everybody is going to look stupid" written all over it though. Rampage is no joke when he wants to be a real contender, he is. snuff: The only way i see rampage knocking lyoto out is when the dragon will throw one of his lunging knees then rampage clips him. snuff: This fight has machida all over it. But a rampage KO will not really surprise me. At all. Who do you think has more strenght in the clinch? Wanderlei or machida? snuff: UFC wandy's face is less threatening. snuff: Well for me, just me, they should all be like carwin. Im not saying they should be an engineer, but they should have a career other than fighting. Have goals that is not "to be the champion" or "to be the best fighter in the world."
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!