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A light heavyweight bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida will hit the Octagon this November, as Jackson has verbally agreed to meet "The Dragon" at an as-of-yet unannounced event on November 20.
Jackson hinted at the matchup on Twitter last night, saying "Almost ready to sign the bout agreement. I would tell ya'll who I'm gonna get down with, but I can't spell his name. Hahaha."
Multiple published reports have since pegged that opponent as Machida, someone Jackson had initially balked at facing as his next opponent due to fears of a second "boring" fight after his decision loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114.
No venue is set for the event on November 20, but multiple venues are being targeted per the reports. With Machida looking to bounce back from losing his Light Heavyweight Championship and Jackson drawing over a million pay-per-view buys for UFC 114, this fight is targeted as the night's main event.
Penick's Analysis: This was a logical matchup to put together after their last fights. The men that defeated them will be matching up early next year for the Light Heavyweight Championship, so this is essentially the third place bout in a mini-tournament. I understand why Jackson initially didn't want the fight, and it's the same problem Machida's going to continue to face when he's not the Champion. He's a stylistic nightmare for a lot of fighters, and although "Shogun" was able to figure him out, no one else has, and on his way back up the ladder to a title shot it may be difficult to find willing opponents wanting to go up against that style.
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[Quinton Jackson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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