UFC
UFC QUOTABLES: Lyoto Machida says pressure is off his back, "Rampage" Jackson a great stylistic opponent at UFC 123
Nov 17, 2010 - 9:45:29 AM UFC QUOTABLES: Lyoto Machida says pressure is off his back, "Rampage" Jackson a great stylistic opponent at UFC 123

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Part of this game is that you win some and you lose some. [But] I felt that there was a lot of pressure on my back because many of the fans had this aura of me being the undefeated champion. I knew one day I could lose like everyone else. Now I feel like I've learned a lot from that loss and it's taken a lot of pressure off my back. The reality is, there's pressure every time you step into a fight. Regardless of what stage of your career you're in, there's always pressure... My style made me a champion. Everybody's got to keep to the style that makes them feel comfortable in the ring... It's a great matchup of styles. 'Rampage' is known to be aggressive, and I like to stand up. Put those two styles together, and it's a good match."

-Lyoto Machida talks to MMAJunkie.com about having some pressure lifted from him following his first career loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 113 and his UFC 123 matchup with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Penick's Analysis: Having the "undefeated" tag lifted from him has definitely got to be a relief in some ways. Most of us were guilty of anointing him the unbeatable champ after his win over Rashad Evans, and the two fights against Shogun brought him back to earth for everyone. He is still a great fighter, however, and can still climb back to the top of the mountain in the UFC's light heavyweight division, and it starts against Rampage on Saturday night. If Rampage comes out aggressively off the bat, we could be in for some fireworks, but it's going to be an interesting matchup regardless of the outcome.

[Lyoto Machida art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]