By FCF Staff The Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed two of the feature attractions for its upcoming November 20th event in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Headlining UFC 123 will be a bout between former light-heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, while former welterweight champs BJ Penn and Matt Hughes will fight for the third time.
Machida (16-1) will compete for the first time since he lost the UFC championship to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113 in May, who stopped the previously undefeated fighter in the first round. Machida defeated Rua by Unanimous Decision in their first meeting at UFC 104 in October, 2009.
Jackson (30-8) is also coming off a loss. After taking a break from professional fighting to play a role in the recent “A-Team” film, Jackson returned to action at UFC 114 in May and lost by Unanimous Decision to Rashad Evans. The bout marked the first time Jackson had fought since March, 2009, when he defeated Keith Jardine by UD.
Penn (15-7-1), who is coming off his second decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 118 last month, will return to 170lbs. to face Hughes in a rubber match. Penn submitted the former welterweight champion at UFC 46 in January, 2004, only to be stopped by Hughes in the rematch in September, 2006.
Hughes (45-7) (pictured carrying Frank Trigg) has won three straight since being stopped by Thiago Alves in June, 2008; most recently the noted wrestler choked out Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117 in August.
UFC 123 will be hosted by the Palace in Auburn Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
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| Penn Submitting Hughes at UFC 46 |
