UFC 123 Official Discussion thread

[pumpt73]

Ok guys Tomorrow night 10PM from my homestate in Auburn Hills, Michigan the UFC makes it's return for the first time since UFC 9!!! Unfortunately I won't be able to attend nor will I be able to watch any fight on television as I have to work an afternoon shift. So discuss and debate who you think will win their respective fights and why!!!! Here's tomorrow night's fight card.

MAIN CARD

Main Event: 205lb division
Quinton "Rampage Jackson 30-8, 5-2 UFC vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida 16-1, 8-1 UFC

170lb Division: Matt Hughes 45-7, 18-5 UFC vs. BJ "The Prodigy" Penn 15-7-1, 11-6-1 UFC

155lb Division: Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon 19-5, 6-2 UFC vs. George Sotiropoulos 13-2, 6-0 UFC

205lb Division: Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch 12-3, 3-2 UFC vs. Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis 7-0, 3-0 UFC

185lb Division: Maiquel "Big Red" Falcao 25-3, UFC DEBUT vs. Gerald "Hurricane" Harris 17-2, 3-0 UFC

PRELIMINARIES ON SPIKE TV

170lb Division: Matt "The Immortal" Brown 11-9, 4-3 UFC vs. Brian Foster 14-5, 2-2 UFC

185lb Division: Mark "The Phillipine Wrecking Machine" Munoz 8-2, 3-2 UFC vs. Aaron "A-Train" Simpson 7-1, 3-1 UFC

PRELIMINARIES Un-Aired (some may be shown depending on duration of above 2 fights)

170lb Division: Dennis "Superman" Hallman 49-13-2, 2-4 UFC vs. Karo "The Heat" Parisyan 19-5, 9-3, 1NC UFC

155lb Division: Edson "The Nova Friburgo Phenomenon" Barboza 6-0, UFC DEBUT vs. Mike Lullo 8-1 UFC DEBUT

155lb Division: Paul "Tellys" Kelly 10-3, 4-3 UFC vs. TJ "The Spider" O'Brien 16-3, UFC DEBUT

155lb Division: Nik "The Carnie" Lentz 19-3-2, 3-0-1 UFC vs. Tyson Griffin 14-4, 7-4 UFC

 

[TombstoneCity1387]

Despite what casual MMA fans seem to think, this card is STACKED!

"Rampage" vs. Machida
Penn vs. Hughes
Lauzon vs. Sotiropoulos
Boetsch vs. Davis
Brown vs. Foster
Simpson vs. Muñoz
Lentz vs. Griffin

All of these fights MORE than have my interest. I'm really looking forward to Tyson Griffin's return to the Octagon. I really want to see him make a big return, as he's one of the best lightweights from my favorite camp, Xtreme Couture.

 

[pumpt73]

It really is TC. Im interested in Falcao vs. Harris. Falcao has fought mainly in Brazil and has 24 finishes of his 25 wins. Don't be shocked if he pulls out a win. Im expecting Lauzon vs. Sotiropolous to be fight of the night. If George wins, he'll need one gatekeeper win say against Florian or Sherk. Keep your eyes on George fellas. I think he's got potential champion written all over him. I wanna see the battle of the vets with Karo vs. Hallman. I hope Karo has his act together because when he's on, he's a beast.

Here's my picks: Rampage, Hughes, Sotiropolous, Davis, Foster, Munoz, Griffin, O'Brien, Barboza, Harris, and Karo

 

[Kaptain KnicKy]

Holy crap I have been looking forward to this show for sometime! I just finished watching it, and I was VERY happy with about 90% of the fights.

Rampage V Machida - fight was lacking excitement, but was still fun to watch. Rampage looked in MUCH better form, specially his conditioning and managed to fight out the three full rounds. Machida's game plan, the idea to get his opponent to attack, step back then launch in with fists was, and always in amazing to watch! I think 97% of people, Joe and Rampage included, were surprised about the outcome. Hopefully these two guys get to fight again. I think a re-match after that fight will be intense, now with both guys knowing what the other brings!

Penn V Hughes - Kinda upset by this fight, lol. I mean these two are some of the best of all time. Something even 1 round long would've been nice. Regardless, props to Penn for picking up an awesome TKO victory over Hughes, who had BUCKET LOADS of momentum going into this fight. Hopefully we can see the Penn of old fight in the future.

Sotoropilous V Lauzon - This fight I was REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO! I have seen some of Geroge's fights and he's looked great, and Joe in his last fight was a MONSTER! I knew this would be a great fight, and personally I was rooting for George - being a fellow Aussie. George managed to survive the first round which went to Joe no doubt. Something, any idea guys, happened to Joe in the second round and he looked hurt. I know Joe and Mike said he was gassed, and I can understand that, but Joe looked like he was hurt. Might've just been me though. Good fight, none the less.

Boetsch v Davis - Another good fight! Davis just dominated Boetsch on the ground, and his unique submission was pretty damn cool!

Falcao V Davis - This fight annoyed me. For the same reason the live crowd and Joe disliked it. Falcao, as great as his performance was, COMPLETELY slacked off in the third round. I can see the argument that you're there to win the fight, but really NOT attacking at all in the final round, cause you have won the previous two rounds, is NOT FIGHTING! Davis, on the same hand, should've atleast attacked a bit more. What was the worst that would happen? He'd get KO'ed and lose? He'd lost the fight at that point. Not pleased with this fight at all. Falcao definitely looked dominant in the fight, but needs to understand fighting for three rounds.

Barboza's leg kicks were sick, lol. Amazing stuff, and BIG props to Lullo for fighting as long as he did. Look forward to seeing more of Barboza.

Seriously this card was worth the travesty in Germany. The 122 card didn't deliver, and it's nice that it's an afterthought to the 123 card and show. Great line up, the show delivered, and now it's on to the TUF Finale and 124! Both should be good cards, I believe.

 

[TombstoneCity1387]

Griffin vs. Lentz was an absolute travesty. Tyson Griffin was definitely robbed.

 

[FabulousRougeauBrother]

Affirmative action is illegal in Michigan, so I have no idea how Rampage won that decision.

 

[Highwave]

BJ pen running out the octagon best moment other than the KO on matt.XDIm happy to see he still got that fire and thirst for blood.

 

[The Legend Killer]

Man, I wish I could have seen this one. The only fights that really had my interest are Penn VS Hughes, and Jackson VS Machida. I thought the Jackson VS Machida fight could have went either way, but, I was hoping Machida would get the victory. Penn VS Hughes shocked the crap out of me though. I thought Hughes had it for sure, but...damn! Especially with how he lost! I didn't see that coming at all. Gotta love the unpredictability of MMA!!!!