UFC 123: Jackson Outlasts Machida; Penn Over Hughes

Sunday, November 21, 2010 1:41 am
By LARRY LAGEMMA PAGEMMA VIDEO
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The UFC's first card featuring four former champions had one quick fight and another that went the distance.B.J. Penn beat Matt Hughes in just 21 seconds and Quinton "Rampage"Jackson won a split decision against Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 onSaturday night. Penn knocked Hughes flatonto his back with a right cross, then unleashed a flurry of shots tohis head that led to their fight being stopped."He hit me hard," Hughes said. "When I felt the hit, I thought it was a knee or a kick."There weren't many punches or kicks in the Jackson-Machida fight, butJackson's aggressive style seemed to pay off for the judges againstMachida's passive ways. "I think that's theonly reason that earned the decision," Jackson said. "Machida whipped(me) in the third round. I didn't do what I wanted, and he blooded mynose." Machida shuffled and backpedaledmore than he punched or kicked, but took Rampage down in the thirdafter two rounds without much action.He didn't bristle at the decision that didn't go his way."If the judges saw that Quinton won, then they saw Quinton win," the Brazilian said through a translator.Jackson was determined to show he can still be a force in the UFC afterplaying B.A. Baracus in "The A-Team" movie. He was unimpressive in aloss to Rashad Evans in May, one of just two setbacks in a 10-fightstretch.It looks as if Penn made the right decision to keep fighting.Penn (16-7-1) surrendered his UFC lightweight title earlier this year.The former two-division champion -- still known as "The Prodigy" at theage of 31 -- considered walking away from mixed martial arts after twostraight losses to Frankie Edgar. UFCPresident Dana White gave him a chance at redemption in a third matchwith Hughes, just the sixth trilogy in the rapidly growing sport.Penn took advantage at The Palace in suburban Detroit.Penn and Hughes exchanged a few blows in the opening seconds before it ended suddenly, leaving Hughes dazed and dumbfounded.Hughes (46-8) was the only one of the four headliners that was coming off a victory."I don't know what the plan is now," he said. "This was a huge fight for me. I had a lot riding on this."Penn stunningly claimed the UFC welterweight title in his first matchupwith Hughes in 2004. He moved up in weight and submitted one of thesport's first stars with a choke late in the first round, adding a kisson the dazed Hughes' lips.Hughes beat Penn on punches in their second fight four years ago.Penn went on to claim the lightweight title, but moved back to thewelterweight division for the first time since his loss to championGeorges St. Pierre last year. Hughesplanned to take the rest of the year off after submitting RicardoAlmeida in August for his third straight victory in a career revival,but the 37-year-old from Hillsboro, Ill., jumped at the chance toresume his rivalry with Penn. He fought for the third time in sevenmonths after being on only one UFC card each of the previous two years.