UFC 123 The Aftermath – Post-Fight Analysis

UFC 123 provided an extremely entertaining fight card. The main card featured UFC legend Matt Hughes vs. former lightweight champion BJ Penn as the co-main event and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida. The event drew 16,404 people to the Auburn Hills Palace in Detroit. So after UFC 123, what’s next for many of these UFC fighters? Many questions arise from Matt Hughes being knocked unconscious by the controversial decision given to Rampage Jackson.

Matt Hughes entered his fight with BJ Penn with a lot of momentum behind him after winning three fights in a row. BJ Penn came in with two straight losses to Frankie Edgar. This was a must win for both fighters. As Hughes said, “If I lose this fight to BJ, it’s losing three fights. But if I win this fight, it’s like winning three fights.” Unfortunately for Hughes, Penn prevailed with a knockout blow in the first round. Penn finished the fight in just 21 seconds.

For Penn, the future is simple. He looked like the Penn who was champion, not the Penn seen against Frankie Edgar. He is scheduled to face Jon Fitch at UFC 127. Obviously Penn will be looking to regain his light belt and show Dana White and the UFC that he has not waned, even though Jon Fitch is fighting at welterweight. His fight against Jon Fitch is another must-win victory to show that his fights against Edgar did not show the fighter that he currently is. These welterweight fights raise the question of whether Penn is making another run to fight Georges St. Pierre (GSP), which would be very interesting as there seems to be no one who can stop GSP at this point in his career. .

Hughes’ career is in jeopardy after his loss. The legitimacy of his three-win streak can now also be questioned. He beat Renzo Gracie who was in terrible cardiovascular shape and Matt Serra, who has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights. After the fight, Hughes was seen asking his corner “What happened?” He was completely out of his mind. After the fight, he was quoted as saying “I had a lot on the line. This was a great fight for me. To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on now,” hinting at a possible retirement. I can’t imagine Hughes fighting anymore in the UFC.

As for the main event, with Machida and Jackson, this fight raised a lot of questions. Not about the fighters, but about the fight itself. Dana White has said that Jackson won the fight and that there will be no rematch, even though Jackson was shocked by the victory and both fighters agree to a rematch immediately after the decision. Both the judges and White agreed that Jackson won the first two rounds and Machida won the third. But the problem I see with this is that Machida won the third round in a dominant fashion. Jackson won the second round, but I feel like the first round could have gone either way, and in my head I gave it to Machida. For this reason, I think it should at least have been considered a rematch.

For Jackson, this means he will continue to fight opponents in the light heavyweight division and try to make another title run, but there are a few more questions for Machida. Now he has lost two fights in a row. However, I don’t see this defeat as a major drawback for Machida. I hope he comes back strong from the controversial loss and continues to be a strong opponent for anyone he fights.

Other side notes in the aftermath of UFC 123: Gerald Harris was released after his loss to Maiquel Falcao in a boring and heavily booed fight. Also Phil Davis remains undefeated at 8-0 and received an $ 80,000 bonus for the night’s performance. I look forward to seeing Davis fight a big name UFC fighter next.

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