Both of the main event fighters tonight are returning to the octagon coming off of a loss. Rampage Jackson dropped a decision loss to "Sugar" Rashad Evans, and Lyoto Machida was brutally KO'd in the first round of his re-match with current light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. This always makes for an interesting match-up, because it'll show who truly wants the fight more. Rampage was on the verge of getting a title shot when he returned in May, and Lyoto Machida was defending his title for the second time when he squared off with Rua earlier that month.
They're both going to go out there to prove that they're not quite done yet despite pivotal losses in their careers. This match-up is going to propel one fighter back into relevance and downward spiral the other into the mid-tier of the rankings. Lyoto Machida is motivated to climb back to a title shot to dethrone the only man to have beat him in his career; Mauricio Rua. Rampage is looking to get his title back and just flat out enjoys fighting.
Each fighter brings something different to offer. Machida is more of a graceful, tactician who capitalizes on his opponent's mistakes. He loves to come in and attack, and then spring out of the pocket to avoid taking much damage. On the other hand, Quinton Jackson usually mixes things up. He goes out there to throw his heavy hands and take people's head's off.
They're both technical in their own regard, Rampage is great inside of the pocket, has good boxing defense and his head movement is pretty good too. He also likes to find openings when his opponent goes into "brawl mode" to clean their clock.
Machida likes to pick the range so that he can play his mind games and setup his shots. He's also got great take down defense, and what little he has shown in his fights of his clinch is also pretty effective. He has almost a perfect style to defeat Rampage Jackson, and it'll be fun to see how it plays out.
The winner will be the one who gets the other to fight their fight, and essentially out of their comfort zone. If Jackson can turn it into a slug fest and force Machida to exchange without giving him a chance to regroup, I can see the victory going to him. However, if Machida chooses the range and pace of the fight, and keeps Rampage at bay from landing those bombs, Rampage will lose another decision tonight.
One of the most interesting aspect of the main event tonight will be seeing how Lyoto comes back from his first loss. Especially given that his first loss was so quick and in brutal fashion to a guy who he had a largely contested decision win over. Will Machida have some doubts in his mind tonight, knowing that he can very well be KO'd, and add to that that Rampage Jackson is one of the hardest hitters in the division.
My prediction is that The Dragon will rise again tonight, and give Rampage his second loss since coming back to the UFC.