UFC betting action has rarely been as exciting as it was this past weekend at the UFC 123 Main Event.
The lineup was a homerun featuring two marquee matchups at the top of the card with the Preliminary Card and the Main Card filled with top contenders.
The two fights that UFC odds fans were dying to see included the matchup of former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and BJ Penn and the Main Event of the evening: former light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida.
The Penn vs. Hughes match failed to live up to the hype as Penn cold-cocked his opponent 21 seconds into the match.
But the clash of the light heavyweight opponents lived up to the UFC betting hype and then some.
We got to see a slightly different type from Jackson, a more cerebral approach to the match than we’ve seen in the past and the result speaks for itself.
Instead of taking the fight to Machida –a very intelligent fighter- Jackson was patient and let the fight come to him. He took the first two rounds being alternately defensive and aggressive. He dictated the tempo of the fight for the 1st and second round and simply needed to survive the 3rd round to get the win.
Machida took Round 3 but by that time Jackson had already wrapped up the split decision.
In the early going Jackson dominated the Octagon controlling the angles and moving well. It was as impressive and perhaps as complete a fight as we’ve seen Jackson fight in quite some time.
Jackson proved that he’s still one of the top light-heavies in the UFC betting action and he’s now got a legit shot at regaining the title. Machida was no tomato can and was not only ranked as the #2 light heavyweight contender entering the match with Jackson, but Sherdog also had him listed as the #8 pound per pound fighter in the world.
With the win coming on the heels of a new 6-fight contract with the UFC we could see Jackson realistically getting another shot at the middle weight belt as early as late next year if he keeps on winning.
Rampage Jackson has always had the talent but if he muster the dedication and focus as well there’s no reason why he can’t’ parlay this big UFC betting win into another title shot.