Fighting Capsules: Jackson beats Machida; Penn tops Hughes at UFC 123
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Quinton "Rampage" Jackson looked stunned when he beat Lyoto Machida. B.J. Penn left no doubt against Matt Hughes.
In the UFC's first card featuring four former champions, one main event ended quickly and the other marquee matchup went the distance Saturday night.
Jackson was awarded a split-decision victory against Machida — after raising his opponent's hand.
"When he dominated me in the third round, I forgot what happened in the first two rounds," Jackson said. "At the time, I thought I got whooped because he landed a flurry on my face."
Penn, meanwhile, screamed as he celebrated a 21-second knockout of Hughes at UFC 123.
He knocked Hughes flat onto his back by countering with a right cross, then unleashed a flurry of shots to his 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, but Jackson's aggressive style seemed to pay off for the judges against Machida's passive ways.
"I think that's the only reason that earned the decision," Jackson said.
Machida shuffled and backpedaled more than he punched or kicked, but took Rampage down in the third after two rounds without much action. He didn't bristle at the decision that didn't go his way, losing a second straight fight after starting 16-0.
"If the judges saw that Quinton won, then they saw Quinton win," the Brazilian said through a translator.
Jackson (31-8) was determined to show he can still be a force in the UFC after playing B.A. Baracus in "The A-Team" movie. He was unimpressive in a loss to Rashad Evans in May, one of just two setbacks in a 10-fight stretch, and was lackluster against Machida.
"I was really going for the knock out," he said. "I am kind of disappointed in my performance a little bit."
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 the age of 31 — considered walking away from mixed martial arts after two straight losses to Frankie Edgar.
"A lot of people have been questioning if I'm motivated," Penn said. "I wanted to show everybody my fighting spirit."
UFC President Dana White gave him a chance at redemption in a third match with Hughes, just the sixth trilogy in the rapidly growing sport. Penn took advantage at The Palace in suburban Detroit.
"I felt fired up as soon as Dana gave me the phone call that I was going to fight Matt Hughes," he said.
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 matchup with Hughes in 2004. He moved up in weight and submitted one of the sport's first stars with a choke late in the first round, adding a kiss on 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 the welterweight division for the first time since his loss to champion Georges St. Pierre last year.
"I think he looks good at 170, when he walked into the octagon he had that crazy-talking-to-himself energy like the old B.J." White said. "He didn't look that way at 155 pounds."
Hughes planned to take the rest of the year off after submitting Ricardo Almeida in August for his third straight victory in a career revival, but the 37-year-old from Hillsboro, Ill., jumped at the chance to resume his rivalry with Penn. He fought for the third time in seven months after being on only one UFC card each of the previous two years.
Now, Penn plans to get and stay active.
"I want to get right back in as soon as possible," he said. "I'm 31 and I want to fight a lot before I'm 35 and call it quits."
Martinez delivers crushing knockout of Williams
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams landed punch after punch a year ago in an instant classic, one of those rare occasions when two of the best boxers in the world come together to create something special.
Their rematch Saturday night didn't last nearly as long, and only one punch mattered.
Martinez landed a devastating left hook early in the second round, knocking out one of boxing's most feared punchers while retaining his middleweight championship.
The sudden outcome left a lively crowd at Boardwalk Hall in stunned silence.
"I started to attack, and when I did, we knew he was going to make a mistake, because he always makes mistakes," Martinez said. "He left me a lot of room to come in and hit him."
Williams was looking to land his own hook and instead walked right into the punch, which landed flush on the chin and sent the challenger face-down onto the canvas. Martinez immediately ran across the ring to celebrate while doctors rushed in to tend to Williams.
It took several minutes before he finally got to his feet, and by that point, ring announcer Michael Buffer was already announcing the end at 1:10 of the second round.
"I got caught with a punch," Williams said while being tended to by paramedics.
In their first encounter last December, Martinez and Williams traded knockdowns in the first round before trading blows for 11 more. Williams ultimately won that fight by close and somewhat controversial decision, and Martinez had been saying all along that he planned to make sure this one didn't end up in the judges' hands.
He sure accomplished that.
"I didn't want the judges to rob me this time," said the 35-year-old Martinez, one of the rare fighters entering his prime this late in his career.
"He said, 'I'm going to knock him out. The fight is not going to go seven rounds, I'm going to knock him out,'" Martinez promoter Lou DiBella said, unable to contain a smile. "I was worried like a maniac and he said, 'No, I'm knocking him out. Relax.'"
The only real drama came before the fighters made their way to the ring, when DiBella was furious that his guy as champion was forced to work out of the blue corner. That side of the ring had not delivered a winner all night, at least until the main event.
"I mean, in my heart, I thought he was going to win, but that was one of the great knockout punches of another great fighter I've ever seen," DiBella said. "Williams is a brilliant fighter, but Martinez's speed and angles, that punch — that punch would have knocked anyone out."
Despite their first fight becoming an instant classic, the rematch took plenty of time and patience to put together. Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) upped the ante by claiming the middleweight title from Kelly Pavlik in blood decision earlier this year, while Williams (39-2) held out hope of landing a big payday at welterweight against the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley.
When it become apparent that those fights would never happen, promoter Dan Goossen agreed to the rematch with Martinez, getting his fighter back in the spotlight on an HBO telecast.
No wonder he was reluctant to make the rematch.
While neither Martinez nor Williams is fond of the other, there was more acrimony than usual in the lead-up to this one because Williams insisted on a catch weight of 158 pounds — two under the middleweight limit — since he'd been training to fight at 147 pounds. Martinez countered by saying he'd be "ashamed" to ask for a catch weight if he was challenging for a world title.
The two pounds sure didn't seem to make much difference.
Martinez looked faster and smoother than Williams, and landed several crisp punches in the opening round, including a flurry on the ropes that gave him the edge on the scorecards. Then he came out the next round and almost seemed to bait Williams into throwing a wide punch.
When it came, Martinez was ready, and the end happened in a flash.
Martinez said he wants to fight two or three more times before calling it a career, especially after landing a payday of a little over a $1 million for barely 4 minutes of work.
He mentioned as possible candidates Pacquiao, considered the best fighter in the world, and Mayweather, who long held the same mantle. But most fans are hopeful that those two eventually will meet and, in any case, Martinez probably still doesn't have enough name recognition beyond the most ardent boxing fans to lure one of them into the ring.
"If you're Pacquiao, would you go near him? You think Mayweather will fight him?" DiBella said. "We're going to have a problem making the next fight because that's how good he is."
DiBella floated the idea of another rematch with Williams, now that Martinez has squared the series at one win apiece. There was discussion of a trilogy even before Saturday night, and it could be the best opportunity available to either fighter.
"I want to listen to all offers," Martinez said, "and see what comes my way."
-- Dave Skretta
