Approximately two weeks ago, Lyoto Machida was nearly a 3-to-1 favorite to send Quinton Jackson on the first two-fight skid of his controversial career. However, just days before the curtain is drawn on UFC 123, Machida appears to be losing his lead on “Rampage.”
Although the Gambling Gods originally thought “The Dragon” should enter The Palace of Auburn Hills Michigan at -290, the fight week money appears to be moving on Jackson’s side of the sand. This has caused the powers that be to frantically rethink their line.
Machida is now slightly more than a 2.5-to-1 odds-on favorite to collect his 17th professional victory.
The Brazilian was perfect through his first 16 professional fights. Unfortunately, Machida was forced to rematch Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113 and had his strap swiped by the time he regained consciousness.
Jackson holds a 30-8 record and has finished off 21 of his victims before the final horns have sounded. The former Pride superstar scored knockout victories over Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva and decision wins over Dan Henderson and Keith Jardine since entering the Octagon back in February 2007.
Here are the available gambling odds for UFC 123 (Courtesy of BetUS.com):
Aaron Simpson +145
Mark Munoz -175George Sotiropoulos -240
Joe Lauzon +180Phil Davis -650
Tim Boetsch +425BJ Penn -175
Matt Hughes +145Lyoto Machida -260
Quinton Jackson +200