Tito Ortiz file photo: Stephen Albanese | Tailstar.com
The next steps for three of the UFC’s top light heavyweight stars came into focus this week.
Coming off a UFC 114 fight with Rashad Evans that did one of the three biggest pay-per-view buy rates in UFC history, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is expected to fight Lyoto Machida on a yet-to-be-announced card on Nov. 20.
Jackson announced his intention to sign a bout agreement on Twitter, and Machida said in an interview with Sherdog.com that Jackson would be the fighter he’d most like to face next besides champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who is recovering from knee surgery. Fighters Only reported that Jackson will move his training camp for the fight from the Wolfslair Gym in London to Big Bear, Calif., mainly to be closer to Hollywood, where he has acting gigs.
The Wrestling Observer reported that the UFC tried to put Jackson vs. Machida and Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on the UFC 119 card on Sept. 25. Evans, considered the No. 1 contender at 205, has opted to wait until March for Rua to heal. Jackson at one point was expected to face Nogueira, but the Brazilian was instead paired against Ryan Bader at UFC 119. Jackson had previously posted a message on his Twitter saying he didn’t want to fight Machida next because he was afraid it would be a boring fight for spectators, as he felt the Evans’ loss was.
Another former champion in the division, Tito Ortiz will return at UFC 121 on Oct. 23 against Matt Hamill. Ortiz, who is coming off a loss to Forrest Griffin and neck fusion surgery that put him out of a fight against Chuck Liddell, took Hamill under his wing as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 3.”