Report: Jackson/Machida on tap for fall UFC event

Damon Martin and Ken Pishna over at MMAWeekly.com are reporting that the light-heavyweight showdown between former champions Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida is expected to happen at a yet-to-be announced event late this fall, potentially in November.

The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com as being in the works by sources close to the bout, and Jackson himself posted on his Twitter account that he was issued a bout agreement for a fight and was about to sign it late Tuesday evening. … The bout between Jackson and Machida is all but a done deal at this point, but no details were available as to what show they would be fighting at. The UFC is rumored to be heading to Germany in November, and this fight could serve as a main event or co-main event if the promotion decides to go that route.

Both men are coming off May losses. Machida lost his UFC light-heavyweight championship to Mauricio Rua at UFC 113 via first-round knockout. Three weeks later, in one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history, Jackson dropped a unanimous decision to Rashad Evans, a win that sent Evans to a title shot.

The loss to Rua was Machida's first career defeat, as he dropped to 16-1. Jackson is 30-8. The winner of this fight likely would be in line to receive a shot at the winner of the probable spring fight between Rua and Evans.

This fight comes about despite Machida's camp wanting an interim title fight with Evans with Rua being out for an extended period of time due to a knee injury.

This certainly will be an interesting fight. It's one Jackson did not want, claiming Machida's style wouldn't make for an exciting fight. With Machida's feared "elusiveness" taking a big dent in his two fights with Rua, it will be interesting to see what approach Jackson takes in this fight.

[UPDATE by Matt Bishop, 7/21/10 2:45 a.m. ET] MMAJunkie.com is now reporting the fight will be held Nov. 20. The location is still to be determined.