‘Shocked’ Rampage awarded split-decision victory over Machida
When the final bell sounded following Saturday’s “UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida” main event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson raised the hand…
When the final bell sounded following Saturday’s “UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida” main event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson raised the hand of Lyoto Machida in victory. When the two walked to the center of the cage for the official announcement, the opposite was true.
While Machida looked to have done enough in the 15-minute affair to earn his own decision win, two of the three judges at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich., disagreed.
Jackson, who looked as surprised as anyone when the final scores were read, was instead awarded the split-decision result after a tightly-contested affair.
As the bout opened, Jackson charged forward with punches, but the always-elusive Machida was able to evade any real damage. Instead, Machida relied on kicks to the legs and body as he tried to evade Jackson’s boxing attack. Jackson tried to control the action in the clinch, as well, and he resorted to a few footstomps against the cage, but there was little to differentiate between the two combatants.