About three weeks ago, UFC light heavyweight Sam Hoger (6-2) went out of his way to insinuate that his upcoming fight at UFC 67 on February 3 would be against the star acquisition from the World Fighting Alliance (WFA), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
Well, we soon learned that it wasn't Rampage — he'll rematch Marvin Eastman (13-6-1) that same night.
Deception is nothing new for Hoger, who earned a reputation on season one of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) as being a liar and a thief, stealing clothing and other personal affects from his housemates and not owning up to his actions despite being caught red-handed.
So, although we were pissed about his vague and misleading comments, we can't say we were totally shocked.
Now, according to his MySpace page, Hoger has finally revealed the "striker" who will beat him up at UFC 67 — Lyoto Machida (8-0)
Machida — who has never finished an opponent via knockout — is one of the "other" top-level fighter contracts acquired in the WFA deal. He is perhaps best known for his technical knockout of former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (20-2) at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye Festival back in 2003. That same year, he also defeated former TUF 1 light heavyweight finalist Stephan Bonner (9-4) via cuts at a Jungle Fight show.
And in 2005, Machida earned a unanimous decision victory over former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn (10-4-1) at K-1 Hero's 1.
Not a bad a resume at all.
This will mark the Octagon debut for the Japanese/Brazilian star and his first fight since outpointing Vernon White (24-30-2) at the WFA King of the Streets event in July.
For the most part, I try not to let my opinions and thoughts affect the news in this blog. But, when it comes to Hoger, I really can't wait to see Machida lay down a beating on the "Alaskan Assassin."
I hope he ends Hoger's night early ... via strikes.
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