George Sotiropoulos VS Joe Lauzon
A lightweight bout between George Sotiropoulos (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Joe Lauzon (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has been verbally agreed to by both fighters for UFC 123, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the event.
Although not officially announced by the organization, UFC 123 takes place Nov. 20 at the The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Mich.
A source told MMAjunkie.com a victory could earn Sotiropoulos a title shot.
Sotiropoulos vs. Lauzon will be part of the night's pay-per-view main card.
Sotiropoulos, a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 6" who recently defeated Kurt Pellegrino, carries a six-fight UFC win streak (and overall seven-fight win streak) into UFC 123. And though multiple sources told MMAjunkie.com that the UFC tentatively is planning a February return to Sotiropoulos' home country of Australia, a potential title shot may not come there.
Current champ Frankie Edgar next fights Gray Maynard, and the bout could take place Jan. 1 at UFC 125 in Las Vegas. That'd give the winner a little more than a month to heal and prepare for the Australia event, which makes a title fight there unlikely.
Besides, getting past Lauzon is going to be no easy feat for Sotiropoulos. The "TUF 5" cast member has dealt with injuries in recent years but recently came into a UFC 118 bout with Gabe Ruediger in good health. And it made a difference; Lauzon simply overwhelmed and battered Ruediger for a dominating and eventual first-round submission victory. It marked the "TUF 5" cast member's third win in his past four fights, which included stoppage victories over Jeremy Stephens and Kyle Bradley.
If victorious, Lauzon would move to 4-1 since late 2008 and could be close to a title shot of his own.
For additional coverage of UFC 123, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
