Penn, Jackson record diverse UFC victories

BJ Penn beat Matt Hughes in 21 seconds, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson won a split decision against Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 on Saturday.

Penn knocked Hughes flat onto his back with a right cross, then unleashed a flurry of shots to his head that led to their fight being stopped.

“He hit me hard,” Hughes said. “When I felt the hit, I thought it was a knee or a kick.”

There weren’t many punches or kicks in the Jackson-Machida fight, but Jackson’s aggressive style seemed to pay off for the judges against Machida’s passive ways.

“I think that’s the only reason that I earned the decision,” Jackson said. “Machida whipped (me) in the third round. I didn’t do what I wanted, and he bloodied my nose.”

Machida shuffled and backpedaled more than he punched or kicked but took Rampage down in the third after two rounds without much action.

He didn’t bristle at the decision that didn’t go his way.

“If the judges saw that Quinton won, then they saw Quinton win,” the Brazilian said through a translator.

Jackson was determined to show he still can be a force in the UFC after playing B.A. Baracus in “The A-Team” movie. He was unimpressive in a loss to Rashad Evans in May, one of just two setbacks in a 10-fight stretch.

It looks as if Penn made the right decision to keep fighting.

Penn (16-7-1) surrendered his UFC lightweight title this year. The former two-division champion — still known as “The Prodigy” at age 31 — considered walking away from mixed martial arts after two straight losses to Frankie Edgar.

UFC president Dana White gave him a chance at redemption in a third match with Hughes, just the sixth trilogy in the rapidly growing sport.

Penn took advantage.

He and Hughes exchanged a few blows in the opening seconds before it ended suddenly, leaving Hughes dazed and dumbfounded.

Hughes (46-8) was the only one of the four headliners that was coming off a victory.

“I don’t know what the plan is now,” he said. “This was a huge fight for me. I had a lot riding on this.”

Penn stunningly claimed the UFC welterweight title in his first matchup with Hughes in 2004. He moved up in weight and submitted one of the sport’s first stars with a choke late in the first round, adding a kiss on the dazed Hughes’ lips.

Hughes beat Penn on punches in their second fight four years ago.

Penn went on to claim the lightweight title, but moved back to the welterweight division for the first time since his loss to champion Georges St. Pierre last year.

Hughes planned to take the rest of the year off after submitting Ricardo Almeida in August for his third straight victory in a career revival, but the 37-year-old from Hillsboro, Ill., jumped at the chance to resume his rivalry with Penn. He fought for the third time in seven months after being on only one UFC card in each of the previous two years.