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[IceCold48]

George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon slated for UFC 123, title shot may loom | MMAjunkie.com

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 (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | 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.

YES this is awesome stoked for this both guys are right there in the title picture.

george will get a title shot if he wins imo and if joe wins hell face dunham for #1 contender or a florian rematch

[sonofsteven]

OOOOOO not bad! I will be watching and pulling for J-Lo. I want to see Joe have a run to the top or at least a belt shot , I like the guy . However if it goes to the ground Georgie Boy will prob have it . I also like the Dunham idea for contender status

[tinkerskippy]

George is better at striking and bjj - not sure bout wrestling but in any event he takes this. Finally a relevant Australian!!!

[CHAEL fan]

George is a huge LW...I envision total domination and the Aussie outclassing Joe.

[nWo4life]

Why is Jim Miller not in the mix? If he beats Tibau he'll be on a 5 fight winning streak, 7-1 in the UFC.. I think if het gets through Tibau he'll deserve to fight for a title shot maybe even more than Georgie, let alone Lauzon..

On the other hand, this looks like a cool fight and I like both guys.. I gotta take Georgie in this one

[IceCold48]

im sorry i have no idea how i didnt see this posted before please delete

[TheKidInside]

wtf IS THIS SHIT?!?! This is supposed to be George's time he's been on a tear! and he gets J-Lau?!?! OK I am not gonna dis Joe's skills on the ground but George is a damn near the best at 155 with his dominance recently, how can you argue that?

It should've been either BJ or Ken Flo!!!

[pantomime horse]

J-Lau is in deep trouble. I give him a 5% chance in this fight. Once this fight hits the mat, George will eat him alive.