UFC 135 takes place this Saturday night and the card has a number of big matchups, including the long-awaited first title defense of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones.

Betting odds have been released for this weekend’s bouts and Jones is the overwhelming favorite to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on Saturday. Jones has been given a money line of -485 while Jackson has odds of +385. Jones (13-1) has ran through his last four opponents, winning each fight by TKO or submission. Jackson (32-8) has won his last two bouts, both coming by decision. Jackson has had six of his last seven fights end with a decision, as his last KO win was in 2008.

In the co-main event, Josh Koscheck is the clear favorite to defeat Matt Hughes in a welterweight contest. Koscheck has odds of -455 to defeat Hughes, while the former welterweight champion has odds of +355 to win. Koscheck (15-5) is taking this fight on short notice and he hasn’t competed since last December when he lost to Georges St. Pierre. Hughes (45-8) hasn’t competed since last November, when he lost in 21 second to B.J. Penn. Hughes doesn’t have much left to fight for, but still is a dangerous wrestler with some good submission skills.

For complete odds for UFC 135, check out the jump.

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Lost in the announcement of Lesnar vs. Overeem on Tuesday were some other big news in the world of MMA, mostly concerning the UFC.

– In another big fight announcement, MMAFighting.com is reporting that top lightweight contenders, Ben Henderson and Clay Guida will collide on the UFC on FOX undercard. Henderson is coming off his dominant win over Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5 while Guida defeated Anthony Pettis at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. The winner of this bout could find themselves in top contender status for the lightweight title. It should be a good grappling match, but I see Henderson favored based on styles.

– MMAFighting.com also reported that Matt Hughes has accepted a fight with Josh Koscheck for UFC 135. Koscheck will replace Hughes’ original opponent, Diego Sanchez. Sanchez had to pull out of the fight with a broken hand.

– You can’t a teach a dog new tricks apparently. Despite Dana White insisting that Nick Diaz would conform to the various media requests that are expected of a top contender for his UFC 137 title bout with Georges St. Pierre, apparently the Strikeforce welterweight champion skipped a press conference on Tuesday in Toronto to promote the event. The UFC had to explination for his absence according to the Winnipeg Free Press, but another scheduled press conference is to take place today in Las Vegas. Will Diaz be there? Will he be punished for his absence?

– Fedor Emelianenko will return to action on Nov. 12 when he takes on Jeff Monson for a M-1 event in Russia according to MMAMania.com. Fedor has lost his last three bouts and will face Monson, who is coming off a loss to Daniel Cormier on the undercard of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. Stylistically, this is a good matchup for Fedor, but will do nothing to get him back into the American spotlight.

– Another announcement that took place on Tuesday is that the UFC is heading back to Japan in 2012. Sherdog.com reports that Feb. 26, 2012 is the set date for the organization to make its return to Japan, which is nearly 14 years since the UFC first stepped foot in Japan. Expect to see many of the countries top starts on that card.

Well a summer of injuries that plagued the UFC is starting to force its way into a stacked fall lineup.

According to UFC President Dana White’s Twitter account, Diego Sanchez is out of his co-main event bout with Matt Hughes at UFC 135 due to a broken hand.

White indicated that the UFC is searching for a replacement for Hughes, but just moments later, Josh Koscheck posted this on his Twitter account:

Oh ya 19 days then or something like that!!!! Either way it looks like I am in to fight matt Hugh if he takes it????

The blow is tough for Sanchez, who had won his last two bouts to improve to 23-4 in his career. A fight with Hughes gave Sanchez a chance to pick up a win over a Hall of Fame fighter and really put a stamp on his career. Sanchez was coming into the fight as the favorite to win.

Hughes (45-8) hasn’t fought since last November when he was KO’d by BJ Penn in 21 seconds. There don’t seem to be a lot of options left for Hughes in the octagon, but a fight with Koscheck wouldn’t seem too favorable for him.

Koscheck hasn’t competed since UFC 124 last December when he lost to Georges St. Pierre and suffered a broken orbital bone. Koscheck indicated he would be returning to action in November as a middleweight. Apparently plans have changed. Koscheck has the skill set to beat Hughes as his wrestling is on par with Hughes and his striking is far superior.

UFC 135 takes place Saturday, Sept. 24 from Denver.

UFC 135 is set to take place from the Pepsi Center on Sept. 24 and the card has really begun to take shape over the past few days.

MMAMania.com is reporting that UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has verbally agreed to make his first title defense against former champ, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the main event.

Along with that, four other bouts have been announced around the MMA world with Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez expected to square off in a welterweight showdown as the co-main event.

Bantamweights Damacio Page and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto are also expected to square off in a battle to two guys trying to get into the top 10 picture.

There will also be a pair of big heavyweight contests as Ben Rothwell has signed on to face Mark Hunt and recent knockout of the night winner, Travis Browne, will face relative UFC newcomer, Rob Broughton.

While more fights will be added in the upcoming months, UFC 135 already has some solid name power and rising stars.

Jones vs. Rampage should be a big draw as it will be a little bit of the old vs. the new as those two collide. You also have a Hall of Famer taking on an always exciting competitor as Hughes meets Sanchez.

I for one will be excited to see Travis Browne in action again. I think he has the potential to be a real contender in the heavyweight division.

In case some of you haven’t been paying attention, the Apocalypse is set to take place tomorrow.

If there are any athletes who might survive on the post-apocalyptic planet, it would be mixed-martial artists.

Here are the five guys I would like to be around tomorrow, once The Rapture saves those who will be saved.

1. Matt Hughes – As his walk-out song goes “A Country Boy Can Survive”. Hughes is a farm boy that can probably do anything and everything as long as he has a pair of boots and a piece of John Deere equipment that he can break down into parts. He can certainly kill any other living animal and will likely know how to build a fire and refine liquid into water. The question is, will he spend too much time making smart-ass remarks about how much of a girl you are for trying to get your IPhone to work? You also would have to put up with his stories about how boring a fighter Georges St. Pierre is.

2. Lyoto Machida – Machida is almost like an animal more than a human when you consider his cat-like speed and reflexes. I would think no zombies stand a chance against him. Also, the man drinks his own urine, so a lack of water won’t be a big issue for him. Let’s just hope if we can’t find food that he thinks your bodily releases will also make for a good replacement.

3. Forrest Griffin – The man wrote a book about it, so I have a sense he is prepared. He doesn’t seem too concerned with bathing or looking good, so he wouldn’t waste time with that. He also is a scrapper, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try and take down a cougar or a lion for food. Problem with Forrest is, he might kill you, and not just for necessity.

4. Chael Sonnen – As a man in an apocalyptic world, you are going to need to tap into your survival instincts and really draw on adrenaline and testosterone. Well, Chael has plenty of that. In fact, he has some by the bottle full. So, you may have to put up with a lot of idiotic statements that he will later claim he never said, but at least your motor should always be on high.

5. Roy Nelson – Sure, he doesn’t look like much of an athlete, but the guy can hit hard and he can choke out any zombies or animals that might attack. He has a big appetite, so food will always be a priority in your survival group, which means you should eat well. Also, his belly should make a nice pillow during the down times