George Sotiropoulos continued his winning ways at the UFC 123 event in Auburn Hills, Michigan by submitting fellow Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon in a highly entertaining contest.

Many would argue that Sotiropoulos has done enough for a title shot, or at least a bout against one of the elite fighters of the division.

Sotiropoulos, a Geelong native, can now look forward to a February showdown against Dennis Siver in Sydney.

The Greek-Australian mixed martial artist came into this fight with an undefeated run in the UFC that spanned six fights.

He made it seven straight by out-grappling and putting away Lauzon, despite a slow start.

Sotiropoulos was able to rock Lauzon with combos, eventually taking him to the ground, where a Kimura lock forced Lauzon to tap out at 2:43 of Round 2.

After an intense stare-down at the weigh-ins and some pre-fight trash talk, Lauzon and Sotiropoulos finally met in the pay-per-view events opening bout.

“J-Lau” came out aggressive, landing punches and avoiding all of the Sotiropoulos attempts to take the fight to the ground.

It seemed like Lauzon might score the early TKO win, but despite what was a rough first round, Sotiropoulos recovered and almost scored a quick armbar for a submission win, in what was a positive end to an otherwise difficult round.

Round 2 saw an inspired “Soti’ come out ready to impose his superior jiu-jitsu skills on his noticeably tired and sluggish opponent. It didn’t take long for the Victorian to smell blood and take advantage.

Sotiropoulos started to work a Muay Thai clinch and batter Lauzon with knees.

It was now clear that Lauzon’s storm had been weathered and time for the Australian to dictate his ground game on his opponent.

When the big takedown eventually came he was consistently transitioning and working hard to grab Lauzon’s arm and earn the submission victory.

His persistence paid off and once he locked in a painful Kimura, Lauzon was forced to tap.

Sotiropoulos has now firmly established himself as a force in the Lightweight division while Lauzon can console himself with the “Fight of the Night” bonus awarded to both fighters.

With his parents watching from the stands, Sotiropoulos thanked his family and told his Aussie fans that he hoped to see them at next February’s UFC 127 event from Sydney, Australia.

UFC president Dana White was happy to oblige and announced a Sydney bout between Sotiropoulos and German star Dennis Siver at the UFC 123 post fight press-conference.

Many would argue however that Sotiropoulos has done enough for a title shot, or at least a bout against one of the elite fighters of the division.

With many of the top contenders already booked for upcoming events, this seemed his best option for a fight in his home country.

This is not to say that the German is an easy beat, as he still poses a serious threat to the Victorian.

Siver has managed to move into the upper echelon of Lightweight title hopefuls as he has gone 5-1 since returning to the promotion in 2009.

In that time Siver has been on a tear earning some impressive victories.

The Aussie submission specialist will definitely find himself in a war when he faces Siver, and expect this bout to be as exciting as any in the UFC Lightweight division.

With title aspirations appearing to be just a victory or two away, the bout will hold even more pressure as Sotiropoulos carries the expectations of his local fans.

On past showings this should be something he will relish.

UFC 127 is set for February 27th at the Acer Arena in Sydney and will mark the second UFC event in Australia following last February’s UFC 110 event that drew a sell out crowd of over 17,000.

BJ Penn vs John Fitch has also been announced as the shows main event bout.