Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the home for UFC 140 which takes place tonight from the Air Canada Centre. 2011 is closing out and The Ultimate Fighting Championship is putting the finishing touches on what has been a great year in the world of mixed martial arts.
One of the biggest stars of 2011 has been Jon “Bones” Jones. He has taken the MMA world by storm with his unique style and dominating finishes. Jones has become the light heavyweight champion this year and there are many observers that believe he will be holding that title for a long long time.
UFC 140 will see Jones take on a former champion and a guy who those same observers thought was unbeatable. The MMA world is funny one, where the unexpected can happen, and happen often. That’s what makes the sport so great.
Jones’ challenger this evening is Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. Both fighters have akward styles and the matchup tonight should be a good one. Not too many people are giving Machida a chance tonight. Jones comes into the title contest with a 14-1 record and has run through everything and everyone who has gotten in his way. Machida, at 17-2, has other ideas and has plans to get a championship back that was once his.
If Machida is to win, he needs to fight to stay on the feet. Jones has excellent ground skills and phenomenal take down defense. We have to see Jones in any type of trouble and Machida and his karate style might pose some small issues for the champion. The longer the fight goes, the better chance Machida has of winning. Jones hasn’t been in any danger or any deep water so lack of experience could be key.
All that being said, I think Jones dominates this fight and has his way with Machida. His striking his crisp and his speed is off the charts. Add in his ridiculous reach and wing span and this dude is a freak of nature. I don’t buy into anyone being unbeatable but I’m not convinced Machida is in the same class and Jon Jones.
The co-main event is a rematch between two heavyweight title contenders. Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira aka Big Nog have seen each other in the octagon before and it was all Frank Mir.
Big Nog is known as a slow starter and if he stays that way tonight, Frank Mir will destroy him again. I am a big fan of Frank Mir and always have been, I see no reason why this fight won’t be a mirror image of the first contest. Both Nogueiras to me are past their primes and have seen much better days. Look for them both to lose on the same card tonight.
My pick for fight of the night is Mark Hominick versus Chan Sung Jung. Both guys have action packed styles and have cardio for days. “The Korean Zombie” is a cult hero for some of his unreal fights. Hominick is fighting in his back yard and the crowd will be going nuts for this one. This is one you need to see.
Full fight card:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
- Champ Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (for light-heavyweight title)
- Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Tito Ortiz
- Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick
- Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
PRELIMINARY CARD (ION Television)
- Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
- Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
- Dennis Hallman vs. John Makdessi
- Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
- Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
- Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
- John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke
Top to bottom, this should be a very entertaining card. Every fight can be seen once again. The UFC knows how to handle their business and showing 12 fights is how you win over fans. Part of the reason that boxing is just about dead is because their undercards blow or the telecast shows one or two average fights. Fight fans should be thankful for the UFC, they are the best at what they do. Enjoy the fights everyone.