UFC 140 see’s Jon ‘Bones’ Jones defend his light heavyweight title against the former champion Lyoto Machida. The UFC announced Rashad Evans as Jones’ next opponent, however, due to an injury, Evans was not fit to fight.
To ensure a successful UFC 140, it was decided that Machida would have the opportunity to fight for the light heavyweight title.
Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida
It has been a busy year for Jones. In what is a rare occurrence for any fighter, this matchup will be his fourth fight in 2011. He has beaten Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson.
If Machida can land his heavy hands and kicks on Jones’ untested chin we could potentially see a flaw in the very well rounded champion.
This is a dangerous fight for the 24 year old; if he wants to retain his belt, keeping the distance and using his reach on the elusive Machida could be a path to victory.
Machida comes into this fight as an underdog going 1-2 in his last three fights. He lost against Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson, which Jones disposed of in devastating fashion.
Machida’s current record in his last three fights may not warrant a title shot at this moment but Lyoto brings a wealth of experience with an impressive 17 – 2 MMA record and fans mustn’t count the former champion out.
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This will be the re-match from their December 2008 bout where both Mir and Nogeira were coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.
Mir won via TKO and became the first person to ever stop Nogueira. It was revealed after the fight that Nogueira was recovering from a staph infection. This ultimately affected his training camp and was not fully prepared for the fight.
The fight was re-matched to take place at UFC 119 but Nogueira had to pull out due to surgery required on both his knees.
Mir comes off an unimpressive two fight win streak, KO’ing Mirko Filipovic and most recently a decision win over Roy Nelson.
Despite Nogueira’s 1-1 record over the last two years, he returned to the octagon at UFC 134 with an impressive KO against the young, up and coming fighter Brendan Schaub.
Both men being high level jiujutsu black belts with heavy hands make this rematch an exciting and relevant fight in this shallow heavyweight division.
Mir and Nogueira are coming to the end of their careers and would see this as their last to put themselves into a No. 1 contender spot to hopefully capture UFC gold for the second time in their careers.
Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogério Nogueira
Over the last five years, his 1-5-1 record shows that it has been a tough ride for Ortiz. His career saving win came against Ryan Bader in the first round via submission only then to follow up weeks later a loss via TKO to Rashad Evans.
Nogueira holds a record of 2-2 since making his debut in the UFC in 2009. Coming off two losses, Nogueira hopes to end his losing streak.
It is do or die for both these seasoned veterans of the sport. It has been suggested by some that the loser of this fight could potentially be cut from the UFC.
A contender building welterweight match between Brian Ebersole and Claude Patrick and a featherweight scrap between Mark Hominick and Chan Sung Jung open the pay per view event.
Main card:
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Lyoto Machida
Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Welterweight bout: Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Preliminary card:
Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Middleweight bout: Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Bantamweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Preliminary card (Facebook):
Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Welterweight bout: Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Lightweight bout: Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
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