Fans and critics alike received what they had been asking for at UFC 140 when they witnessed the current light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, challenged by someone who could place him in a precarious position. Former champion Lyoto Machida did just that in the opening frame, but was still unable to conquer the leader of the UFC’s youth movement.
The karate expert clearly had the champion stunned when a counter right hand forced Jones to quickly back pedal. The fans in the area began chanting Machida’s name in the hopes that he would finally be the one to topple the dominant title holder. When the first round ended it was clear that the scorecards were 10-9 in favor of Machida, and as commentator Joe Rogan put it, this was the first time we saw concern on Jones’ face. His corner had to change the game plan.
The second round started and it was apparent that Jones was looking for the takedown. When he finally pressed Machida against the cage he quickly scooped Machida’s legs out from under him, and moved into half guard where he could drop his patented elbows. As soon as the first one landed, blood began to stream down Machida’s face, forcing the referee to call time for a doctor’s check. The fight continued, but it was very clear that the momentum had changed.
As the second round began to wind down, Jones landed a left hand as Machida leaped in, and was again able to press him against the cage. Jones turned to a modified guillotine along the lines of the one that he used against Ryan Bader and locked his grip around Machida’s neck. Machida was in trouble and unable to change the position. When Jones let go of the choke, Machida’s limp body hit the ground, and Jones causally walked away, stopping the third former UFC champion in a row.
During his post fight comments with Rogan, Jones acknowledged being hurt, but quickly stated that his chin was tested, as so many people were asking.
“I think one of my biggest critic points is that I can’t take a punch, so I’m glad to prove it to myself and everyone else that I can take a legit hit.”
In the co-main event, heavyweight submission specialist Frank Mir fought back from near defeat to submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, dislocating his shoulder due to a kimura in the first round.
Nogueira rocked and dropped Mir in the early portion of the fight, with a right hook that caused the former champion to drop hard to the mat. The fight looked close to being stopped as Nogueira jumped on Mir’s back and begin to pound him. However, he switched game plans and tried to take Mir’s back with the hooks which created a scramble, allowing Mir to grab a hold of wrist control and spin through to end up in side control.
Mir locked up the kimura and Nogueira tried to roll again but the arm was already past his back. Mir landed on top and pushed the move past its breaking point, forcing Nogueira to tap as the shoulder snapped.
In other action, the light heavyweight Nogueira twin, Antonio Rogerio, was able to stop Tito Ortiz in the first round of their fight by TKO from body shots.
Ortiz pushed forward at the start of the fight, but was caught by a left hook which put him on wobbly legs. Nogueira was able to gain the clinch, and dropped the former champion with a knee to the body.
On the ground, Nogueira continued the ground and pound, while Ortiz desperately looked for submission attempts. Unable to get back to his feet, Ortiz was pummeled by multiple elbows to the body until he was no longer defending himself, forcing the stoppage at 3:15 of the first round.
UFC 140 in Toronto Canada was an exciting event that brought eye-popping submissions and knockouts. With one card left for the year, the UFC took strides towards ending the year on a high note of action.
Click here for the complete results and to rate the fights of UFC 140.
