UFC 140 was a phenomenal exposition of mad skills in the Octagon. Only one fight on the Main Card (Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole) and 3 fights total of the entire card ended in decision. Jon Jones more than proved he is a sick champion miles ahead of the terrific talent pool that is the UFC Light Heavyweight division. I watched the fights with producers from The Ultimate Fighter series. We’ve been following the sport since the series began and consider ourselves pretty hardcore fans, yet after the main event, we all questioned who the hell is really a contender for Jones, completely forgetting about those UFC on Fox 2 headliners, Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, but that’s just how incredible Jones is… You cannot compare his talent to anyone in his division.
Yes, the card was fantastic and worth giving up yet another Saturday night, not that I had a date, but I digress. This event, though magnificent for several reasons, including the return of Brittney Palmer ringside, left me with a few lingering questions.
1) Do Brazilians not tap?
That was some great sh*t watching Frank Mir go from nearly knocked out to BREAKING THE ARM of Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira (see below).
And it was equally impressive when Jon Jones finally let go of Lyoto Machida who limply fell to the ground like a dead body. I seriously thought he was dead for a few seconds.
*Photo from MSN.Foxsports.com
But was it really a good for Big Nog to incur an injury that might lead to his retirement? It will definitely lay him up for many months. And didn’t Machida notice he was on the verge of losing consciousness in that guillotine choke? It’s perhaps possible since both former champions had never been submitted before Saturday night’s UFC 140, they may not have known when it is time to tap. But, there has to be a sort of pride that prevented each man to surrender and for that there is a respect these guys have earned that cannot be touched even in a time they may feel personal humiliation.
2) Was it necessary for Jon Jones to crouching-tiger-crawl toward Lyoto Machida in the opening of the first round?
It seemed pretentious and it annoyed me. Right here is what I’m talking about. But then he did what he did to Machida and I thought, “Wow, he can belly crawl, do the Rerun Shuffle, or the Thriller dance after touching gloves; he’s the f*cking Michael Jordan of MMA! Damn it.” It’s like Ben Fowlkes from MMAFighting said, “You know you’re good when it’s news that an opponent actually managed to hit you a few times.” Regardless of those huge hits he took, Jones proved he is ions ahead of his division. It’s been a long time since Rashad’s experienced training with him. This guy has new tricks every fight.
3) Did Mark Hominick sucker punch The Korean Zombie?
After replaying the pay-per-view a few times, it’s not far-fetched to conclude Mark Hominick tried to sucker punch Chan Sung Jung and paid for it super quickly. But knowing Hominick and his clean reputation it’s highly unlikely that was the case. This was Hominick’s first fight since losing the head coach who nurtured his entire career, Shawn Tompkins. Hominick had elevated emotions coming into this fight, maybe even feeling pressure to honor “The Coach.” He told Ariel Helwani “”I got a little too hyped up. I came out with a wild left hook. I just really wanted to get it done tonight.” I think that’s pretty accurate and a fair assessment. Hominick is not guilty.
4) Did Brittney Palmer‘s return get upstaged by all these spectacular fights?
No. Look at her. All that beauty held its own in that ugly business that occurred Saturday night. And it’s a good thing we had that eye candy relief. I never want to see that arm break or Machida’s body falling limp again. We are thankful we had this to look at:
5) Will Roy Nelson ever get a title-shot?
I dont’ want to say never, but Roy Nelson asked for his shot after retiring Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 137. He said he was getting too old and wanted his turn. But it seems that Frank Mir’s Submission of the Night win, which brings him to a tally of 2 arm-breaking victories in his fight career, that Nelson will be shut out of contention for longer than he can try to hold onto being near contention. But I never say never. He unexpectedly, heeded big career advice and lost necessary weight for his last fight, which made him look pretty darn good out there, especially after he shaved. And the best thing I’ve learned having given up repeated Saturday nights to watch these fight cards is that anything can happen. UFC is a promotion that offers no season off, but is proving worth our year round time, I think…unless some great guy asks me out. I need a life, people.
