This is another show in which Rashad Evans doesn’t get to fight Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. That will make it two tries at fighting for the belt and two fights that just didn’t happen.
While Lyoto Machida is a worthy opponent for Jones, this was Evans’ shot at glory. The UFC 140 card is stacked, so we should be in for a wild ride Saturday night.
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: Saturday, December 10, 9:00 p.m. ET
Watch: Facebook under-card fights at 6 p.m. EST, preliminary fights at 7 p.m. EST on Ion TV, Main Card fights at 9 p.m. EST on pay-per-view; online pay-per-view streaming (must pay $44.99) at UFC.tv, Yahoo! Sports, UStream, Android or iPhone
Fight Card:
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 (Ion Television)
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: Canada Mark Bocek vs. United States Nik Lentz
Welterweight bout: United States Rich Attonito vs. United States Jake Hecht
Lightweight bout: Canada Mitch Clarke vs. United States John Cholish
Jon Jones’ Keys to Victory
Machida has the kicks and punches to KO Jones at any second, so it’s Bones’ job to pick him up and slam him. If he can’t tap the Brazilian fighter out, he needs to finish him on the ground by dropping elbows and fists.
Jones has to win this fight on the ground.
Lyoto Machida’s Keys to Victory
Machida can win this fight if two things happen: He stays off his back, and he can keep Jones far enough away that his takedowns can be blocked. While Jones has great striking, Machida is the more dangerous of the duo at throwing hands and feet.
What They’re Saying
Machida told Tatame.com about his idea of what could happen during the fight and the strategy he will deploy:
It’s hard to predict how things will go on during the fight, but we trained a lot offensive wrestling, me taking him down. Besides the takedown defenses, we trained counterattacks with the takedowns, so if I take him down, it won’t be a surprise for me, for my team, because we know what we’ve been doing here. Our greatest goal is to win the fight, in any area it takes place, no matter if it’s on the stand-up, the wrestling or on the ground. I want to have an advantage in all areas
Undercard Fight To Watch: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
This match could be the biggest war of the entire night. Both men are in amazing shape and could fight 10 rounds if necessary, but the problem is that they will not go that long.
With both men having the power to knock the other out, this could turn into two men at the center of the Octagon throwing haymakers.
Main Event Prediction: Jon Jones via KO in First Round
The young star has the world by the throat right now, but he may be facing the most dangerous person possible with Lyoto Machida. While Machida isn’t an overpowering beast like some fighters, his patient strategy and versatility make him one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC.
Jones can and will win if he can control the tempo of this fight and control where it takes place with plenty of takedowns and pounding on the ground.
Check back for more on Mixed Martial Arts as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s UFC Page to get your fill of all things UFC/MMA. For more on MMA/UFC, check out Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com