In their return to Canada after an uber-successful UFC 129 which saw 55,000 pack into the Rogers Centre, the UFC 140 card is filled with intriguing match-ups that could produce fireworks. For the first time, the brothers Nogueria will be fighting on the same card. The main event pits two styles that have been hard for the 205 division to crack in champion Jon Jones and former champ Lyoto Machida.
Featherweights Mark Hominick and Chan Sung Jung are the perfect way to start off the PPV card. For the “Korean Zombie”, Jung is best known for his 2010 Fight of the Year with Leonard Garcia, a loss he avenged last March. Hominick is returning to his home country after losing his last fight, a title shot against Jose Aldo. In a possible fight of the year candidate, I expect this to be a kickboxing match with Jung’s inability to takedown Hominck as the deciding factor. Hominick via split decision is my call.
Welterweights Claude Patrick and Brian Ebersole will do battle in their effort to climb the UFC ladder. For Patrick, this will mark his fourth fight in the UFC. Ebersole is in his 11th year of MMA action with victories over Chris Lytle and Dennis Hallman in his first two UFC fights. The long-limbed Ebersole had been a veteran of the Australian MMA scene before signing with the UFC earlier this year. I expect Ebersole to dictate the fight wherever he wants to go, ending the fight via TKO in the second round.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will try and prove his resurgence is for real against former Pride star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. For Ortiz, he is looking to show his win over Ryan Bader in July was not a fluke. This fight will be his record setting 26th fight in the UFC with a record of 1-5-1 over the last five years. “Lil Nog” is coming off a pair of losses after winning his first two fights in the Octagon including a loss to Bader in September of 2010. Nogueira possesses some of the best boxing in MMA. Sadly, neither fighter is near their peak with Nogueira’s takedown defense being the difference in a mildly-entertaining unanimous decision win for “Lil Nog”.
UFC 140’s co-main event is a rematch of a hotly debated fight from 2008 which saw former heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight for the UFC interim title. Their first fight was dominated by Mir with “Big Nog” later revealing that he had a staph infection that kept him in the hospital for a week during training. Mir is coming off back-to-back wins over “Cro Cop” and “Big Country” with neither of them coming in impressive fashion. Pride veteran Rodrigo Nogueria has been altering wins and losses in his last four fights with several knee injuries limiting him to only one fight in the past 22 months. His emotional victory in his home country of Brazil over Brendan Schaub this past August was huge. However, I fully expect Mir to dominate the fight just like the first match-up, winning via a third round TKO with “Big Nog” retiring after the bout.
Finally, the UFC light heavyweight title will be on the line as Jon Jones will take on Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. Machida responded from the first two losses in his career by knocking out UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture into retirement with a highlight reel frontkick. Many have questioned (justifiably) how Machida earned the shot at the belt after going just 1-2 in his last three fights. However, no one can counter that Machida’s Karate-based style has always been tough to figure out, creating a very entertaining fight. Current champion Jon Jones will be entering the Octagon for the fourth time in 2011 with his last two fights being for the UFC belt. Jones has yet to be truly challenged, stopping his last seven opponents, four with striking and three with a submission. His wrestling base and long limbs have been huge obstacles for his opponents with some even questioning if he can ever be stopped. On this night Jones will prove just how other-worldly he can be, dominating Machida in every area of the fight before ending it via a TKO in the second round.
Christopher Huerta is a contributor to Bleacher Report MMA.