During the UFC 140 post-fight press conference, the fighters available answered questions on a variety of different topics and events. The fighters on hand were Chan Sung Jung, Frank Mir, Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Ebersole. M…
During the UFC 140 post-fight press conference, the fighters available answered questions on a variety of different topics and events. The fighters on hand were Chan Sung Jung, Frank Mir, Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Ebersole.
Machida gave his breakdown of the fight, and it seemed spot-on as he felt the fight was even until Jones cut him with the elbow. Machida admitted the cut threw him off, and the next thing he knew it was nighty night.
Machida also talks about his future, saying he will simply wait for a call from the UFC to hear what’s next and that he will come back from this setback.
I was able to ask The Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung if this was the biggest knockout of his career, and his translated answer was, “Yes it was, I was supposed to lose this fight so I feel bad for the Canadian fans.”
Jung stunned the Canadian crowd by countering a sloppy left hook from local hero Mark Hominick with a straight right to the button. He knocked out Hominick in 0:07 seconds, tying a UFC record for the quickest knockout.
Jon Jones finally told the media where he went for his pre-fight meditation ritual—Balls Falls in the Niagara Peninsula. The conservation area has beautiful waterfalls, and Jones found one to do the job. He admitted it was too cold for him to stay his usual length of time.
Brian Ebersole talks about his slightly controversial decision win against Claude Patrick. I think the fight could have been called either way, but he is right when he says that he ended up on top of most of the exchanges with Patrick, and I don’t think the decision was that unjust.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida is set to take place this very Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main event pits light heavyweight champ and LeBron-level phenom Jon Jones against former champ an…
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida is set to take place this very Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main event pits light heavyweight champ and LeBron-level phenom Jon Jones against former champ and karate star Lyoto Machida.
As usual, though, there are nuggets of intrigue across the card, if you know what to look for.
Can Nik Lentz get back on the horse? Can undefeated lightweight John Makdessi continue his ascendance? Will Dennis Hallman spit in the eye of Dana White and all that is good in the world and wear Speedos for the second consecutive time?
Truly speaking, there’s drama in every fight, because everyone has something to gain and something to lose. Nevertheless, some have more on the line than others.
Who has the most to lose in this one? My vote goes to welterweight Brian Ebersole.
Originally scheduled to face scorching-hot prospect Rory MacDonald on the main card, following an injury from MacDonald, Ebersole finds himself matched with a different Canadian in Claude Patrick, who was plucked from an undercard match with Rich Attonito.
MacDonald (12-1) would have been one of the biggest fights of Ebersole’s career. A win—and maybe even a good showing—would have placed him solidly in the contender conversation at 170 pounds. Patrick only has three fights in the UFC, is not a top-30 welterweight in any major world ranking, and doesn’t have one-tenth the name recognition of the countryman he replaces.
And yet, Patrick, 31, is 14-1 in his MMA career. He is a seriously good fighter. In his last engagement, he scored a solid decision win over UFC veteran Daniel Roberts. The jiu-jitsu brown belt has nine wins by submission in his career.
That grappling pedigree would seem useful against Ebersole, who loves to bang, but is a wrestler at heart. Maybe the ground games negate each other, and a standup war ensues. Ebersole might like that.
But Patrick has some Muay Thai skills, too, and could use the clinch to try and stifle Ebersole’s unorthodox attack.
Patrick actually reminds me of another unsung fighter who makes a long-overdue UFC debut as a result of an injury fill-in. That fighter is one Brian Ebersole, who entered the Octagon for the first time last February.
That’s part of what makes this such a delicate situation for Ebersole. A win will constitute nothing more than a meeting of expectations. (Odds-makers currently have him as the favorite, though not by a landslide.)
If he loses, it will be to the same relative no-name he was himself less than a year ago. Despite an impressive 2-0 UFC run over the past 10 months, Ebersole still isn’t that far removed from cannon fodder status. A setback against Patrick could land him right back in the cannon.
Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs. Claude “The Prince” Patrick could be the sleeper hit of the UFC 140 card. Both men are skilled in each area of the sport, yet they are not mirrors. Both men know how to strike, but go ab…
Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs. Claude “The Prince” Patrick could be the sleeper hit of the UFC 140 card.
Both men are skilled in each area of the sport, yet they are not mirrors. Both men know how to strike, but go about it differently.
Both men know how to grapple, but have different styles. Both men have the ability to take opponents down.
The winner may come down to who finds and exploits an opening.
Filed under: UFCWill Jon Jones continue his domination of the light heavyweight division, or will Lyoto Machida get the belt back? Can Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira avenge his loss to Frank Mir? Will Tito Ortiz continue his surprising career resurgence, or …
We’ll answer those questions and more as we predict the winners at UFC 140.
What: UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida
When: Saturday, the Facebook stream begins at 5:45 PM ET, the Ion televised card starts at 7 and the pay-per-view starts at 9.
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida With a win, Jones would put a bow on what may have been the best year any fighter has ever had in the UFC: Jones has already destroyed Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson in 2011, and adding Lyoto Machida to that list would be an incredible feat.
Machida, however, may be the light heavyweight whose style is the trickiest for Jones to handle. Machida is so elusive that Jones is going to have a hard time getting to him even with his decided reach advantage, and Machida is such a good counter-striker that Jones is going to have to be careful not to get too fancy. Machida has frustrated a lot of great fighters, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him win a decision.
But Jones has been so dominant of late that I simply can’t pick against him. If Jones is able to take Machida down he should be able to use his superior strength to bully him on the ground, and even if the fight remains standing, Jones is eventually going to tag Machida the way Shogun Rua did. Of all the light heavyweights in the world, I give Machida the best chance of beating Jones. But right now I’d pick Jones over anyone. Pick: Jones
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Mir has made no secret that he’s a little annoyed that he even has to give Nogueira a rematch, three years after Mir won by TKO. And Mir really doesn’t like the fact that Nogueira and his supporters have suggested that an illness prior to the last fight is the reason Nogueira won.
This time around there should be no excuses, and the fight should go more or less the way the last one did: Mir will get the better of Nogueira standing, and he won’t even try to engage Nogueira on the ground. Nogueira did earn a solid win over Brendan Schaub in August, but to the extent that these two have changed since the last time they fought, I think Mir has become bigger and stronger while Nogueira has become older and slower. Pick: Mir
Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogério Nogueira A year ago Ortiz was largely written off as washed up, but he deserves a lot of credit for persevering: He beat Ryan Bader soundly and then fought a good fight in a losing effort against Rashad Evans. And the mere fact that Ortiz is now preparing to fight for the third time in less than six months, after fighting only once a year every year from 2007 to 2010, says a lot about how much healthier he is after his recovery from back surgery.
Nogueira, on the other hand, is on a two-fight losing streak and hasn’t had a really strong performance since he TKO’d Luiz Cane more than two years ago. If either one of these guys has looked washed up recently, it’s Little Nog.
However, in this particular matchup Nogueira’s boxing is going to carry the day: Nogueira should be able to keep Ortiz at range and batter him with punches, and eventually Nogueira will wear Ortiz down enough to win by TKO. Pick: Nogueira
Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole Patrick is 3-0 since signing with the UFC lat year, and if he can win this one he’ll start to make some noise in the welterweight division. But Ebersole, who’s been fighting for 11 years, is much more experienced than Patrick and has a more versatile ground game, and should be able to win a decision. Pick: Ebersole
Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung My pick for fight of the night, Hominick vs. Jung has all the makings to be one of those fights that makes you lean forward, clench your fists and stare in awe of the intensity of the action. Hominick will have the hometown crowd on his side in Toronto, just as he did the last time he fought, when he lost to Jose Aldo at UFC 129, but in that fight it was a Rocky-like crowd, cheering him because he simply wouldn’t quit no matter how much punishment he took. In this fight, Hominick will be the better striker in the cage, and he should be able to out-land Jung and win convincingly. Pick: Hominick
Main Card Predictions Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs Lyoto Machida Love both these guys. The patience of Machida will probably give Jon Jones a little bit of trouble for the first round. However, I don’t think there is much that Machida can do against the elusive Jones. The best chance Machida has
Main Card Predictions
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs Lyoto Machida
Love both these guys. The patience of Machida will probably give Jon Jones a little bit of trouble for the first round. However, I don’t think there is much that Machida can do against the elusive Jones. The best chance Machida has at winning this fight is being Jon Jones Guard and landing long punches. I hope the odds are too far apart on this one. I like Jon Jones winning this one pretty much no matter what. If the odds are like -600 though, I might take Machida.
Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
A rematch that Mir won the first time. I think this back to being a toss up again as Nogueira was sick with the flu last time they fought. If the odds are ridiculously skewed in favor of Mir, I like Nogueira to win. Otherwise if its close go with Mir.
Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Tito ain’t KOing Nogueira on the feet so imo that will give Nogueira time to work his championship level boxing. Ortiz’ best shot at winning this is obviously one way. The double leg > GnP. However, he is going against a Nogueira. So in that position you have to worry about being armbarred. The two brothers have some of the best armbars in the game. Nogueira’s boxing is much much better than Tito’s. I like Nogueira winning this, but I’ve been finding myself rooting for Tito in his last few fights. Maybe its the nostalgic fan in me. I used to dislike Tito all those years he fought before his stint on the TUF show, before he came back for the first Ken Shamrock fight, but these days I’m a fan. I think Nogueira has the right skillset to give Ortiz problems. I see little Nog taking a decision. Cardio could be Ortiz ace in the hole in this one though.
Welterweight bout: Claude Patrick vs Brian Ebersole
Ebersole. There are only a few people in the division that can beat him right now.
Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs Chan Sung Jung
Awesome fight potential, but I lean towards Hominick here. Sung Jung is wild and Hominick is crisp and tight. Big advantage for Hominick.
Preliminary card (Ion Television)
Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs Igor Pokrajac
Soszynski will likely win being bigger and better on the ground. I like the way Igor fights though.
Middleweight bout: Jared Hamman vs Constantinos Philippou
Hamman is the guy that presses and he doesn’t look like hes tough or a fighter, but hes got skills. I expect him to win then sell you a computer when its over.
Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs Dennis Hallman
One thing you can count on here is that Hallman won’t be wearing a mankini. Only prediction to be made here.
Bantamweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs Walel Watson
Preliminary card
Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs Nik Lentz
I want to see this fight. Bocek has been a monster lately, but Nik Lentz is always fun to watch and has some good skills. On the ground though Bocek has distinct advantage.
Somewhere Steven Seagal is claiming he invented this knockout.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/DiggedyDrake)
Somewhere Steven Seagal is claiming he invented this knockout.
If anyone ever pulls off a breakdance/capoeira move like this in a televised UFC fight, the sport will instantly become a mainstream success thanks to the plethora of inevitable highlight-reel replays on shows like Sportscenter. Until then, we’ll just have to show our non-MMA watching friends highlights of Brian Ebersole, Marius Zaromskis and Marcus Aurelio KOs in the hopes that they’ll quit asking us when Kimbo is fighting next.
During the UFC 140 post-fight press conference, the fighters available answered questions on a variety of different topics and events. The fighters on hand were Chan Sung Jung, Frank Mir, Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Ebersole.
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