From Big Nog’s arm to Tito’s ribs, UFC 140 gave us more than its share of brutal moments. In case you forget what a nasty business this sport can be sometimes, take a look at the above post-fight photo of Lyoto Machida, who got split open, choked asleep, then unceremoniously dropped onto the canvas by Jon Jones. Enjoy your new scar, buddy. This guy knows what I’m talking about.
Your mission: Come up with a clever caption to the photo above, and submit it to the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday who will receive a copy of Straw Dogs, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray next week, and makes a perfect holiday gift, as long as you’re giving it to somebody who appreciates over-the-top violence. On second thought, you may just want to keep it for yourself…
From Big Nog’s arm to Tito’s ribs, UFC 140 gave us more than its share of brutal moments. In case you forget what a nasty business this sport can be sometimes, take a look at the above post-fight photo of Lyoto Machida, who got split open, choked asleep, then unceremoniously dropped onto the canvas by Jon Jones. Enjoy your new scar, buddy. This guy knows what I’m talking about.
Your mission: Come up with a clever caption to the photo above, and submit it to the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday who will receive a copy of Straw Dogs, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray next week, and makes a perfect holiday gift, as long as you’re giving it to somebody who appreciates over-the-top violence. On second thought, you may just want to keep it for yourself…
Medical suspensions have been released for UFC 140, including those given to main card fighters Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hominick and Tito Ortiz. MMajunkie.com received the list of suspensions with Nogueira, Hominick and …
Medical suspensions have been released for UFC 140, including those given to main card fighters Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hominick and Tito Ortiz.
MMajunkie.com received the list of suspensions with Nogueira, Hominick and Ortiz getting the longest suspensions at 60 days. Several other fighters also were suspended for 60 days.
Nogueira suffered a broken arm in his rematch with Frank Mir in the co-main event. During the fight, it appeared as if Mir had dislocated Nogueira’s shoulder due to a vicious kimura applied early in the first round. Later news revealed his arm had been broken. UFC officials have confirmed Nogueira will not need surgery and that he may be able to return to the cage within nine months.
Ortiz took on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and was stopped in the first round due to body strikes. It appeared as if Ortiz had injured his ribs during the stoppage, which will cause him to need a chest x-ray and have an abdominal ultrasound done before his next fight.
Hominick was stopped just seven seconds into the first round, when Chan Sung-Jung knocked him out.
The main event featured former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida going up against reigning UFC champion Jon “Bones” Jones. Machida was choked unconscious in the second round after a guillotine choke was applied by Jones.
Full list of suspensions: (Fighters with 60 day suspensions lost via TKO or submission. Fighters with 14-day suspensions done for precautionary reasons)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Suspended 60 days, needs clearance from orthopedic surgeon
Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:
“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”
Obviously, Greg Jackson is embarrassed by how he came off, and tried to explain his words in an interview with MMAJunkie:
“I shouldn’t have spoken in that way, but that wasn’t my intention. It sounded bad, but moronic [expletive] comes out of my mouth sometimes. What I was saying was, ‘Go check on Lyoto,’ what I meant was to remember that you’re a public figure. There’s always attention on you and what you’re doing all the time, and there’s cage etiquette. There’s things you’re supposed to do, and going and checking on somebody is what you’re supposed to do. And now because I’m in military mode and in shorthand mode, I say, ‘Jon, go check on Lyoto and go get some fans,’ and what I should have said was, ‘You’re a public figure. There’s a way to conduct yourself.’ But instead, I shorthanded it.”
Okay. Not sure how “conduct yourself like a public figure” becomes “get some fans” in Jackson’s mental shorthand, but either way it’s good advice, especially when you’re fighting in front of a crowd that seems to hate you. The question is, why would Jones need to be reminded? Jackson has an answer for that too:
“Jon is a really good guy. Everybody is just attacking his character because that’s what you have to attack when you can’t attack somebody’s fighting. It’s not that he was a bad guy. You just literally go crazy. None of these guys outside of the cage could understand that after the fight, you’re in the zone, man. It’s such an intense camp, especially for Jon, month after month, fight after fight.
“Let’s take B.J. Penn for an example. He’s actually a really nice guy; he walks around licking blood off his gloves all the time. Chuck Liddell is one of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet, but when he knocks you unconscious, he runs around screaming and pumping his arms. That’s not normal behavior. So my job with Jon is to remind him. When the referee said break, he broke, and then he was still there in that zone. I was like, ‘Now, it’s time to relax and calm down and check on the guy.’ I should have said, ‘Remember you’re a public figure.’ But like I say, ‘Go get some Donald Cerrone,’ I said, ‘Go get some fans.’”
Checking on your fallen opponent is one of the unwritten traditions of MMA, but when you’re in the midst of celebrating a major triumph, it might not always feel natural to get down off the cage, put on a concerned face, and pat the other guy on the shoulder as he’s waking up from his nap. It’s a ritual, and not always a sincere one. And fans don’t like to be reminded of that.
So here’s a hypothetical question. What if Jon Jones and Greg Jackson really didn’t care that Lyoto Machida was sitting on a stool with a deep gash in his forehead, foggy from being choked out, and emotionally devastated from the loss: Does that change the way you already felt about them?
Filed under: UFCJon Jones is the most dominant force in MMA today. Yes, more dominant than Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre. That became strikingly obvious at UFC 140, when Jones choked Lyoto Machida unconscious in under two rounds.
Jones has absolutely crushed each of his last six opponents, finished every one of them. The last three of them were former UFC champions, a feat unprecedented.
His win over Machida wasn’t the most lopsided of his recent run, but that actually made it more valuable as an assessment tool for those of us in the analysis business. Though he was never in any real trouble against Machida in the first round, it was clear he was a bit confused about the proper approach. Meanwhile, Machida was masterfully timing his attacks off counters and clearly felt comfortable with closing the distance between them.
This was the same Machida we had seen in his best days, when he was knocking out Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva, and there was nothing to suggest that Jones could suddenly figure things out between rounds after two months of preparation had left him looking a bit lost.
But whatever advantage Machida had was completely erased between rounds.
Jones made a few slight adjustments, re-took the center of the cage and suddenly seemed to understand everything that was in front of him. Machida landed nothing of any consequence in the round, and Jones drilled him once, cut him open with a slicing elbow, dropped him with a left hand, and finally finished him with a standing guillotine.
Among UFC champs, Jones has the longest streak of consecutive finishes, one that even heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos can’t match. Because of it, he’s the most dominant force in MMA, at least for now.
On to playing fantasy matchmaker…
Jon Jones
“Bones” will get a well-deserved vacation after four lengthy camps in 2011. Meanwhile, the UFC will wait to see how January’s Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis fight plays out. If Evans wins and comes out unscathed, the UFC will sync him up with Jones for a long-awaited fight that is guaranteed to do big business. Prediction: Jones vs. Evans, with Memorial Day weekend of 2012 as the target date Lyoto Machida
Machida is likely still wondering what went wrong after a strong opening round against Jones, but he’s hardly the only one who’s ever been left scratching his head at how it had all gone awry so quickly. Upon losing, Machida is in a similar position from the one he had before being paired with Jones, with the prospect of waiting since no obvious pairing for him exists right now. He’s faced a lot of the big names, already, and several of the other possibilities are locked into other fights. Prediction: He faces Forrest Griffin
Frank Mir
For a second there, it seemed like Mir was going to be thrust into a replacement role against Brock Lesnar on short notice, but as long as Alistair Overeem passes his pre-fight drug screenings, he won’t be needed. It’s just as well. Mir would need more time to prep for Lesnar’s wrestling style, particularly when the fight would carry with it such major implications. If Cain Velasquez was ready to fight again soon, a Mir-Velasquez fight might make some sense, but he might need some more time off. And since the winner of Lesnar-Overeem will be moved into a title match with champ Junior dos Santos, options are limited. Prediction: Mir faces the loser of the Lesnar-Overeem fight
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
“Big Nog” is a proud man, but you have to wonder if pride is worth a broken bone and time spent on the sidelines when you’re 35 years old and in the twilight of your career. It’s easy for me to second-guess Nogueira here, so perhaps he thought he had one last escape attempt in him just before his arm cracked. That said, he apparently lucked out as the doctor he recently saw advised him against surgery, saying it would heal on its own in around five months. Still, add in time for a training camp and you’re looking at a minimum of an 8-9 month layoff for him. Prediction: Given the length of time away, it’s impossible to predict an opponent, but someone like Matt Mitrione or Roy Nelson might be a possibility.
Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz did a very smart thing before his fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He said he planned to retire in May 2002, 15 years from his first pro fight. That essentially meant that win or lose, he’d probably only fight once more after the Little Nog bout, which he lost by first-round TKO. It was smart because he basically publicly promised Dana White that they wouldn’t have to continue the very public debate about his possible retirement. In essence, White wouldn’t have to draw the line and be the bad guy since Ortiz drew it himself. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s 1-6-1 in his last eight fights, but it’s probably enough to get him one last fight before calling it quits. Prediction: I won’t even guess the opponent, but the UFC gives him a winnable style matchup against a mid-level opponent. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
A couple weeks ago, after Mauricio “Shogun” Rua lost his fight with Dan Henderson, I predicted he would next fight Thiago Silva, but I completely whiffed on the possibility that he could line up a rematch of his 2005 bout with Little Nog, a bout which was one of the best bouts of that year. With both coming off wins, it’s now or never. Prediction: He faces Rua
Chan Sung Jung
The “Korean Zombie” is the UFC‘s Mr. Excitement, win or lose, creating amazing moments. The latest was his record-tying, seven-second knockout of Mark Hominick, a former No. 1 contender Jung isn’t quite ready for the title picture yet, but he’s starting to creep into the conversation. Prediction: He faces Ricardo Lamas Igor Pokrajac
Pokrajac looked good against the durable Krzysztof Soszynski, needing just 35 seconds to finish him in a KO. The win made him 3-1 in his last four, so let’s match the hard-hitting Croatian up with another striker and see what kind of magic they make. Prediction: He faces Brandon Vera.
Jon Jones rightfully has a spot on the pound-for-pound rankings. The UFC light heavyweight champion made his second consecutive title defense following his submission victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. It earned Jones his fifth straight w…
Jon Jones rightfully has a spot on the pound-for-pound rankings.
The UFC light heavyweight champion made his second consecutive title defense following his submission victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140. It earned Jones his fifth straight win inside the Octagon.
“Bones” has endured one of the most remarkable years in mixed martial arts history.
In fact, White places him directly behind reigning pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva.
“(He’s) number two (in the world),” White said. “He’s literally walked through everybody. He fought four times this year, probably the nastiest schedule in the history of the company. He’s incredible, man.”
While White did stop short of ranking him above the UFC middleweight champion, he was very adamant of Jones’ accomplishments so far, indicating that the champion is well on his way to overtaking the Brazilian’s spot in the future.
“The guy is, I hate to talk too much about it…like nobody’s gonna hear this (laughs) … because he’s so young, you don’t wanna put that kind of stuff in a guy’s head who is that young but he’s walking through serious, serious guys and bustin’ ’em up bad,” he said.
“You don’t see somebody come in and wreck people like this.”
Lyoto Machida’s second attempt at reclaiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title from current champion, Jon Jones, was unsuccessful despite putting the champion through adversity and stealing the opening round.Machida’s elusive counter-striking appeared to…
Lyoto Machida‘s second attempt at reclaiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title from current champion, Jon Jones, was unsuccessful despite putting the champion through adversity and stealing the opening round.
Machida’s elusive counter-striking appeared to frustrate and overwhelm Jones, preventing the 24-year-old phenom from finding any success in the first round. It was pretty clear that Machida had set some doubt into Jones’ mind, as the champion was visibly concerned while he rested in between rounds.
However, it would only seem to force the champion to reassess his strategy entering into the second round where he would dominate the Brazilian and secure a submission for the victory.
Following the event, Machida told TATAME.com that prior to being submitted, his game plan was very effective against the champion.
“I felt him a little loss on the first round, but I was focused on not making it a big deal, because each round was a different one and I had to will them all,” Machida said. “I did my game and he was falling for it.”
Machida propelled himself back into the light heavyweight title picture after knocking out Randy Couture at UFC 129 earlier this year.
A hand injury to Rashad Evans prevented an anticipated showdown between the two rivals, and slotted “The Dragon” in as Evans’ replacement.
Despite losing the last three of his four bouts, Machida fared better than any of Jones’ past opponents, and still remains a valuable contender at 205 pounds.
Regarding his future at light heavyweight, Machida said he will return to the Octagon and let the UFC decide his next opponent.
“Actually I’m waiting. It’s just happened,” he said. “We gotta keep training and waiting for them to call me up for my next fight.
Medical suspensions have been released for 
