UFC 140 Looks Set to Deliver the Goods

If you don't watch this fight, Dana White will make you his Twitter bitch!

image via mainevent.com.au

By Jody White

UFC President and mouthpiece-in-chief Dana White once told me that Toronto occupies such a soft spot in his heart that he would only hold world-class cards here. Like any salesman worth his salt, no doubt such honeyed words are part of his repertoire, regardless of the area code he finds himself in. Still, he has so far upheld his promise, despite the UFC’s brief history with Hogtown. 

Last April’s UFC 129 in the Rogers Centre was the biggest event the organization had ever pulled off, and -- while light on marquee names -- was heavy on homegrown talent. GSP, Mark Bocek, Jason MacDonald, Sean Pierson and Mark Hominick -- to name a few -- gave the 55,000 fans lots to scream about and instilled Toronto’s legacy as a hotbed for MMA.

They’re ba-ack!

Perhaps due to the miserable lot of T.O.’s long suffering hockey fans, the MMA gods are smiling once again on our fair city. UFC 140 takes place in a matter of hours, and this card is STACKED. Once again, team Canada is well represented: Mark Bocek, Mark Hominick, Krzysztof Soszynski, and Claude Patrick (among others) will grace the Octagon. 

Also fighting are perennial douchebag (and nasty porn-star fucker) Tito Ortiz, Frank Mir and his planetary ego, and the Nogueira brothers (Big and L’il), while the main event will feature an interesting matchup between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida (more on that later).

And since no UFC event seems to unfold without some semblance of drama, an unholy trinity consisting of Dana White, the Toronto Star and some dullard by the name of Darius Ross obliged us with a tempest-in-a-teapot controversy involving a UFC anti-bullying effort, a nasty tweet and the Star’s smouldering hatred of everything MMA. 

You can read about it HERE, but I can sum it up for you in a few sentences:

Lefty complains via Twitter that Dana White is rude.

Dana White (via Twitter) confirms his suspicions. Lefty runs crying to the Star, which trumpets from the rooftops the Dana White is rude and a bully. 


Twitterati proceed to pile on Lefty, and the obligatory racial/homophobic keyboard warriors march once more into the breach to pour scorn and abuse on the idiot who thought it a good idea to challenge White in a public forum. 


End of (non) story.

Anywho …

From my perspective, there are two very intriguing fights on the card. Let’s start with the little guys.

Mark “The Machine” Hominick vs. Chan Sung "The Korean Zombie" Jung

Anyone unfamilar with Hominick need only watch his fight against Featherweight champ and Muay Thai wizard Jose Aldo. This kid is TOUGH. He took a serious beating at UFC 129 which was capped off with an elbow that exponentially increased the circumference of his head.

Despite this, he rallied and spent the 5th round mauling Aldo from the top, very nearly stealing the fight. 

His standup is crisp and technical, his footwork is sound and he’s dangerous on the ground, whether defending from his back or attacking from the top. 

Aside from having the best handle in MMA, Jung’s main strength is his submissions, which doesn’t bode well against a guy like Hominick. In the standup, he likes to lean forward and  throw haymakers (hence the name) -- a strategy that Hominick can capitalize on by using lateral movement and countering. 

Prediction: Hominick by TKO

The other interesting fight is the main event featuring Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Former Champ Lyoto Machida.

Both of these guys have unique styles, so training for both camps must have been a bitch. 

Machida is best described as either guerrilla soldier or ninja, engaging solely on his terms. He likes to stand just out of range until he sees an opening and then swiftly close the distance to deliver some sort of crafty combination. And due to his unorthodox background (karate, brazilian jiu jitsu, judo and even sumo), his bag of tricks is particularly deep. 

Aerial switch kicks, sneaky knees and plenty of trips and throws are but a taste of his unusual arsenal.  And before his opponent can counter, Machida often deftly steps out of range again. He used this system to great effect until Shogun Rua figured him out and put a brutal end to his short reign at the top of the 205lb division. 

Jones now enjoys the mystique once held by Machida. He has run through every opponent he’s faced in dynamic fashion, using a bewildering array of strikes, throws and wrestling that have so far proven unsolvable. If you had to compare Jones to another fighter, he would best be described as a hybrid of the athleticism of GSP and the raw talent of Anderson Silva. He is fast, strong, unpredictable and very, very confident. At 24, he’s the youngest champ in UFC history and has lots of time to improve -- a scary thought for any contender.

Machida has lost two of his last three fights and he’s on the wrong side of the odds Saturday night. Jones is faster, more aggressive and enjoys a significant height and reach advantage. Of his 14 victories thus far, only two were by decision -- the remainder being startlingly violent beatdowns. 

Prediction: I hate to say it, but Machida will likely become familiar with the ER staff at St. Mike’s hospital prior to the 25 minute mark. 

Jones by TKO.