TORONTO, CA, December 11, 2011 – Last night proved to be an eventful evening of action in the octagon at UFC 140. Fans at Toronto’s Air Canada Center and those watching on PPV were treated to exciting finishes galore as 4 out of the 5 bouts on the main card ended with spectacular finishes and definitive statements made by the winning fighters. Perhaps chief among them were the two men who won out in the main and co-main event fights of the evening.
In the headliner, Jon Jones succeeded in verifying himself as the blueprint for how a dominant champion should fight. Facing an opponent many had anointed as his most challenging ever in Lyoto Machida, Jones was able to play the Dragon’s game for as long as he wanted to before taking him down and busting him open with one of his vicious elbows. Seeing his opponent bloodied, Jones would them go in for the kill, beating Lyoto to the punch and dazing him before latching on to his neck and rendering him unconscious with picture-perfect guillotine choke. With this win, Jones can safely be considered a legitimate contender for the term “best fighter in the world.”
In the co-main event, Frank Mir put on what can only be described as an amazing performance against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The last time they fought, Mir became the only man ever to score a knockout on the iron-chinned former champion. This time around he became the only man ever to tap out the legendary Brazilian as well. Withstanding an early assault that left him dazed and in trouble, Mir was able to come out on top after a series of exciting grappling transitions on the ground. Maintaining position and holding on to a kimura after the final scramble, Mir was able to succeed in not only getting the tap but also breaking the arm of his opponent to win submission of the night honors.
Last but not least on highlights of the night, or KO of the Night for this matter, was the “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. His opening bout with Mark Hominick lasted a mere 7 seconds and one punch as Jung quick knocked out his opponent to secure both the win and a place in the UFC record books under the section, “fastest finish ever.” (tied with Todd Duffee)
UFC 140 – Quick Results from Toronto, Canada
Main Card (PPV)
Jon Jones over Lyoto Machida by submission (guillotine), R2
Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by submission (kimura), R1
Antonio Rogério Nogueira over Tito Ortiz by TKO (body punches), R1
Brian Ebersole over Claude Patrick by unanimous decision
Chan Sung Jung over Mark Hominick by KO, R1
Undercard (ION TV and Facebook)
Igor Pokrajac over Krzysztof Soszynski by KO, R1
Constantinos Philippou over Jared Hamman by KO, R1
Dennis Hallman over John Makdessi by submission (rear-naked choke), R1
Yves Jabouin over Walel Watson by unanimous decision
Mark Bocek over Nik Lentz by unanimous decision
Jake Hecht over Rich Attonito by TKO, R2
John Cholish over Mitch Clarke by TKO, R2
UFC Bonuses
Submission of the Night – Frank Mir
Knockout of the Night – Chan Sung Jung
Fight of the Night – Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
UFC Post-Fight Press Conference
In Other UFC News…
Much to the delight of a whole throng of some of MMA’s most exciting young fighters, UFC President Dana White officially announced the the flyweight division is coming to the UFC beginning in early 2012. Debuting on March 3rd at UFC on FX 2, the 125 lbs. class will be introduced to fans with a four-man flyweight title tournament featuring soem of the world’s best at this weight. Competing to become the UFC’s first 125 lbs. champion will be “Uncle Creeply” Ian McCall (former TPF champ) who takes on former UFC 135 title contender Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and former WEC star Joseph Benavidez who takes on Shooto champ Yasuhiro Urushitani.
With these guys vying for the belt and fighters like John Dodson, Alexis Vila, and Brazil’s Formiga out there along with a whole host of fighters from Asia and beyond, look for this class to be one of the world’s most hotly-contested in the near and long-term future.
Also of note regarding the near future of the UFC is this tweet from ESPN’s Josh Gross citing that Alistair Overeem may be OUT of his scheduled UFC 141 main event bout with Brock Lesnar. According to Gross, Overeem is on Monday’s NSAC agenda possibly in connection with a pre-fight drug test. While we want to stress that this is an unsubstantiated rumor at this point, one that has been denied by Dana White, it would certainly deal a significant blow to the UFC if Alistair would pulled from this card as the Lesnar-Overeem main event was/is slated to be one of the biggest draws of the year for the organization.
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