UFC 140 Fight Card: Info and Predictions for Every Fight

On December 10th, 2011 the Ultimate Fighting Championship will look to continue their success when they travel to Toronto, Canada for UFC 140.

UFC 140 will take place in front of a sold out Air Canada Centre beginning at 6:00 p.m. PT and 9:00 p.m. ET.

The main card of the evening will be headlined around the current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones who will look to successfully defend his title against Lyoto Machida.

Also featured on the main card is Frank Mir who will make his return to the Octagon to square off with Brazilian legend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

In total, the fight card consists of five main card fights and seven preliminary bouts.

The following slides display info and predictions for every fight at UFC 140.

Let's take a look.

Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish

Mitch Clarke

Career Record: 9-0

UFC Record: 0-0

Key Wins: Eddie Rincon

Key Losses: N/A

John Cholish

Career Record: 7-1

UFC Record: 0-0

Key Wins: Jameel Massouh

Key Losses: Jason Patino

Mitch Clarke and John Cholish will both be making their UFC debuts on December 10th at the Air Canada Centre at UFC 140.

It's likely Clarke will come out of the gate looking to impress his home country early.

However, fans can expect both fighters to be fairly timid as one single mistake early could effect the rest of their mixed martial arts career.

Both fighters have displayed exceptional submission skills in their previous fights as it's rare that either fighter ever makes the judge's scorecards.

When all is said and done, Clarke is fighting in from of his own fans and opposes a bigger threat in Jiu-Jitsu.

Prediction: Clarke by R2 Submission

Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht

Rich Attonito

Career Record: 10-4

UFC Record: 3-1

Key Wins: Rafael Natal

Key Losses: Dave Branch

Jake Hecht

Career Record:10-2

UFC Record: 0-0

Key Wins: Michele Verginelli

Key Losses: Che Mills

In the first of two welterweight match-ups at UFC 140, Rich Attonito will look to continue his recent success when he takes on UFC newcomer, Jake Hecht.

Since joining the UFC, Attonito has demonstrated exceptional conditioning and the ability to knockout his opponent.

Attonito is sure to be the aggressor early in Round 1 as he'll attempt to overwhelm Hecht in his debut.

Overall both fighters are fairly well-rounded as Hecht holds the advantage in the submission game.

Attonito will more than likely look to exchange strikes early with his opponents. Hecht will look to take the fight to the ground and impose his wrestling skills on Attonito.

Prediction: Attonito by Unanimous Decision

Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz

Mark Bocek

Career Record: 9-4

UFC Record: 5-4

Key Wins: Dustin Hazelett

Key Losses: Ben Henderson, Jim Miller

Nik Lentz

Career Record: 21-3-2 (1)

UFC Record: 5-0-2

Key Wins: Rafaello Oliveira, Tyson Griffin

Key Losses: Mark Moreno

In what has potential to be one of the most exciting bouts of the evening at UFC 140, Mark Bocek will meet Nik Lentz in a lightweight showdown.

Both Bocek and Lentz are veterans in the UFC and will look to continue their slow climb up the 155-pound ladder.

Despite fewer fights, Bocek has faced some of the most elite fighters in the UFC which gives him the slight edge heading in.

However, through his spectacular submission skills and conditioning, Lentz hasn't lost in over four years.

Fans in attendance can expect a short stand up affair before the bout gets taken to the ground and the submission attempts begin to unravel.

However it's likely the final bell will ring before any man falls to defeat.

Prediction: Lentz by Unanimous Decision

Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson

Yves Jabouin

Career Record: 16-7

UFC Record: 1-1

Key Wins: Ian Loveland

Key Losses: Pablo Garza, Mark Hominick

Walel Watson

Career Record: 9-2

UFC Record: 1-0

Key Wins: Joseph Sandoval

Key Losses: Cody Gibson

The chances of this bantamweight square off going to the judge's scorecards are slim to none as both Yves Jabouin and Walel Watson have a tendency of finishing their fights.

The up-and-coming Watson has quickly become one of the most feared bantamweights in the UFC as his lengthiness has caused problems to many of his opponents over the course of his career.

As usual, Jabouin will come out with his killer instinct looking to put a finish to the tall Watson.

Watson will need to keep his distance from Jabouin as he's recognized as a powerful striker.

If Watson can avoid an early attack by the 'Tiger' he'll settle down and begin to pick apart Jabouin as his opponent has been submitted in the past.

Prediction: Watson by R3 Submission

John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman

John Makdessi

Career Record: 9-0

UFC Record: 2-0

Key Wins: Kyle Watson

Key Losses: N/A

Dennis Hallman

Career Record:

UFC Record: 50-14-2 (1)

Key Wins: Matt Hughes (2), Karo Parisyan

Key Losses: Brian Ebersole, John Howard

John Makdessi and Dennis Hallman will meet in what could easily be Fight, Submission, or Knockout of the Night at UFC 140.

The entire fight will depend upon if Hallman can successfully take his opponent to the ground to unleash his world class submission skills.

However, Makdessi has never been defeated in his mixed martial arts career.

Makdessi must remain on his feet at all costs as he'll want to exchange strikes with the highly experienced, Hallman.

However, Hallman has been around the sport too long as he'll find a way to have Makdessi on his back and finish him from there.

Prediction: Hallman by R1 Submission

Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou

Jared Hamman

Career Record: 13-3

UFC Record: 2-2

Key Wins: C.B. Dollaway, Rodney Wallace

Key Losses: Alexander Gustafsson, Kyle Kingsbury

Constantinos Philippou

Career Record: 8-2 (1)

UFC Record: 1-1

Key Wins: Jorge Rivera

Key Losses: Nick Catone

In one of the most unpredictable bouts of the evening at UFC 140, knockout artist Jared Hamman will meet fellow middleweight, Constantinos Philippou.

Both Hamman and Philippou have displayed knockout power in their previous fights as both are coming off the biggest wins of their careers.

Philippou has never been knocked out in his mixed martial arts career but he's yet to face an opponent with the skills of Hamman.

Fans can expect a slug fest early until one of two dangerous strikers lands a connecting blow.

Unfortunately for Philippou, it's likely to be Hamman who leaves Toronto, Canada victorious.

Prediction: Hamman by R2 TKO

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac

Krzysztof Soszynski

Career Record: 26-11-1

UFC Record: 6-2

Key Wins: Stephan Bonnar, Mike Massenzio

Key Losses: Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera

Igor Pokrajac

Career Record: 23-8

UFC Record: 2-3

Key Wins: James Irvin, Todd Brown

Key Losses: Stephan Bonnar, James T-Huna

In the first of three light heavyweight fights, Krzysztof Soszynski will look to continue his recent success when he takes on Igor Pokrajac.

Soszynski is one of the most well-rounded 205-pound fighters in the UFC as he has the capability of knocking out or submitting his opponent.

However, Pokrajac isn't far behind as he's finished 20 opponents over the course of his career as well.

The likelihood of this bout heading to a decision isn't likely as both fighters have proven they can also be knocked out.

After a few minutes of swinging for the fences, Soszynski will begin to figure out his opponent and finish him off from there.

Prediction: Soszynski by R1 TKO

Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung

Mark Hominick

Career Record: 20-9

UFC Record: 1-1

Key Wins: George Roop, Leonard Garcia

Key Losses: Jose Aldo

Chan Sung Jung

Career Record: 11-3

UFC Record: 1-0

Key Wins: Leonard Garcia

Key Losses: George Roop, Leonard Garcia

Mark Hominick will look to bounce back after his championship bout defeat to Jose Aldo at UFC 129 when he takes on dangerous submission artist Chan Sung Jung.

While Hominick is certainly one of the more established featherweights in the UFC, he'll want to remain in the stand up at all costs.

Sung Jung has demonstrated world class submission skills over the course of his career and Hominick has been caught five times in his career.

Hominick will look to test Sung Jung's exchanges as he's yet to fully prove he can survive on his feet.

If Hominick can avoid the ground, he'll begin to unload his spectacular boxing skills on route to finishing his opponent.

Prediction: Hominick by R3 TKO

Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick

Brian Ebersole

Career Record: 48-14-1

UFC Record: 2-0

Key Wins: Dennis Hallman, Chris Lytle

Key Losses: Hector Lombard

Claude Patrick

Career Record: 14-1

UFC Record: 3-0

Key Wins: Daniel Roberts

Key Losses: Drew McFedries

Brian Ebersole was originally scheduled to take on the up-and-coming welterweight star Rory MacDonald before his opponent withdrew due to an injury.

On paper, Ebersole has the clear advantage as he's fought over 60 times in his career and is currently on a nine fight winning streak.

However, Patrick's lost just once in his career and is a huge submission threat to Ebersole as he's been caught nine times in his career.

It's likely Ebersole will want to remain on his feet as he can also strike with his opponent as he's totaled 14 knockouts in his career.

If Ebersole can stick to his game plan, he should have no problem winning his tenth straight fight.

Prediction: Ebersole by Unanimous Decision

Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Tito Ortiz

Career Record: 16-9-1

UFC Record: 15-9-1

Key Wins: Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Ryan Bader

Key Losses: Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin

Antonio Rogeria Nogueiro

Career Record: 19-5

UFC Record: 2-2

Key Wins: Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem

Key Losses: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Phil Davis, Ryan Bader

Both Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will enter the Octagon at UFC 140 in arguably the biggest fight of their careers.

Ortiz has won just one fight in his last seven outings while Nogueira is currently on a two fight losing streak.

Surprisingly, both Ortiz and Nogueira are two of the more well-rounded 205-pound fighters in the light heavyweight division.

While Ortiz may try to wrestle Nogueira, his hopes of submitting the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mastermind are  unrealistic.

Fans can expect to see a different Ortiz this time around as he is literally fighting for his career.

If Ortiz can survive Round 1, he'll begin to feel like the 'Tito' we once knew, giving him the confidence he needs to continue on.

Prediction: Ortiz by Unanimous Decision

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Frank Mir

Career Record: 15-5

UFC Record: 13-5

Key Wins: Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Roy Nelson

Key Losses: Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Career Record: 33-6-1 (1)

UFC Record: 4-2

Key Wins: Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Brendan Schaub

Key Losses: Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez

In one of the most anticipated bouts of the night, Frank Mir will step foot inside the Octagon in Toronto, Canada to take on highly dangerous Brazilian, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

This will be the second time Mir and Nogueira have met as Mir was declared victorious via technical knockout at UFC 92.

And, if Nogueira doesn't want the same outcome he'll have to avoid standing up with Mir.

However, while Nogueira is certainly one of the best submission artists in the UFC, he'll be facing an opponent in Mir who's not too far behind him.

If Nogueira can be at the top of his game and avoid exchanging strikes with Mir, he could leave UFC 140 victorious and his third win in his last four fights.

However, that's a big if when he's facing an opponent the caliber of Mir.

Prediction: Mir by R2 TKO

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

Jon Jones

Career Record: 14-1

UFC Record: 8-1

Key Wins: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton Jackson, Ryan Bader

Key Losses: Matt Hamill

Lyoto Machida

Career Record: 17-2

UFC Record: 9-2

Key Wins: Rashad Evans, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Randy Couture

Key Losses: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton Jackson

In the main event of the evening at UFC 140, Jon "Bones" Jones will look to remain the UFC undisputed light heavyweight champion when he meets number one contender, Lyoto Machida.

Jones in the heavy favorite heading into their championship bout as he's been unbeaten in his mixed martial arts career minus a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill early in his UFC career.

Many fans believe Jones to be one of the most well-rounded fighters in the UFC as well as the most explosive.

Machida will have to prove from the get-go that he belongs in the same Octagon as Jones.

It's likely Machida will attempt to establish a game plan full of kicks but he'll want to be very cautious in approaching the current champion.

While Machida will certainly do everything in his power to earn back his much desired 205-pound title, Jones will be too much.

Prediction: Jones by R3 TKO

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