UFC 140: Jon Jones Will Crush Lyoto Machida to Defend Light-Heavyweight Title

Tonight's showdown in the main event of UFC 140 will feature one of the youngest and most talented stars in mixed martial arts today.

Jon Jones (14-1) will take on Lyoto Machida (17-2) in a five-round fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The fight should be one of the most exciting that we have seen in the Octagon in recent months.

Jones has crushed every opponent that he has ever stepped into the ring with. His only loss came by disqualification against Matt Hamill when he landed multiple illegal downward elbows.

It was a clear mistake by Jones, who was new to the UFC at the time. The disqualification came in the first round. Had he not been disqualified, the fight likely would have ended early in the second round in favor of Jones.

Machida, on the other hand, has really fallen off the map in recent years. He has taken part in just three fights since the start of 2010.

Machida lost back-to-back against Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson before rebounding with a win over Randy Couture in April.

The win over Couture really doesn't say much, as the aging veteran was on his way out of mixed martial arts.

Jones is just on another level. His first two fights in the UFC went to him in unanimous decision. Other than that, no fight has ever gone the distance.

That will be the case again tonight. Jones will win this fight before the final bell sounds.

ESPN has Jones ranked as the fourth-best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts. The only remaining light heavyweight standing in his way is Rashad Evans. It appears that will be the next fight we see, assuming Jones takes care of Machida.

If Jones wins at UFC 140 in similar fashion to his previous fights, we can start talking about a move in weight classes. It would be the most electrifying match in UFC history if Jones stepped into the octagon with Anderson Silva.

Could that be in the future? We can only hope.