UFC 140 Fight Card: Jon Jones and His 7 Keys to Victory

Jon "Bones" Jones heads into UFC 140 with the awareness that Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida will be his sternest test to date. Unlike Ryan "Darth" Bader, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Machida poses the most threat to his reign as UFC light-heavyweight champion.

At UFC 140, Jones will come face to face with a man on a mission, a man hell bent on redemption and a man who’s been handed an unlikely opportunity to once again hold aloft the gold that was ripped from his grasp by Shogun more than 18 months ago.

Machida (17-2) has the dynamic karate skills, punching power and elusiveness to upend the young phenom, and he’ll attempt to use those tools come fight night.

On the other hand, Jones (14-1), who’s making his second defense of the title, will want to end the year with the UFC gold still strapped around his waist.

Needless to say, he’ll have his work cut out for him if he’s to achieve that goal.

So what are the keys to ensure that the reigning light-heavy king remains just that, at UFC 140?

Let’s take a look.

7. Southpaw Stance

Machida is a southpaw and is also known for his unorthodox footwork which has bewildered most of his opponents, but Jones is an unorthodox fighter as well.

When Jones is trying to figure out his opponent or is having little success in executing his game plan, every so often he reverts to the southpaw stance as he did in his last fight with Rampage Jackson.

If he can employ the southpaw stance during the fight, he should be able to nullify some of Machida’s nifty footwork.

Also, the change from orthodox to unorthodox stance and vice versa will probably throw Machida off his initial game plan, thus giving rise to his tentativeness before attempting a strike.

This will give Jones the opportunity, if correctly implemented, to capitalize on any forthcoming mistakes which Machida is bound to make, given his hesitancy at that point.

6. Counter Strikes

Both Jones and Machida are counter strikers—they’re equally content at sitting back whilst waiting for the attack to commence.

The defensive/offensive pattern should work in Jones' favour—if he desires it or if that’s the strategy he will utilize on the night.

I say that for one reason only.

Jones is the champ and Machida the challenger—the former doesn’t have to take the fight or dictate the pace to the latter, but Machida will be forced to engage if he has any aspirations of winning the title.

Nonetheless, Jones needs to be wary of Machida’s one punch knockout power.

5. Leg Strikes

Jones doesn’t possess the sturdiest looking legs in MMA, but he does use them to great effect when out of striking range.

In the first fight against Shogun, Machida showed that he’s susceptible to leg strikes.

Shogun peppered him with vicious legs kicks throughout the duration of the bout—resulting in limiting Machida’s movement during the latter stages of the fight.

Jones has a variety of leg kicks which he usually applies to the shins, calves and also to the front and outer part of the thighs.

If Jones can continuously assault Machida’s legs, he’ll not only wear him down but restrict his movement.

4. Wrestling/Ground-and-Pound

Jones is quite adept at wrestling, whilst his takedowns have gone a long way in securing victory in some of his bouts.

The problem facing Jones in this department is that Machida has excellent takedown defense.

However, if by some chance he can take the fight to the ground and avoid any ensuing submission attempts by Machida, he can proceed to unleash his ground-and-pound arsenal of lethal and devastating elbows.

3. Muay Thai Clinch

This is an area that Machida is less than comfortable with as witnessed in his fight against Tito Ortiz, back at UFC 84.

The clinch might be alien to Machida, but it’s a sphere that Jones excels in, with devastating consequences.

Machida is a karate expert, so he is more inclined to throw kicks from a distance rather than work from inside a clinch.

If and when the opportunity presents itself, Jones should go in for the clinch and wreak havoc with his knees, elbows and everything else including the kitchen sink—the equivalent of what he did against Shogun, of which culminated in his winning the light-heavyweight championship.

2. Jiu-Jitsu

Machida is an accomplished BJJ black belt, but he only has two submissions to his name in comparison to Jones who has four.

Be that as it may, Machida can be reckless at times if he secures a dominant position, which leaves him open to submission attempts.

If for some reason Jones finds himself on his back, and Machida re-enacts the Tito Ortiz scenario, where he left himself open to all sorts of submissions whilst delivering strikes to the downed Ortiz, then Jones can take full advantage of the situation and lock in a submission of sorts.

1. Machida’s Chin

Machida has a knack of leaving his chin on public display whilst throwing his punches or returning fire.

In boxing terms, he doesn’t tuck his chin in.

This was a flaw that Shogun exploited in the first round of their second encounter to capture the UFC light-heavyweight crown.

Even though Jones isn't the most heavy-handed of punchers just yet, he’s still a great striker.

And that’s all he needs.

If Machida exposes his chin in a slug fest or any strike-related attack with his hands, a carefully placed strike from Jones could end the night.