UFC 140 Jones vs Machida: A Fight-by-Fight Preview

The UFC 140 fight card is a an extremely large, early Christmas gift for the MMA fan everywhere, but especially to those just north of the border. The event takes place from the Air Canada Center in Toronto, and here are some of the highlights of the card:

- Seven out of twelve bouts will feature Canada's best fighters. Mark Hominick, Claude Patrick, Mark Bocek, Krzysztof Soszynski, John Makdessi, Yves Jabouin, and Mitch Clark will all be in action. Another, star Rory MacDonald, had to withdraw from his fight due to injury

- A title fight between two of the best mixed martial artists in the world with headliner Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida.

- Three all time great mixed martial artists and possible future Hall of Famer's are fighting on the card with Tito Ortiz, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir.

Here is a fight-by-fight preview of the UFC 140 card.

Mitch Clarke vs Jon Cholish: Lightweight

Edmonton lightweight Mitch Clarke is 9-0 in his career and is making his UFC debut in this fight. He has been in some very exciting fights in the regional shows in Canada and was named Edmonton fighter of the year in 2010.

The Brazilian jiu jitsu ace has six of his nine wins by submission and will simply be looking to have an exciting fight, prove his worth to the UFC and keep himself undefeated when the night is over.

John Cholish is also making his UFC debut in this fight and he has only lost once in his 7-1 career, although it came in his very first fight in 2007. The fighter from New Jersey is a Renzo Gracie-affiliated, well-rounded danger with two TKO's and 4 submissions on his resume.

His last six fights have all finished by stoppage or submission.

Rich Attonito vs Jake Hecht: Welterweight

Rich Attonito was originally scheduled to face Claude Patrick on the card, but injuries to Rory MacDonald shifted Patrick up the card, and in landed Jake Hecht. Attonito has been a solid 3-1 in the UFC since joining slightly over a year ago.

The 34-year old from New Jersey will need a solid win here against a relative unknown to maintain any sort of momentum in the division. He is an American Top Team member and is a wrestling and jiu jitsu ace.

27-year old Jake Hecht has compiled a 10-2 record in his career and will be making his debut in the UFC as a late replacement. The American-born fighter is based out of Ireland now and has been competing on the national scene for the past few years.

The former college wrestler will look to bring a fast-paced fight to Attonito and make a name for himself in the process. 

Mark Bocek vs Nik Lentz: Lightweight

Woodbridge's own Mark Bocek has a very deceiving 5-4 record in the UFC, as his losses have come to  top lightweights Frankie Edgar, Mac Danzig, Jim Miller and Ben Henderson. He fought a tough loss to Henderson in Toronto in April.

Bocek brings an elite jiu jitsu game with him in all his fights and he is a beast from the top position. The 30-year old is 9-4 in his career overall, and looking to stay in the mix with a win over Nik Lentz

Nik Lentz is not the most well-known lightweight out there, but he is undefeated in the UFC. His 5-0-1 (1 NC) record since joining the UFC in 2009 is something to be taken seriously. He is a very aggressive and well-rounded fighter who is coming off a NC where he took a vicious illegal knee from Charles Oliveira.

The 27-year old from Minnesota is 21-3 overall in his career, and will look to try and take the hometown Bocek out on the feet although he himself holds 9 submission wins.

Yves Jabouin vs Walel Watson: Bantanweight

Yves Jabouin made a successful bantamweight debut against Ian Loveland in August in Brazil. He will also be looking to avenge his last defeat in Toronto where he was a victim of a flying armbar submisison from Pablo Garza.

The 32-year old Canadian is 16-7 in his career, and, at 1-1 in th UFC, will be looking to come out with a winning record. Jabouin is a kickboxing specialist.

Walel Watson is a 27-year old fighter out of California who is in his second fight in the UFC. He is coming off a TKO win over Josef Sandoval in October.

Seven of his nine wins have come via submission.

John Makdessi vs Dennis Hallman: Lightweight

Canadian John Makdessi is undefeated 9-0 in his MMA career, and he is coming off an impressive spinning backfist knockout victory over Kyle Watson in Toronto in April.

Makdessi was expected to face Paul Taylor in August, but was forced out due to injury. The 27-year old fighter out of Montreal will be making his third appearance in the UFC.

Dennis Hallman made quite the story and impression in his last fight against Brian Ebersole, although he came out on the losing end. Hallman is a veteran of 65 fights in his career and is 3-4 in the UFC.

Hallman will turn to his savvy and experience to overcome the younger Makdessi.

Jared Hamman vs Constantinos Philippou: Middleweight

Jared Hamman is 2-2 in the UFC and he has built a following with two consecutive "Fight of The Night" bonuses in his last three UFC fights. The powerful fighter out of California is looking to keep his exciting style in the forefront of the fans on December 10th.

Hamman is coming off a TKO win over C.B. Dollaway from his middleweight debut in August.

Constantinos Philippou is a 31-year old boxer out of Long Island who is looking to improve to 2-1 in the UFC. He gained a split-decision victory over Jorge Rivera as a late replacement in August.

He is 8-2 in his career with 4 knockouts.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs Igor Pokrajac: Light Heavyweight

34-year old Polish-Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski is an impressive 26-11 in his veteran career and 6-2 in the UFC. He is coming off a win over Mike Massenzio in June in which he was originally supposed to face Igor Pokrajac.

Soszynski did what he had to do to get the win, and he also has wins over Brian Stann and Stephan Bonnar. The powerful submission wrestler will be looking to make his final push towards that big name fight he is searching for in his career.

32-year old Croatian fighter Igor Pokrajac was originally scheduled to face Soszynski in June, but was forced out by an injury. Pokrajac is an excellent jiu jitsu fighter who will be looking to even up his 2-3 record in the UFC.

Pokrajac also has 12 knockout wins on his record.

Mark Hominick vs Chan Sung Jung: Featherweight

Mark Hominick will be looking to get back on track for another title shot with a victory over Chan Sung Jung on Dec 10th in Toronto. the 29-year old holds a 20-9 record in his career and is coming off an epic decision loss to the champ Jose Aldo in April.

This will be the second time this year Hominick will be fighting in front of his home crowd, and he will be looking to his precision striking to pick Jung apart to victory. Hominick is an elite striker with a very well-rounded ground game as well.

"The Korean Zombie," Chan Sung Jung is one of the most recognized fighters in the featherweight division based on his aggressive, exciting style and his highlight reel submission victory in his last fight. The 24-year old South Korean is 11-3 in his career and this will be his second fight in the UFC.

Jung brings a wild style to the cage, with pace and unpredictability being two of his biggest assets. He likes to fight his opponents, but look for him to buck the trend and take Hominick to the floor quickly in this one.

All the stars are aligned for this fight to be an incredible show-stopper as the style matchup, fan demand and relevance to the division are all at peak level right now. 

Claude Patrick vs Brian Ebersole: Welterweight

Claude Patrick was originally set to face Rich Attonito on the preliminary portion of this card, but an injury to Rory MacDonald has bumped him up to face Brian Ebersole on the main card. The 31-year old fighter out of Mississauga is hoping to take full advantage of this opportunity.

Patrick is 14-1 in his career and his well rounded-game is ready for this step up. He brings a fast-paced, hybrid game and holds 3 knockouts and 9 submission wins on his record. "The Prince" is 3-0 in the UFC and has not lost a fight since 2002.

Brian Ebersole is a rising star in the UFC welterweight division based on his 2-0 record, unorthodox style and colorful personality. He burst onto the UFC scene as a replacement fighter earlier this year against Chris Lytle where he won a decision and "Fight of the Night" bonus.

Ebersole then beat Dennis Hallman in the famous "Speedo Affair" fight where he won a one time "Get Those Horrifying Shorts Off TV As Soon As Possible" bonus. He is a veteran of 64 fights and was originally set to face Rory MacDonald in a fight with heavy contender implications.

Tito Ortiz vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Light Heavyweight

UFC veteran and legend Tito Ortiz has had a comeback year in 2011, and he will be looking to cap it off and keep it going against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Toronto. Ortiz shocked an MMA world that had written him off when he defeated young lion Ryan Bader in July. The win put Tito back on the map in the division, and he got a fight with Rashad Evans one month later.

The 36-year old Ortiz is a ground and pound specialist with very underrated submission skills, and he will be looking to keep himself relevant to fans and cap off his positive year with a win.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the smaller of the famed Nogueira brothers but he is a very accomplished mixed martial artist. He holds a 19-4 record in his career and is a tremendously skilled boxer and jiu jitsu player who has faced the best of the best in the world

At 35-years old, "Lil Nog" is coming off of two consecutive losses and finds himself in a win-or-die situation in this fight. He was originally set to face Tito in March, but Ortiz was forced out due to injury.

Frank Mir vs Antonio Rodrigo II: Heavyweight

32-year old mixed martial artist Frank Mir is looking to continue to stamp his place as one of the most accomplished heavyweights in the UFC with a second victory over legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir knocked out "Big Nog" in their first fight in 2008, is the longest-standing heavyweight in the organization and should remain in title talk with a victory.

He is 15-5 in his career with all but two of his fights coming in the UFC. He is currently on a two-fight win streak with another one coming from his only fight this year against Roy Nelson in May. Mir is one of the best submission fighters in the division and has also evolved his stand-up game to rival anyone.

Legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira gained a resurgence in his career in August with a knockout victory over Brendan Schaub in Brazil, and now he gets a chance to avenge a bad loss to Mir in Toronto. The 35-year old Nogueira is 33-6 and has supplied some of the most improbable comebacks in MMA history.

He is a world class boxer and jiu jitsu player who will be looking to impose his game on Mir in every aspect of the fight. He is 4-2 in the UFC and will not get too many more big fight opportunities with another loss to Mir.

Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida: Light Heavyweight Title Fight

Jon Jones is the lightest heavyweight champion of the world, and will be making his second title defense this year in his fight with Lyoto Machida. Jones put himself in title contention with a win over Ryan Bader in February, won the title from Mauricio Rua in March and then successfully defended it against Quinton Jackson in September. December 10th will mark Jones' 4th fight in 2011 and make a very busy year for a big man fighter.

Jones brings an athleticism and reach to the octagon never seen before, and the way he combines and transitions his many skills is extraordinary and the key to his dominance. He is 14-1 in his career, with his only loss coming via disqualification due to illegal elbows.

Lyoto Machida is a Brazilian fighter with a 17-2 mixed martial arts record. He is 33-years old and coming off a fantastic knockout victory over Randy Couture in Toronto in April. Machida's only two losses came in 2010, and he will use his elusive karate style to try and puzzle Jones out of his comfort zone.

Machida is a master of footwork and angles whose style makes for a very intriguing fight with Jones. Machida has 6 knockouts and 2 submissions on his resume and he won the title over Rashad Evans in 2009. He then defended it over Mauricio Rua before losing it to Rua in his next fight.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net. 

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.