Jon Jones and Other UFC 140 Main Card Predictions

For the fourth time this year, Jon Jones will step into the Octagon, this time against former light heavyweight title holder Lyoto Machida.

While Jones and Machida have gotten most of the attention leading into this weekend’s UFC 140 event (like most main events do), the card is still loaded with good fights and has an unusual amount of MMA legends on the main card.

The Nogueira brothers are set to fight on the same night for the first time since Pride Critical Countdown Absolute in 2006, and Tito Ortiz is once again looking to save his career, making the card one of the most interesting of 2011.

Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung

The first fight of the main card is one of the most exciting fights left in 2011.

Mark Hominick has not fought since his Fight of the Year candidate against Jose Aldo at UFC 129, where he took a beating but was able to stay alive and throw some punishment back towards the champion as well.

Meanwhile, Jung has been inactive for most of the year, other than his rematch with Leonard Garcia, where he scored the best submission victory of the year when he tapped Garcia with the almost-impossible-to-pull-off Twister.

These two both show a willingness to slug it out on the feet, and once that happens it is only a matter of time before Hominick’s superior striking wins him the bout, as he’ll rock “The Korean Zombie” with punches and finish up with some ground and pound.

Mark Hominick by Second-Round TKO

Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole

This fight was originally set to feature Ebersole trying to take out top prospect Rory MacDonald, but an injury to “Aries” ended up working in Patrick’s favor and he was promoted to the main card.

Fighting in front of his home country for the third time in four UFC bouts, Claude Patrick has shown that he has a stifling top game and can grind out a victory with relative ease the second the fight is on the floor.

The problem is that Ebersole is one of the most experienced fighters in the entire UFC and has faced tough competition in his two UFC fights, earning victories over both Chris Lytle and Dennis Hallman already in 2011.

While Patrick could possibly take this fight to the mat and punish Ebersole, odds are that the MMA veteran will be too much for him to handle and that Ebersole will walk away with his third straight UFC win.

Brian Ebersole by Third-Round Submission

Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Two of the best 205-pound fighters in the history of the sport are finally set to meet in what is a pivotal fight for both men.

Tito has resurrected his career in 2011, earning his first win in almost half a decade when he submitted Ryan Bader at UFC 132 and then took a huge fight on less than a month’s notice when he lost to Rashad Evans at UFC 133.

Nogueira was defeated by top prospect Phil Davis earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 24 and has lost his last two fights to dominant wrestlers, something that he will need to correct if he wants to get past Ortiz.

This fight is relatively even, but Nogueira’s takedown defense against Davis showed that he still has plenty of ways to keep the fight standing—something that has plagued Ortiz his entire career.

However Tito looks like a new man, and a gut feeling tells me that he will be able to keep it close on the feet for the majority of the fight and score a few takedowns near the ends of rounds to squeak out a decision win.

Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

This fight is a rematch of their fight at UFC 92, where Mir was able to earn a TKO victory over Big Nog, a feat that had never been accomplished before.

Since that fight both men have had their various ups and downs, and their paths are set to cross once again this weekend.

Nogueira has been asking for another shot at Mir practically from the moment the first fight ended, stating he was injured and ill-prepared to even be inside a cage that night.

Mir has taken offense to those accusations and has stated that he feels a bit disrespected by the former Pride superstar. He is determined to prove the first bout was anything but a fluke.

These fighters are practically mirror images of each other, as both men possess good stand-up to go along with their excellent BJJ black belts. Many have pegged this fight as a pick’em.

As close as this fight is, Mir has looked a little better over the past few years, and I fully expect him to come out and earn the win again and in similar fashion.

Frank Mir by Second-Round TKO

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida: UFC Light Heavyweight Title Bout

If victories over Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson didn’t prove that Jon Jones is the real deal, perhaps another win over a former champion will do the trick.

Machida is one of the hardest fighters in the organization to game-plan against, as his excellent defense makes it seem as though you have to almost throw caution to the wind in order to land any sort of offense.

When you see Machida fight and witness the beautiful violence he is able to punish his opponents with, it is almost impossible to believe that he has lost two of his past three bouts.

But even with all of Machida’s talents, Jones is the favorite here and there is no arguing that he shouldn't be.

With effective, unorthodox striking and some of the best wrestling in the UFC, Jones is the complete package and has been called the most talented fighter in MMA history on more than one occasion.

This could end up being one of the most technical and entertaining fights of the year, but eventually Jones’ ability to push forward and attack will wear down the smaller Machida and “Bones” will earn himself a late-round stoppage.

Jon Jones by Fifth-Round TKO