UFC 140 Aftermath: It's all about Jones.

Last night was the UFC 140 event in Toronto, Canada. Jon Jones successfully defended his Light Heavyweight Championship for the second time, this one against Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. Going into this event I looked back at the three opponents that both of these competitors had faced, and made the prediction that Jones was going to win the bout by TKO. Jones did win, but by submission, with a standing guillotine choke that Cody Mckenzie himself would have been proud of.

This win has closed off 2011 for Jones, and I think it is beyond argument that this year Jones has had the greatest year of any fighter ever in the UFC. Most UFC fighters at Jones' level don't fight as many as four times in a year, but the fact that Jones not only did, but also beat Ryan Bader, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Rampage Jackson and now Lyoto Machida in the space of one year is nothing less than astounding. I said previously that if Jones beat Machida then his rapid rise would become the stuff of legend, and I think it is safe to say that now is really has.

The event overall was a huge success, and the main card delivered on all fronts. Featherweight Mark Hominick came into his fight against "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung the favourite, but Jung ended up scoring a KO victory only seven seconds in. This was shocking to see, as the last time Hominick fought he was contending for the title against Jose Aldo, and though he lost he really showed the crowd that he could take a beating and keep moving. Welterweights Brian Ebersole and Claude Patrick brought the tempo down with a lacklustre fight that went to decision, but the three bouts that followed this and ended the show all delivered action in abundance.

It looks as if UFC light heavyweight legend Tito Ortiz has had his final fight, after losing to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Lil Nog) by TKO at 3:15 in the first round. Tito started out aggressively but was taken down and succumbed to vicious body shots, with it looking like he might have broken or fractured at least one rib. This is probably one beating too many for Tito in the eyes of Dana White, and though he expressed a wish for one more fight, it remains to be seen whether he will actually get it.

Heavyweight Frank Mir was a shoe in for Submission of the Night after when he viciously snapped the arm of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog) by Kimura. This came at 3:38 of round one in a very exciting fight, just after Big Nog knocked Mir to the ground with strikes and looked about to finish the fight, but Mir pulled off a fantastic switch, and then rolled Nog over to not only secure the tap out, but also break the arm of Nogueira. With this impressive showing, expect a big match for Mir next, maybe even against former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who has yet to be booked for his next fight.

It was a great event overall, and though the submission by Mir will have alot of people talking, the topic of conversation will always end up coming back to Jon Jones. He really does seem to be unstoppable, and it seems like the only way he could lose is if he starts to believe his own hype and gets cocky or complacent. Though he has plenty of detractors, I think he seems like a decent guy, and if he comes across as cocky or self assured, bear in mind that he has every reason to be. He said after the fight that he is looking to take about five months off after this, so expect to see him back in the Octagon around April.

Jones next opponent could be either Dan Henderson, or the winner of the January bout between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. Barring very unforseen circumstances I expect one of these men to face Jones next year, and they better start working on their gameplan. The main advantage that opponents of 24 year old Jones have claimed is experience, but after this year, I don't think that many can claim even that.