:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/916688/44_UFC140_Weighins.jpg)
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones, tonight (Dec. 10, 2011) has the opportunity to do what no 205-pound man has been able to do since Chuck Liddell did it way back in 2006:
Defend the division's world title more than once.
"Bones" has already defeated a champion, Mauricio Rua, to win the belt and bested another, Quinton Jackson, to prove that at just 24 years young, he is truly one of the brightest stars to enter mixed martial arts (MMA) in quite some time. He'll look to keep burning bright when he takes on yet another former champion, Lyoto Machida, in the UFC 140 main event, which is scheduled to take place at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jones and Machida have vastly different fight styles; however, they share a calculated patience that ultimately turns violent the moment they decide to flip their respective switches. Jones has an incredible advantage because of his length (84.5-inch reach!), which allows him to keep his distance and opponents at bay, while Machida has a Ninja-like ability to subtly breach his opponents' defenses, attack and retreat without sustaining much damage.
Make no mistake: This is going to be a tactical chess match early -- with five rounds at their disposal, neither fighter is willing to foolishly rush in and make a potentially fight-ending error. Look for Jones to once again leverage his ridiculous size advantage to pick apart "The Dragon" from the outside where he normally feels comfortable and beat him up on the inside when he's eventually left with no choice but to close the distance.
| Aspect | Jones | Points | Machida | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Fighting | ||||
| Boxing | REACH | 2 | Counter fighter | Tie |
| Kickboxing | Dynamic | 2 | Karate-inspired | Tie |
| Wrestling | Excellent | 1 | Respectable | Jones |
| Clinch Fighting | ||||
| Dirty Boxing | Couture-esque | 1 | Non-existent | Jones |
| Thai Clinch | Murderous | 1 | Solid | Jones |
| Throws/Trips | NASA | 1 | Surprisingly good | Jones |
| Ground Fighting | ||||
| Positional Control | Suffocating | 1 | Very Good | Jones |
| Scrambling | Fast | 1 | Above average | Jones |
| Ground and Pound | Painful | 2 | Effective | Tie |
| Submissions | Solid | 1 | Tight | Machida |
| Intangibles | Confident | 1 | Rebuilt | Tie |
| Overall | The Future | 10/5 | The Past | Jones |
To check out our complete archive for all the news and notes related to the fight between Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida that takes place later this evening click here.