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UFC 140 Fight Card Breakdown: Jon Jones Vs. Lyoto Machida

Get a head-to-toe breakdown of the UFC 140 205-pound world title fight between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, which takes place tonight (Dec. 10, 2011) from the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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 Counter fighter Tie
Kickboxing Dynamic 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.