UFC 140: Drunken Thoughts and Awesome Fights

This was an absolutely incredible night of fights from top to bottom. Let's start at the bottom, Chan Sung Jung tied the official record for the UFC's fastest KO at 7 seconds. Hominick was coming forward throwing punches as the Korean backpedaled, with an ingenious change of direction Jung planted and threw a straight right, dropping The Machine. After some obligatory ground and pound, Jung got the quick win. Ranked 38th, and a 5:1 underdog, the Korean Zombie made easy work of a top ten fighter. With a two fight win streak, it's time for him to take a big step up in competition. I suggest Bart Palaszewski.

In a grinding battle, met with much disdain, Brian Ebersole edged Claude Patrick in a split decision. I didn't think this fight was nearly as bad as many others did, but it did show that neither fighter is really ready for the higher levels of the division. Lateral moves for both fighters, and there's plenty of options.

Rebounding from the slow pace of Ebersole-Patrick, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira ended the competitive career of Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz. Tito came out swinging, but Lil Nog hurt him with his superior boxing. From Ortiz's guard, Nogueira punished Tito with some absolutely brutal body shots, leaving the former Light Heavyweight champion weeping. However, Rogerio's fights against Ryan Bader and Phil Davis are too fresh in my mind, so I think a welcome home match against Thiago Silva is his best match right now. Tito is a legitimate legend of the sport, and, if he wants to fulfill the last fight of his contract, he should have that privilege. Stephan Bonnar is the perfect opponent for him.

Big Nog against Frank Mir was just an absolutely incredible fight. The two traded early and wound up in the clinch. Mir scored a takedown, but the fight returned to the feet shortly after. With a hard right hand, Nogueira dropped Frank. Big Nog goes for the finish as Herb Dean warns against strikes to the back of the head. Mir gets a reversal off a desperate single leg attempt and tries to lock in a kimura. Nog says, "None of that!" and sweeps Frank, to which Frank responds, "Helllllll Nawwwww" and rolls Nog right over. Mir establishes a solid base and attacks the kimura like only he can, dislocating Nogueira's shoulder in the process.

Minotauro is 3-3 in his last six, however he looked great against Brendan Schaub and very good against Mir (in fact, there's some referees who would have stopped the fight when he had Frank hurt). He's still a competitive fighter in the division and Stephan Struve would be a great matchup for him. Since his KO loss to Shane Carwin, Frank Mir has defeated Cro Cop, Roy Nelson, and now Minotauro Nogueira, with Fabricio Werdum being rumored to return to the UFC, I think Mir is the perfect match to welcome him back.

A lot of people thought Lyoto Machida had the perfect style to slow down Jon Jones dominance of the Light Heavyweight division. And, throughout the first round, it looked like they would be right. Machida employed his patented elusive style to control distance and blasted Jones with hard strikes. The second round was a different story though. After The Dragon came in with a powerful flurry, "Bones" Jones was able to secure a clinch trip and open a massive cut on Machida's brow. Shortly thereafter, Jon Jones caught Lyoto in a standing guillotine, leaving in his wake a sleeping Dragon.

Lytoto Machida tested Jones in a way no fighter had before, yet still came up on the short end of the stick. Personally, I like him in a match up against Mauricio Rua, but I doubt that's possible, considering they're Blackhouse teammates. Alexander Gustaffson, however, is on the rise and a fight with Machida would show whether or not he's ready to fight against the top of the division. There's only two way to go with Jon Jones and it really just depends on how active he intends to be. He's fought four times in the last year and 5 times in the last 15 months. If he wants a break, he's earned it. If he doesn't, he should face Dan Henderson, who was promised a title shot in LHW or MW after decisioning Shogun at UFC 139. If Jones does want a couple months to relax, he can face the win of the upcoming bout between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis.