desperado
12-11-2011, 04:31 PM
TORONTO - Jon (Bones) Jones is looking ahead to a vacation and several months off. His rivals in the UFC light-heavyweight division would be well-served to used that time wisely.
"I just don't see anybody beating this guy any time soon," UFC president Dana White said after Jones choked out Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida at 4:26 of the second round to retain his title at UFC 140 Saturday night.
"He's a young guy, he's got a lot of things to learn in the sport still more than just fighting," added White. "But the potential? The potential is unbelievable.
"If he stays on the right track, does the right things, this guy could go down as the greatest ever.
Jones, just 24, believes that is exactly his destiny and he is well on his way to getting there.
Saturday's win completed an amazing year for Jones, who only made his pro MMA debut in April 2008.
The former junior college wrestling champion stopped up-and-comer Ryan (Darth) Bader in February, then dethroned Mauricio (Shogun) Rua in March. In September, he beat former title-holder Quinton (Rampage) Jackson.
Four fights. Four wins. Three champions beaten.
"Jon Jones is the real deal," said White. "He's had an incredible schedule this year fighting all the best in the world."
The only person to beat Jones was Matt (The Hammer) Hamill in 2009 and that was via disqualification for an illegal downward elbow. Despite the result, it was Hamill who went to the hospital afterwards.
Taking on Jones is like fighting a combination of a porcupine and octopus. It's tough to get close to him through a buzzsaw of limbs and when you do, it often hurts.
At six foot four with a reach of 84.5 inches longest in the UFC he is hard to attack. And if you do manage to close the gap, Jones' unpredictable arsenal is well-stocked with kicks and strikes. He can also take you down, damage you with elbows or choke you out.
That's what happened Saturday.
The smaller Machida had some success in the first round, darting in and out with an effective counter-attack. Jones was tentative as he tried to figure out his elusive opponent.
"I have never fought anyone like him, so the first round was very very confusing for me," Jones said of the Brazilian southpaw.
A second-round cut to Machida was a turning point. The two clinched at the fence and Jones wrestled him to the ground, carving open his forehead with a series of elbows.
Machida said he started having blurry vision afterwards and admitted to thinking it was "maybe the beginning of the end." Jones said his confidence skyrocketed "Just seeing his blood really let me know 'All right, he bleeds. Let's do this.'"
When the fight returned to the feet, Jones grabbed Machida at the fence and locked in a standing guillotine choke
The Brazilian didn't tap and toppled when referee (Big) John McCarthy stepped in and the champ finally let go.
Jones (15-1) becomes the first 205-pound champion since Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell to make back-to-back successful title defences.
The main event took fight of the night honours, earning Jones and Machida (17-3) an extra US$75,000 each.
Jones called the evening a valuable experience, showing in the works of coach Greg Jackson that he can keep his composure through adversity.
The champion has yet to win over everyone. He heard boos at the weigh-in and the crowd was firmly in Machida's camp during the fight.
Canadians went 2-5 on a night that saw some quick, violent finishes.
In the co-main event, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir rallied to submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round. Mir earned $75,000 for the submission of the night, leaving doctors to work on Nogueira who waited too long to tap and paid for it.
A vicious kimura had the crowd gasping as the arm was shown bent at a horrific angle in replays on the big screen. Nogueira's camp later tweeted that the veteran Brazilian had broken his arm and was headed to see a specialist in Los Angeles on Sunday.
"When I locked up (the submission on) Nogueira, I had a strong inclination he was not going to tap," said Mir. "So I took a deep breath and you guys saw what happened."
Nogueira, like Mir a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, had never been submitted before. He has yet to tap and has the broken bone to prove it.
Mir continued his supremacy over the hard-nosed Brazilian. He beat Nogueira at UFC 92 in 2008, stopping him for the first time in his career.
Earlier, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Rodrigo's twin brother) pounded out a first-round TKO over former light-heavyweight champion Tito (The People's Champ) Ortiz.
Nogueira dropped Ortiz with a knee to the body, sending Ortiz to the hospital in the aftermath.
Featherweight Mark (The Machine) Hominick of Thamesford, Ont., lasted just seven seconds against Chan Sung Jung, aka The Korean Zombie.
That tied Todd Duffee for the fastest UFC knockout. Duffee did it against Edmonton heavyweight Tim (The Thrashing Machine) Hague.
The South Korean collected a $75,000 bonus for KO of the night.
Like Hominick, Winnipeg light-heavyweight Krzysztof (The Polish Experiment) Soszynski and Montreal lightweight John (The Bull)Makdessi had short, painful nights.
Croatian Igor Pokrajac overwhelmed Soszynski en route to a lopsided first-round TKO. Soszynski never got started.
Veteran Dennis (Superman) Hallman had his way with Makdessi, taking him down early and then dominating him on the ground until a bloody Makdessi tapped out to a choke.
Brian (Bad Boy) Ebersole won an unpopular split decision over Toronto welterweight Claude (The Prince) Patrick.
Lightweight Mitch (Danger Zone) Clarke, the first Saskatchewan-born fighter to crack the UFC, was stopped by fellow UFC debutante John Cholish by second-round TKO.
Lightweight Mark Bocek of Woodbridge, Ont., survived a prickly opponent in Nik (The Carny) Lentz but came away with a unanimous 30-27 decision.
Montreal bantamweight Yves Jabouin won a split decision over Walel (The Gazelle) Watson.
The show was the second for the UFC in Toronto and did not generate the buzz of the first. UFC 129 drew a UFC-record 55,724 to the Rogers Centre in April to see Georges St-Pierre defend his title. Saturday's event attracted 18,303 to the Air Canada Centre, for a gate of $3.9 million.
The Canadian Press Dec 11, 2011 10:00 AM
"I just don't see anybody beating this guy any time soon," UFC president Dana White said after Jones choked out Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida at 4:26 of the second round to retain his title at UFC 140 Saturday night.
"He's a young guy, he's got a lot of things to learn in the sport still more than just fighting," added White. "But the potential? The potential is unbelievable.
"If he stays on the right track, does the right things, this guy could go down as the greatest ever.
Jones, just 24, believes that is exactly his destiny and he is well on his way to getting there.
Saturday's win completed an amazing year for Jones, who only made his pro MMA debut in April 2008.
The former junior college wrestling champion stopped up-and-comer Ryan (Darth) Bader in February, then dethroned Mauricio (Shogun) Rua in March. In September, he beat former title-holder Quinton (Rampage) Jackson.
Four fights. Four wins. Three champions beaten.
"Jon Jones is the real deal," said White. "He's had an incredible schedule this year fighting all the best in the world."
The only person to beat Jones was Matt (The Hammer) Hamill in 2009 and that was via disqualification for an illegal downward elbow. Despite the result, it was Hamill who went to the hospital afterwards.
Taking on Jones is like fighting a combination of a porcupine and octopus. It's tough to get close to him through a buzzsaw of limbs and when you do, it often hurts.
At six foot four with a reach of 84.5 inches longest in the UFC he is hard to attack. And if you do manage to close the gap, Jones' unpredictable arsenal is well-stocked with kicks and strikes. He can also take you down, damage you with elbows or choke you out.
That's what happened Saturday.
The smaller Machida had some success in the first round, darting in and out with an effective counter-attack. Jones was tentative as he tried to figure out his elusive opponent.
"I have never fought anyone like him, so the first round was very very confusing for me," Jones said of the Brazilian southpaw.
A second-round cut to Machida was a turning point. The two clinched at the fence and Jones wrestled him to the ground, carving open his forehead with a series of elbows.
Machida said he started having blurry vision afterwards and admitted to thinking it was "maybe the beginning of the end." Jones said his confidence skyrocketed "Just seeing his blood really let me know 'All right, he bleeds. Let's do this.'"
When the fight returned to the feet, Jones grabbed Machida at the fence and locked in a standing guillotine choke
The Brazilian didn't tap and toppled when referee (Big) John McCarthy stepped in and the champ finally let go.
Jones (15-1) becomes the first 205-pound champion since Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell to make back-to-back successful title defences.
The main event took fight of the night honours, earning Jones and Machida (17-3) an extra US$75,000 each.
Jones called the evening a valuable experience, showing in the works of coach Greg Jackson that he can keep his composure through adversity.
The champion has yet to win over everyone. He heard boos at the weigh-in and the crowd was firmly in Machida's camp during the fight.
Canadians went 2-5 on a night that saw some quick, violent finishes.
In the co-main event, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir rallied to submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round. Mir earned $75,000 for the submission of the night, leaving doctors to work on Nogueira who waited too long to tap and paid for it.
A vicious kimura had the crowd gasping as the arm was shown bent at a horrific angle in replays on the big screen. Nogueira's camp later tweeted that the veteran Brazilian had broken his arm and was headed to see a specialist in Los Angeles on Sunday.
"When I locked up (the submission on) Nogueira, I had a strong inclination he was not going to tap," said Mir. "So I took a deep breath and you guys saw what happened."
Nogueira, like Mir a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, had never been submitted before. He has yet to tap and has the broken bone to prove it.
Mir continued his supremacy over the hard-nosed Brazilian. He beat Nogueira at UFC 92 in 2008, stopping him for the first time in his career.
Earlier, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Rodrigo's twin brother) pounded out a first-round TKO over former light-heavyweight champion Tito (The People's Champ) Ortiz.
Nogueira dropped Ortiz with a knee to the body, sending Ortiz to the hospital in the aftermath.
Featherweight Mark (The Machine) Hominick of Thamesford, Ont., lasted just seven seconds against Chan Sung Jung, aka The Korean Zombie.
That tied Todd Duffee for the fastest UFC knockout. Duffee did it against Edmonton heavyweight Tim (The Thrashing Machine) Hague.
The South Korean collected a $75,000 bonus for KO of the night.
Like Hominick, Winnipeg light-heavyweight Krzysztof (The Polish Experiment) Soszynski and Montreal lightweight John (The Bull)Makdessi had short, painful nights.
Croatian Igor Pokrajac overwhelmed Soszynski en route to a lopsided first-round TKO. Soszynski never got started.
Veteran Dennis (Superman) Hallman had his way with Makdessi, taking him down early and then dominating him on the ground until a bloody Makdessi tapped out to a choke.
Brian (Bad Boy) Ebersole won an unpopular split decision over Toronto welterweight Claude (The Prince) Patrick.
Lightweight Mitch (Danger Zone) Clarke, the first Saskatchewan-born fighter to crack the UFC, was stopped by fellow UFC debutante John Cholish by second-round TKO.
Lightweight Mark Bocek of Woodbridge, Ont., survived a prickly opponent in Nik (The Carny) Lentz but came away with a unanimous 30-27 decision.
Montreal bantamweight Yves Jabouin won a split decision over Walel (The Gazelle) Watson.
The show was the second for the UFC in Toronto and did not generate the buzz of the first. UFC 129 drew a UFC-record 55,724 to the Rogers Centre in April to see Georges St-Pierre defend his title. Saturday's event attracted 18,303 to the Air Canada Centre, for a gate of $3.9 million.
The Canadian Press Dec 11, 2011 10:00 AM