THE UFC’S MOST recent phenomenon, Jon Jones, takes to the Octagon for the final time this year as he looks to defend his title against one-time champ Lyoto Machida.
UFC 141 takes place in Toronto, Canada, tonight with the Nogueira brothers both in action against Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz, while Mark Hominick looks to defeat the ever durable Chan Sung Jung.
Machida up against it.
Jon Jones finds himself in the same position as Machida was in just a couple of years ago. The Brazilian’s elusive and unorthodox style baffled opponents and fans alike and made him look almost unbeatable.
When he got his hands on the light heavyweight belt many believed that he would be champion for a long time and Joe Rogan proclaimed that the “Machida era had arrived.”
When he was finally overrun by Shogun Rua, at the second time of asking, it seemed as if the Machida puzzle had finally been solved. We are now in the midst of the “Jon Jones’ era” and if anyone can solve the riddle of the current champ, it could be the “Dragon.”
With his stand-offish style and intelligent planning, Machida could be the one to finally pick Jones apart. Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson have shown that coming straight at “Bones” is not the best idea.
If Machida can execute his usual brand of attacking on the inside quickly before retreating at speed, he might stand a chance of frustrating the champ, who could leave openings.
But, as with every other opponent he has faced in the last year, Jones enters the fight as strong favourite and Machida will have it all to do if he is to get his belt back.
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Ortiz and Mir look to overcome Nogueira brothers
Frank Mir and Minotauro Nogueira face off once again almost three years after the pair first met inside the Octagon.
Mir is coming into the fight off the back of an impressive dismantling of Roy Nelson while Nogueira comes in after an equally impressive, if somewhat surprising, KO win over Brendon Schaub.
Mir beat Nogueira at UFC 92 to win the interim heavyweight belt and he believes that a third straight win here would put him back in the title mix.
Despite his win last time out, question marks still remain over Big Nog’s future in the sport, and with Mir looking impressive in his last few fights I think he will prove too strong for him once again.
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”, Tito Ortiz, looks to add another win to his glittering career total as he takes on “Little Nog”, the second of the Nogueira brothers.
“Little Nog’s” UFC career has stalled somewhat after he exploded onto the scene with back-to-back wins before succumbing to back-to-back defeats.
Tito has valiantly fought back from the brink on a number of occasions throughout his career and despite losing last time out against Rashad Evans, I fancy Ortiz to pull off another one of his now customary surprise victories.
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Tough Canadian Mark Hominick will have the crowd on his side as he faces the cult hero “The Korean Zombie”, Chang Sung Jung.
Jung has been involved in two legendary fights with Leonard Garcia but he faces a step up in class with Hominick, who showed tremendous heart in his defeat to Jose Aldo. This has all the potential to be the fight of the night.
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