SHOWDOWN FOR THE UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BELT THIS SUNDAY

An immovable object meets an unstoppable force this Sunday (April 27) as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones looks to extend his reign against the powerhouse that is Glover Teixeira in UFC 172: Jones vs Teixeira. Jones leads the UFC's current champions for most consecutive title defenses at seven. Overall, the 26-year-old has won 10 straight bouts in the UFC and is voted as the pound-for-pound king in the official UFC rankings. His stranglehold on the title will be challenged by the the Brazilian Teixeira who has not lost since 2005 and has won all five of his fights in the UFC. Will Jones successfully defend his light heavyweight belt or will Teixeira break through the immovable Jones? Find out in UFC 172: Jones vs. Teixeira on Balls Channel this Sunday (April 27) at 10:30 AM. That same day, fight fans will witness the UFC's first broadcast on ABS-CBN channel 2 at 11:30 PM with a special 2-hour edition of the fight.

ABS-CBN Sports+Action will replay the UFC 172 on Monday (April 28) at 10 PM.

Who's looking forward to this UFC Light Heavyweight slug-fest?

UFC 145 full fight card, Jones vs. Evans confirmed

The UFC’s official confirmation of Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans as the headliner for UFC 145 rounds out a slate of 11 bouts for the April 21 fight card at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

UFC officials confirmed the 11-bout UFC 145 fight card on Tuesday.

The Jones vs. Evans bout is the culmination of more than a year of animosity between the two former teammates, as well as Evans’ three-year trek to get another crack at the UFC light heavyweight title.

The UFC 145 main card on pay-per-view is bolstered by a welterweight bout between two of the divisions fast-rising stars, Rory MacDonald and Che Mills, as well as a heavyweight showdown between Brendan Schaub and Ben Rothwell.

Initially planned for Montreal, the UFC 145 card also features Canadian Mark Hominick returning to the Octagon to face Eddie Yagin in a featherweight contest, along with Hominick’s countryman Mark Bocek in a lightweight battle against Matt Wiman.

Main Card (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jon Jones (15-1) vs. Rashad Evans (17-1-1)
-Rory MacDonald (12-1) vs. Che Mills (14-4)
-Brendan Schaub (8-2) vs. Ben Rothwell (31-8)
-Mark Hominick (20-10) vs. Eddie Yagin (15-5-1)
-Matt Wiman (14-6) vs. Mark Bocek (10-4)

Preliminary Bouts:
-Michael McDonald (14-1) vs. Miguel Torres (40-4)
-Chad Griggs (11-1) vs. Travis Browne (12-0-1)
-Anthony Njokuani (14-6) vs. John Makdessi (9-1)
-Efrain Escudero (18-4) vs. Mac Danzig (20-9-1)
-Chris Clements (10-4) vs. Keith Wisniewski (28-13-1)
-Maximo Blanco (8-3-1) vs. Marcus Brimage (4-1)

Jon Jones wants fight a Heavyweight in 2012

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour on Monday, and he certainly had an interesting piece of news for anyone who was watching.

"Bones" told UFC president Dana White, as well as UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, that he would like to fight a top-10 heavyweight if he were to get past 205-pound contenders Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson.

"I actually asked Dana and Lorenzo, could I take a fight for the fans at the end of 2012," Jones told Helwani.

"I figured beating Henderson and Rashad, there would be a period where we'd figure out who I'm going to fight next, and during that period, at the end of 2012, I asked to fight a heavyweight—a top-10 heavyweight."

However, the UFC higher brass were not a fan of the idea.

"Dana and Lorenzo didn't think that was the best for me to do right now," Jones stated. "They wanted me to continue at the light heavyweight division. ... They said they didn't want that for me."

This will undoubtedly lead to speculation about how much difficulty Jones is having making the 205-pound light heavyweight limit.

Whatever the case may be, Jones is coming off a stellar 2011 campaign that showcased wins over Ryan Bader, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

The victories are even more impressive considering that Jones finished each opponent by either TKO or submission.

Next on the docket for the 24-year-old New York native is former Greg Jackson MMA training partner and friend Rashad Evans.

The two will clash at UFC 145, set to take place on April 21st in Atlanta, Ga.

UFC 145 Fight Card Nearly Full, only main event remians

The newly retooled UFC 145 fight card – the biggest change was a move from Montreal to Atlanta – is nearly complete with the UFC confirming nine bouts for the event.

The biggest question mark remaining is the main event. UFC officials recently said that a main event would be announced in the coming weeks.

If all the speculation is true, the main event could feature UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defending his belt.

The champ himself recently confirmed on the UFC on FX 1 post-fight show on Fuel TV that he would be ready to go by the April 21 date. He even mentioned that he had heard “rumors” that UFC officials were considering his next defense for UFC 145 in Atlanta.

That’s a fairly healthy rumor, considering the source.

The likely scenario is that if Rashad Evans defeats Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 next week and comes out unscathed, he will face Jones in Atlanta. UFC president Dana White has already guaranteed that Evans gets the next shot as long as he wins and comes out healthy.

If Evans loses, or needs more time to heal up, don’t be surprised if Dan Henderson gets a shot at Jones when the UFC heads down south.

Here are the rest of the UFC 145 Bouts Announced for Atlanta:

-Miguel Torres (40-4) vs. Michael McDonald (14-1)
-Maximo Blanco (8-3-1) vs. Marcus Brimage (4-1)
-Brendan Schaub (8-2) vs. Ben Rothwell (31-8)
-Rory MacDonald (12-1) vs. Che Mills (14-4)
-Travis Browne (12-0-1) vs. Chad Griggs (11-1)
-Mark Hominick (20-10) vs. Eddie Yagin (15-5-1)
-Mac Danzig (20-9-1) vs. Efrain Escudero (18-4)
-Anthony Njokuani (14-6) vs. John Makdessi (9-1)
-Keith Wisniewski (28-13-1) vs. Chris Clements (10-4)

Dana White: Rashad Evans Wins and Remains Injury Free, He Gets Bones Jones Next

When Rashad Evans faces Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28 in Chicago, he will control his own destiny and his goal of facing former friend and training partner Jon “Bones” Jones next.

Speculation began to swirl last week after UFC president Dana White said in an interview that Jones was already done with his vacation and looking to get back in action sooner rather than later. He mentioned that Jones could potentially face former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson next, with most pointing at the UFC 145 fight card in Montreal as a possible landing spot.

While anything is still possible, on Tuesday when speaking with the Jim Rome Show, White said that Jones is indeed ready to get back in the cage, but if Evans wins on Jan. 28 and comes out unscathed, he’ll get his chance to face the champion.

“We’re working on it now. We’re going to obviously see what happens in this Rashad fight at the end of the month. The next fight on Fox, Rashad is fighting (Phil) Davis, so we’ll see what happens there,” White said on Tuesday.

“If Rashad wins, if Rashad comes out injury free, we’ll get the Jon ‘Bones’ Jones/Rashad Evans fight going.”

That’s obviously good news for Evans, who had to be curious what the next course of action would be should he defeat Davis.

Evans was always assured of a title shot with a win, but now that Jones is ready to return and the UFC 145 card in Montreal needs a main event, it just seemed to make sense to put the UFC light heavyweight champion at the top of that card.

As for Dan Henderson, he may have just become the biggest Phil Davis fan in the sport, because if Davis upsets Evans, then the longtime UFC and former Pride fighter will most likely get the next shot at Jones.

The UFC on Fox 2 main event will tell the tale however. If Evans wins and comes out injury free, he may finally get his chance to settle the score with Jon Jones in the Octagon.

Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson Headed to UFC 145?

UFC 145 in Montreal is currently sitting in limbo without a main event, but Jon “Bones” Jones may once again swoop in like Superman to save the day.

Just after Jones defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronto, the UFC’s light heavyweight champion had said he was planning an extended vacation after four fights in 2011, but that plan has already gone south.

According to UFC president Dana White, who spoke to ESPN 1100 in Las Vegas, Jones has had enough downtime already, and he’s calling for another fight as soon as possible.

“The funny thing you should say about Jon Jones and him saying he wants some time off, he called up four days ago and said ‘okay, let’s go I’m done with vacation.’ He said he wanted to take all this time off and then they were calling me four days ago saying he wants to fight as soon as possible. He’s ready to go,” White told the radio show.

In Jones’ last fight, he helped to save that card as well when the UFC had scheduled a show on Dec. 10 in Toronto, but didn’t have a main event set in the general time as usual. Jones had just competed at the end of September with a win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but he stepped up when the UFC asked him to help fill the main event slot at UFC 140 just over 2 months later.

Now with the champion already done with his vacation three weeks after his last fight, White might take him up on his offer to fill the vacancy at UFC 145 in Montreal.

While nothing is set in stone yet, all signs are pointing towards a showdown with former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.

Henderson is just coming off of his Fight of the Year performance over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139 in November. Within a week of that bout ending, he was already calling the UFC president asking for another fight.

As Montreal awaits a main event, White just may oblige him with a title fight against Jones.

“What could end up happening is Dan Henderson fights Jon Jones first, and then it would be close to the time that Rashad (Evans) fights. Or we see how things go with Rashad and if he fights him first,” said White.

Evans fights Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28 in Chicago. The fight card in Montreal is currently slated for March 24, so if Evans is successful in his bout against Davis, there is still the turn around factor being less than two months until a title fight, plus injuries and other things could go wrong that could prevent such a quick return.

In that case, Henderson is the obvious choice, and gives the UFC something to promote during the UFC on Fox 2 card if they opt to go that route.

Either way, Jon Jones remains the prime candidate to be at least one piece of the main event puzzle for UFC 145 in Montreal. Now it just depends on who he would face if the fight gets put together.

Heart of a Champion: Jon Jones wants to Fight 4 Times This Year'

After having an unprecedented run last year, Jon Jones is ready to return to the Octagon and continue his dominance throughout the light heavyweight division.

After defeating Ryan Bader at UFC 126, Jones went on to capture the UFC light heavyweight crown from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He then successfully defended it against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida. Following his recent victory over Machida at UFC 140, the 24-year-old said he would like to take some time off and relax.

However, it looks like Jones might ditch that idea and come back sooner than later.

"Originally I said I wanted to take off four or five months, but I may reconsider and come back sooner and have three or four fights this year," Jones told ESPN.com.

Should the 205-pound champion decide to return, it is expected that he would compete in April, which would likely see him square off against either Rashad Evans or Dan Henderson. Evans is scheduled to meet light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 2 on January 28.

Jones' four consecutive wins have led many fans to consider it the most successful year ever produced by a mixed martial artist. And after having such a remarkable year, Jones is poised to replicate that same success.

"I've been thinking recently about trying to compete four times in the year again. I grew so much as a person that by doing that again in 2012 will just make me a better athlete," he said. "My goal is to finish every fight in 2012. If I do that, a lot of other things will fall into place naturally."

Now that's what I call having a heart of the champion, Jones is really bent on defending his title and becoming the best MMA fighter in history.

Jon Jones got snubbed in AP voting.

Another year has just about come and gone for the world of mixed martial arts. The growth and progress of the sport since 2001 has been simply incredible.

It's come a long way, but are the athletes revered and respected like those in the traditional "major" sports? If you're looking at media coverage, probably not. Mike Chiappetta from MMAFighting.com says definitely not. He penned a piece this week to express his anger that Jon Jones, the clear choice for king of the MMA world in 2011, got zero respect from those voting for the AP's 2011 Male Athlete of the Year award.

Green Packers Super Bowl winning QB Aaron Rodgers won the award with MLB AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander finishing second. Others getting votes included Novak Djokovic, Cam Newton, Tony Stewart, Kelly Slater, Derek Jeter, Dario Franchitti, and Usain Bolt. That's right, there's also a surfer, driver and sprinter on the list, but no MMA fighter.

Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole and MMA analyst Frank Trigg joined Steve Cofield during their "The MMA Insiders" show on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas to debate whether Jones got hosed.

Maybe the time hasn't arrived yet for athletes like Jones to be considered along with superstars from the NFL, NBA and MLB. Or as Chiappetta and Iole suggest, the lack of respect for Jones is more a sign that the folks voting for the award are out of touch with the younger demographic and the hottest sport for males 18-34 years old.

Has MMA Eclipsed Pro-Wrestling?

The UFC is beginning to occupy the niche in American society that professional wrestling once had.

What particular niche is that, you ask?

Like myself when I was a kid, children and young teenagers used to look up to professional wrestlers as if they were the closest thing to real-life superheroes. I remember idolizing pro-wrestling greats like "The Rock", Steve Austin and even way back with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.

There's not a person alive who grew up in the '90s who didn't know about Hulk Hogan and didn't heed his wise words about taking vitamins and saying prayers.

Furthermore, what '90s toybox was complete without a wrestling ring and hordes of wrestling figures? Remember those plush wrestling toys as well?

Professional wrestling was on top of the earth. It was the "sport" that captivated the youth of the time period. It even generated a cult following with the various stables like the NWO and D-X.

Mixed martial arts is currently doing just that—and more.

While the UFC's image was once too brutal for children, this is changing.

MMA fans with sharp memories will remember two children at the UFC 135 press conference in Denver. Their presence alone signified that the UFC product and brand had begun to pervade the youth.

The UFC's inroads into the niche occupied by professional wrestling can also be seen in another crucial area of both businesses: MERCHANDISING.

The WWE was a trailblazer in the merchandising of professional wrestling. If it existed, Vince McMahon saw that a WWE logo was slapped on it and it was sold. From paper lunchbags to WWE-themed hockey games. But mostly it was the T-Shirts.

The WWE is still king in this regard but the UFC is catching up and is light years ahead of where they were when Zuffa purchased the company in 2001.

Is your kid a UFC fan? Then there are a multitude of action figures you can buy him/her and even a miniature Octagon playset that you can take on the road with you. For the parents looking to spend more money, you can purchase a cage bed for your baby grappler.

Outlandish characters like Chael Sonnen are also helping MMA transition into the role that professional wrestling once occupied.

Sonnen's antics have been compared to pro wrestling "heels" before and the comparison is a valid one (except Sonnen's verbiage isn't scripted). Look at the most recent Chael Sonnen shirt that has been made. Does that not remind you at least a little bit of something out of professional wrestling?

The truth is that while the professional wrestling industry and the WWE falter, MMA and the UFC continue to grow.

Such a change is not to be maligned by UFC fans as it will signify that the UFC and MMA have truly taken their proper place in the popular culture landscape.

The UFC and MMA are moving into the societal niche that the WWE and pro wrestling created.

Instead of kids looking up to Hulk Hogan and teens loving the wild antics of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, they will look up to Jon Jones and love the antics of men like and Nick Diaz; MMA fighters will become the rock stars of their time, just like the big pro wrestlers were during their golden age.

As it is, I am a testament of this logic, although I still love both pro-wrestling and MMA, I can see that MMA has grown leaps and bounds, and it is only a matter of time that MMA becomes what pro-wrestling was for me when I was growing up.

Lyoto Machida is considering a move to 185 pounds.

Lyoto Machida is considering a move to 185 pounds.

Fresh off his UFC 140 submission loss to Jon Jones, "The Dragon" is contemplating whether or not to drop to the middleweight division, which is headed by his teammate and close friend Anderson Silva.

"I don't want to change, but if I am not the light heavyweight champion, it really could happen," Machida told Fighters Only.

"I lost but I still have three more fights at UFC. My main goal is to be the champion of the weight class and bring the belt back to Para. Now, it is a challenge to beat Jones and bounce back. We already know the path to get to him, and in the next fight, things should happen with more ease."

Since entering the UFC, Jones has stormed to the top of the division, dismantling every world-class fighter in his path. Machida's awkward style and tricky footwork presented Jones with perhaps the toughest test in his young career.

After a strong start, Machida found himself in trouble in the second round after giving up a takedown that allowed Jones to posture up and unload on damage from top position. A few seconds trapped underneath Jones was all that was needed for Machida to emerge with a massive gash on his forehead.

The cut was the tide changer in the bout.

When the two light heavyweights returned to their feet, Jones landed a short left hand that dropped the Brazilian. The young champion wasted no time in pouncing on his hurt opponent and locking up a modified guillotine choke that solidified his second consecutive title defense and Machida's first submission loss.

"I think we always have to be learning something out of this, and it is through the loss that we learn more than with the victory," Machida said. "I am a professional, and it is part of my career to win or lose."

With ongoing Silva retirement murmurings, a move to middleweight seems plausible for Machida.

Machida and Silva have stated on various occasions that they aren't interested in fighting one another.

Superfight between Silva and Jones not happening

Despite disposing another former UFC champion in Lyoto Machida, it isn't likely Jon Jones will face Anderson Silva in a dream fight that fans have been wanting for some time.

The UFC light heavyweight champion recorded his fifth straight victory after he successfully defended the title at UFC 140 this past weekend. Jones, who was making his second title defense, overcame a difficult opening round against his opponent to submit Machida in the second round.

However, UFC President Dana White said Jones' recent success hasn't earned him any super-fight with the 185-pound titleholder anytime soon.

"I don't see that fight happening anytime soon," White told reporters during the post-fight press conference.

Jones' current dominance over the light heavyweight division has drawn comparisons to Silva, who has ruled over the middleweight division for the past five years. Also, Jones' lanky frame and creative striking techniques are parallel to that of the Brazilian, and thus, has created a substantial amount of hype surrounding the potential bout.

With fellow pound-for-pound kingpin, Georges St-Pierre, currently sidelined with a torn ACL, some fans' have favored the 24-year-old over the French-Canadian to compete against Silva.

But White shot down the idea, citing Jones' inexperience as a possible factor.

"He's 24 years old. He's just getting out there and fighting all the best in the light heavyweight division," he said. "What people have to realize, too, is Anderson Silva is 37 years old. They're in two different weight classes."

Jones' recent victory has granted him some much-needed rest, as he won't likely make his next title defense until mid-2012 against either Rashad Evans or Dan Henderson.

Meanwhile, Silva has been out of action since August when he made his last title defense against Yushin Okami at UFC 134. The Brazilian is expected to return by early summer next year.

So that's probably it for superfights in the UFC, personally I don't think that it will ever happen as new contenders to emerge in each weight class time and time again so we can't really say that the champions have cleaned out their divisions.

UFC 140 Aftermath: Brutal Finishes That Defied the Norm

It is the aftermath of UFC 140 in Toronto and living in the city, the buzz is surely on the brutal finishes of the fights from the card on Saturday night.

All the coverage and talk of Frank Mir breaking Nogueira's arm, along with local reports of how all the Maple Leafs and hockey players in attendance thought it was quite a brutal sport, has left me throwing caution to the wind.

The finishes, and some of the fights we saw this weekend fall directly into the five-90-five percent rule, and it must be explained before any judgement is passed by the uneducated MMA fan.

Five percent of all fights will end in some sort of shocking, brutal or even gruesome fashion, 90 percent will end in exciting, even thrilling but normal finishes and the other five percent will end in boring and uneventful fashion.

Usually, the shocking and brutal finishes are spread and sort out among the many different fight cards in a year or period of time. In my opinion, a case could be made that we saw three fights that had finishes in the first five percent.

Frank Mir's brutal kimura on "Big Nog" is definitely one, Jones's somewhat brutal-looking choke and how he landed plastered face-down was another.

It could be argued that Chan Sung Jung's knockout seven seconds in qualifies in there, too.

Mir's destruction of Nogueira's arm is comparable to the worst injury in any other sport suffered under the rules, like a broken neck on a clean hit in football, a broken leg on a knee-on-knee hit in hockey or a broken arm from a collision at home plate.

You can't judge the sport on the most brutal of its incidents. They happen but they are rare. Just like Machida getting choked out on his feet and dropped or Hominick getting knocked out in seven seconds.

The only difference in these incidents is what makes MMA even safer than some of the other sports mentioned.

Both Nogueira and Machida could have stopped these incidents on the spot by swallowing their pride and tapping out to the opponent—a choice not available in mid-action in most sports.

But both men chose not to tap, and both men suffered very cold and real consequences.

After another dominant performance, would Jon Jones do as well at Heavyweight?

On Saturday night, Jon Jones proved all the doubters wrong—again—as he submitted Lyoto Machida in the second round to become the first man to defend the light heavyweight title more than once since Chuck Liddell in 2006.

Jones appeared to be in a bit of trouble in the first round, but he came back in resounding fashion in the second. He rocked Machida with a punch that set up the fight-ending standing guillotine choke.

He has now beaten three of the top five contenders in the light heavyweight division, and has looked simply unstoppable.

At only 24 years old, and with the frame that he has, it is very likely that he will have to move up to heavyweight at some point in the future.

So how would Jones fare at heavyweight?

For right now, it is a difficult question to answer. If you look at two of the top four heavyweights—Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar—both are highly credentialed wrestlers.

Jones is yet to face someone of that caliber. Once he fights Evans, we'll have a clearer picture of how Jones will fare against wrestlers.

Then there is Junior dos Santos. JDS is undefeated in the UFC, and is another fighter who made his way to the top without ever being in trouble.

We need to see more of Dos Santos, and more of Jones, before we can even begin to make a prediction about how a matchup like this would go down.

There is no question that Jones would be a top heavyweight, it's just a question of how close to the top.

He has all the potential to be the heavyweight champion. If he could handle the wrestling of the likes of Lesnar and Velasquez, and if he could avoid the big right hand of JDS, Jones could become the most dominant fighter ever—in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions.

UFC 140 Results

I'm sorry and this post is a little late, but in the event that maybe someone missed the awesome card which is UFC 140, below are the results of the whole foray.

First, I have to say that Jon Jones is a beast in dismantling Lyoto Machida. Frank Mir is dangerous, and that shoulder really popped. Tito Ortiz has to retire and Korean Zombie wow!

It was a really awesome card, below are the results.

Main card
Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida via submission (guillotine)
Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via submission (kimura)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Tito Ortiz via first-round TKO
Brian Ebersole def. Claude Patrick via split decision
Chan Sung Jung def. Mark Hominick via first-round TKO

Preliminary card
Igor Pokrajac def. Krzystof Soszynski via first-round KO
Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman via first-round KO
Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi via submission (rear-naked choke)
Yves Jabouin def. Walel Watson via split decision
Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision
Jake Hecht def. Rich Attonito via second-round TKO
John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke via second-round TKO

It was truly on of the most entertaining cards this year. I might even say it is a candidate for best UFC event of the year.

UFC 140 Weigh-In Results

The UFC will return to Toronto, Canada for their upcoming UFC 140 show, which will be headlined by UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking on former champion Lyoto Machida.

Saturday's event will also host the rematch between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir. They first met after coaching on the Ultimate Fighter to fight at UFC 92. Mir shocked the world when he became the first man to stop Nogueira at the 2008 year-end show.

Main Card

Jon Jones (205) vs. Lyoto Machida (204)

Frank Mir (260) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (239)

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (204.5) vs. Tito Ortiz (206)

Brian Ebersole (170.5) vs. Claude Patrick (171)

Mark Hominick (145) vs. Chan Sung Jung (145.5)



Preliminary Card

Igor Pokrajac (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (206)

Jared Hamman (185) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185)

Dennis Hallman (158.5)* vs. John Makdessi (155.5)

Yves Jabouin (136) vs. Walel Watson (135.5)

Mark Bocek (156) vs. Nik Lentz (156)

Rich Attonito (170.5) vs. Jake Hecht (170.5)

John Cholish (156) vs. Mitch Clarke (154.5)

*Hallman given an hour to make weight

UFC 140 Weigh-ins Today

Watch the UFC 140 weigh-in today - with Jonny Bones, Lyoto the Dragon, both Nogs, Tito, Mir and more - live at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT on ufc.com

Catch it here: http://www.ufc.com/media/ufc-140-weigh-in

On Tap: UFC 140

What's on tap this weekend, why UFC 140 of course. We'll expect to see Jon "Bones" Jones as he tries to finish 2011 strong with a title defense against number one contender Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. It will be Jones' 4th fight of the year and his 3rd title fight. Beating "the Dragon" will surely cement Jones' place in UFC Light Heavyweight History as that belt is quite a slippery one and hard to hold on to.

Here is the fight card:

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick
Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke

Additionally, the Nogueira brothers have bouts on tap as well as Big Nog gets a rematch against Frank Mir and Lil' Nog goes up against self anointed "Peoples Champion" Tito Ortiz.

It's gonna be a great card and I can't wait to see if Bones Jones can make history.

Lyoto Machida disses Jon Jones!

In a recent article from abs-cbnNews.com, title contender Lyoto 'The Dragon" Machida had some choice words to say about current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones, specifically his rise in the sport.

Jones became the light heavyweight champion by defeating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who defeated Machida to win the title. The 24-year-old Jones has often been described as a once-in-a-generation talent and the future of the UFC.

"Jon Jones is a star," said UFC commentator Joe Rogan in an interview with UFC.com.

But Machida is not impressed with Jones.

"Jones' rise doesn't impress me," Machida said. "I had my moments in the UFC, too."

Both fighters provide an unorthodox way of fighting which had been a puzzle to those they had fought. Although, Rua defeated Machida, then Jones beat Rua.

The interview goes on with Joe Rogan saying;

"His footwork and his ability to move in and out, almost like a fencer, is really like no one else in the entire division," Rogan said of Machida.

"When I lost the belt, it was difficult for me, but I learned a lot. Now I feel more prepared to fight for the belt," Machida said. "I've learned to work better under pressure."

Machida is determined to give Jones a hard fight when they meet at UFC 140, saying, "This is the toughest division in the UFC. Every fight is a test."

"I want to feel it again, that belt around my waist," he said.

Well, the pre-fight talk is starting to build-up, and I wonder what Jones has to say about what Machida has said. Anyway, it's going to be another epic fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight belt, and we'll see if the Bones Jones hype will stand this test.

UFC Magazine 2011 November

I'm such a fool for magazines. While a lot of people think that reading, much more buying a magazine is a big waste, for me I find it very informative and relaxing to read magazines that have topics which I really enjoy, such as Men's Health Magazines. Moreover, I do read them again and again so it really doesn't matter that I spent more that a 100 pesos on some of my magazines.

Recently, I bought the second outing of the official UFC magazine in the Philippines, it is published by ABS-CBN publishing co. I actually bought the first one as well, where GSP was the cover. For the second one it was Jon "Bones" Jones.

Like the first magazine, the information was a little late as for this current issue Cain Velasquez was still the UFC Heavyweight Champ, where in fact he already lost to Junior Dos Santos at UFC on Fox 1. But it was okay, I still enjoyed the article about the 7 UFC Champions.

Like the first one there were articles on local celebrities as well, but I have to say how can you go wrong with articles on Bangs Garcia, Sam Pinto and Derek Ramsey. It was cool to see how much they know about MMA and the UFC.

Ultimately it was a good read, from the various articles to the pictures and workouts in the magazine, I can really let go that the information in not that updated but it's more than okay. If your into magazines like me I actually would recommend this magazine.

Worlds Apart at UFC 140

On UFC 140, December 10, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre (December 11, 2011 in the Philippines), Jon “Bones” Jones looks to defend his Light Heavyweight Championship against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida in what promises to be one of the most anticipated match-ups in 2011. The match-up sparks interest due to the styles and differences that both fighters have and bring come fight time.

Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida want to walk out of UFC with the Light Heavyweight Championship around their waist, and their similarities end there.

The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is an ultra aggressive fighter who mixes creative unorthodox striking combined with first class wrestling to takedown his opponents after softening them up standing, he is also quite adept in using chokes to finish of his opponents as we recently saw against Rampage Jackson. While, Lyoto Machida is a counter-striking specialist using his karate background to blend with his Muay Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu and Sumo wrestling attributes, whose style is to take the least amount of damage possible but also dishing out a good amount of it.

This is one of the most intriguing match-ups in recent UFC history as it is a fight of two very different styles and also for the problems each fighter poses for the other. For Jones, he has to overcome the unusual fighting style of Lyoto Machida, although it has been solved by Shogun Rua, it still remains to be a puzzle to many other fighters, an Machida thinks that it is the best style to solve the problems that Jones brings to the table. For Lyoto Machida, there are much more problems such as Jones’ humongous reach advantage, creative yet accurate striking and the creative wrestling game the Champion posses.

I personally can’t wait for this fight, as I have been a fan of both fighters. Who ever wins or loses, in my opinion the fans would be the winners in this fight as wherever the fight goes either standing up or on the ground I’m sure there won’t be any lack of action as these two fighters are sure to bring it every time.