Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesTORONTO -- Jon Jones looked vulnerable ... if only for a short time.
But in the end, it was the 24-year-old Jones who reigned supreme after submitting Lyota Machida in the second round of their light heavyweight title bout on Saturday night at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Jones was outstruck by Machida in the opening round. But Jones came back strong in the second round, taking Machida down before landing a vicious elbow, which not only changed the momentum of the fight, but opened a gash in Machida's forehead.
Shortly after, Jones backed Machida into the Octagon cage and put the Dragon to sleep. Jones' victory was deemed Fight of the Night.
"I have never fought anyone like Lyota," said Jones, who improved to 15-1, with his only loss coming by disqualification. "He's an amazing person. First off, I would like to say he has my utmost respect. So hats off to Lyota."
UFC President Dana White had high praise for Jones, who is ranked fourth in the InterMatFight pound-for-pound rankings.
"Jon Jones is the real deal," said White. "He has had an incredible schedule this year, fighting all the best in the world. Actually, this is the first time that the [light heavyweight] belt has been defended since Chuck Liddell. Big night for Bones Jones. The kickoff to what I think is going to be an amazing career."
Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir found himself in danger early against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueia, as he was stunned by several strikes. Nogueia attempted a submission, but Mir quickly turned the tables and secured a Kimura, which broke Nogueira's arm, and gave Mir the victory. Mir was the first fighter ever to knock out Nogueia, when he did so on Dec. 27, 2008. Now he is the first fighter ever to submit Nogueia. Mir was was awarded Submission of the Night.
"When I locked up Nogueira, I had a strong inclination that he was not going to tap," said Mir. "So I took a deep breath and ... uh, you guys saw what happened."
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, known as "Little Nog," proved to be too much for Tito Ortiz, who was fighting in his UFC-record 26th fight. Ortiz started quickly, landing strikes and appeared to have "Little Nog" in trouble. But Nogueira landed a left hand followed by a knee to the torso, which put Ortiz down on the canvas. Nogueira landed several punches and elbows to Ortiz's ribs before referee Yves Lavigne stepped in and called the fight.
Brian Ebersole improved to 49-14 with a split decision victory over Claude Patrick, who entered the fight on a 13-fight winning streak. Patrick put Ebersole in a guillotine in the first round, but Ebersole survived and went on to win the round. Patrick came back to win the second round on the scorecard, landing some big strikes. Ebersole used two takedowns in the final round to take the final round and the decision.
Chan Sung Jung started off the main card with guns blazing, knocking out Mark Hominick in just seven seconds. Jung landed a right, knocking down Hominick, and then pounced on top and landed a barrage of punches. Jung's seven-second knockout tied the record for the quickest knockout in UFC history. For Jung, who is known as "The Korean Zombie," it marked his second straight victory, following his submission victory over Leonard Garcia on March 26. Jung improves to 12-3, while Hominick falls to 20-10.
Undercard
Igor Pokrajak made early work of Krzysztof Soszynski with a first round knockout. Pokrajak was able to land a clean head shot on Soszynski that put him to the mat. Pokrajak kept the barrage of punches flying and quickly ended the fight. Pokrajak has now won two straight UFC fights by knockout.
Dennis Hallman defeated John Makdessi by submitting him in a rear-naked choke in the first round. Hallman was able to overwhelm Makdessi early in the match and Makdessi was never seriously in the contest. Dennis Hallman apologized to the fans and to Makdessi after the fight for not making weight for the fight.
In a fight that could have gone either way, Yves Jabouin was given a split-decision victory over Walel Watson (30-27, 29-28, 28-29). The match fight was extremely close with both fighters being very active throughout the entire contest. In the end, Jabouin's 2-0 takedown advantage may have made the difference in the judges eyes.
Canadian Mark Bocek outlasted Nik Lentz in a match that lasted all three rounds. In front of a hometown crowd, Bocek was given a unanimous decision (30-27) by the judges by landing 46 significant strikes to Lentz's 10 (according to fightmetric.com). Bocek also had the takedown advantage over Lentz, 5-0.
Jake Hecht delivered the first upset of UFC 140 when he stopped Rich Attonito in the second by technical knockout. Hecht was able to stun Attonito with an elbow to the head. After a flurry of uncontested strikes by Hetch, the fight was stopped. Jake Hecht has now won four straight, and 11 of his last 12 fights.
In the first fight of the night, John Cholish, former Cornell wrestler, won his UFC debut by TKO in the second round over UFC newbie Mitch Clarke. Referee Big John McCarthy put a stop to the action towards the end of the second round after Clarke could no longer defend himself from strikes as he was being controlled by Cholish from behind.
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