LH Champ Jon Jones
UFC president Dana White quickly shut down rumors that were circling of a bout between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (14-1) and Rashad Evans. White then announced the following day via twitter that Jones would meet former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (17-2) at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Evans is undergoing rehabilitation for an injured thumb and will have to postpone settling the score with Jones for the time being.
As for Machida, he’s currently riding high off a devastating knockout victory over UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. He finished the fight karate kid style with a jumping front kick. The former champion Machida experienced some setbacks against the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the title and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson prior to resuming form against Couture.
The 24-year-old “Bones” Jones will look to further cement his status as a Top 5 pound for pound in the sport by dealing with the southpaw Machida and defending his belt for just the second time.
In a recent interview for MMA Fighting, Jones stated how that he believes Machida is a far more difficult challenge compared with Evans, due to the fact he holds a win over Evans via knockout.
“I think Lyoto Machida is a tougher fight for me than Rashad Evans” Jones said to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani. “I’m fighting the guy who knocked out Rashad Evans. Lyoto is a completely different test for me. He’s the first southpaw that I’ve ever fought.”
On December 10th the contest between Machida and Jones will be on a stacked card that also features the highly anticipated rematch between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and a light heavyweight tilt between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and the controversial Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz.
Will the Jones legacy flourish? Or will Machida be able to capture the title for the second time? All these questions will be answered and more as UFC 140 heads to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.
~ Andrew Gladstone / Guerrilla Fight – GuerrillaFight@gmail.com
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