UFC 140 turned out to be a night that saw the fall of legends and the making of new ones. We saw fighters breaking, in both a literal and proverbial fashion.
For Jon Jones, last night was a chance for him to start to cement a young legacy as potentially one of the greatest the sport has ever seen. Before last night’s fight, Jones had dispatched two former UFC champions with the greatest of ease. Naturally, his fight against Machida should have been no different, right?
For Jones, however, Machida turned out to be the biggest test of his young career. After Machida landed a number of short flurries in the first round, the champion had his chin tested, and looked visibly rattled between rounds – for the first time, Bones looked like he was breaking a little (mentally, that is). However, that wouldn’t stop Bones. Jon came back in the second round to slice up Machida with some patented ground and pound, and then finish the fight off in typical unexpected Jones fashion, with a spectacular standing guillotine.
For Jones, he left people wondering what was next for him, for another legend, however, it was a different kind of breaking on Saturday night. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was on something of a comeback after defeating Brendan Schaub after his last fight – however, Frank Mir put an end to that in devastating fashion at the Air Canada Centre. After being nearly finished early in the first round, Mir worked his way out of a guillotine choke and ended up locking in a kimura on the Brazillian legend, literally snapping his arm in two in a fashion that was eerily reminiscent of his win over Tim Sylvia all those years ago.
Nogueira wasn’t the only legend to fall on Saturday night. Tito Ortiz finally came to terms with the fact that he no longer has a place in the UFC in its current form. After having tasted some of his own medicine at UFC 140 via vicious ground-and-pound at the hands of Lil’Nog, Tito looked dejected and embarrassed. He could barely speak after the fight; mind you this was more likely the result of the broken ribs that he suffered. If there is one thing Tito is never at a loss for, it’s words.
The Korean Zombie started to break into the big time last night. After being positioned as fodder for hometown hero Mark Hominick, the Korean fighter came out and tied the record for fastest KO (seven seconds)in UFC history. Chan now finds himself positioned in the top 10 in the division.
Overall it was a great night for the new generation of fighters, and a sad one for the legends. I think the lesson we should take away from this event, is that we are seeing the last of the old guard fade out into the night and make way for the new generation.
…and that is the last word,
