Last night (Dec. 10, 2011), UFC 140 featured four of the biggest names in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the main and co-main event, live from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The main event saw Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones taking on Lyoto Machida in what many predicted would be the greatest challenge of his still-young career.
The co-main event showcased a classic match-up between quite possibly the two greatest heavyweight jiu-jitsu practitioners we've ever seen in MMA.
Both fights delivered every bit of what was promised. "Bones" proved that he is in a class all his own, particularly amongst those fighting at 205-pounds. Mir showed that his ground game is second to none in at heavyweight and that the Frank Mir of old very well may be back for good.
After the jump, MMAmania.com takes a look at what's next for UFC 140 big winners, Jon Jones and Frank Mir:
For a round and a half, it looked as though Jon Jones had met his match. He got hit with a few big shots. He looked hesitant. He wasn't himself.
Or was he?
Late in the second round, Jones found the hole he had so patiently been waiting for. After softening Machida up with some ground and pound that left a disgustingly deep gash on "the Dragon's" forehead, Jones pinned his opponent against the cage, wrapped up a standing guillotine (comprised of almost all wrists and forearms and no biceps) and choked Machida completely unconscious.
It was a finishing move that even Steven Seagal himself would be proud of (and possibly take credit for).
So where does he go from here?
For starters. He's going to take a break. Jones just finished one of the most impressive one-year MMA campaigns we've ever seen by fighting four times, winning the belt and defending that same belt successfully twice against two very tough adversaries.
There are two options.
On Jan. 28, Rashad Evans will face Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago, Illinois. If "Suga" is able to notch the victory (and avoid any more unnecessary press conference slip-ups), then it would only make sense for him to finally get the shot against Jones that everyone has been waiting for.
If he loses, I just don't see "Jon Jones vs. Phil Davis" being an easy fight for the UFC to sell. Not yet, anyway.
So, that really just leaves everyone's favorite 41-year old bomb thrower: Dan Henderson.
Would it be a good fight? Hard to say. Would "Anyone vs. Jon Jones" be a good fight, right now? If I'm being honest, the answer is: "probably not."
It looks certain that Anderson Silva is not moving up, so, sadly, we can forget about that. And Jones isn't moving up either, so slow your roll on that one too.
In short, who knows.
You might not like Frank Mir.
Like him or not, the guy is a stud when it comes to grappling and submissions. At UFC 140, Mir became the first fighter to ever submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
He didn't just submit him. He grabbed hold of the arm of one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioners we've ever seen in MMA and snapped it like a twig.
"Big Nog" wasn't suffering from a staph infection this time, but he definitely made a trip to the Emergency Room afterwards, nonetheless.
So, what does the future hold for Mir?
On Dec. 30, Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem will face-off at UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner has been promised a title shot against new belt holder Junior dos Santos.
It would appear that Mir's next opponent will be one of two fighters: Cain Velasquez or the loser of "Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem."
Look for the UFC to wait and see what happens at UFC 141 before they make a final decision.
Were you Maniacs impressed by the performances of Jones and Mir? If you had it your way, who would you want to see them both fight next?
Sound off!
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