UFC 140
| Company type | Event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
| Predecessor | UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson |
| Founded | December 10, 2011 |
| Founder | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
| Successor | UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem |
| Headquarters | Toronto , Canada |
Area served | International |
Key people | Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira |
| Products | Mixed martial arts fights |
| Owner | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
| Parent | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
| Website | www |
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 10, 2011, held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Serving as UFC's second-to-last event of the year, it showcased eight fights broadcast internationally, seven preliminary bouts televised on cable across the US and Canada, and an additional three preliminaries streamed live via Facebook.
In the co-main event, Frank Mir made history by submitting Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira with a kimura, resulting in a broken arm for Nogueira. The headline fight featured Jon Jones successfully defending his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title by delivering Lyoto Machida his first defeat by submission.
Background
Originally, the card was set to include a matchup between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis, but Davis withdrew after suffering a knee injury. Plans also initially called for a Light Heavyweight Championship clash between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, who had to pull out due to hand surgery; Machida stepped in as Evans' replacement.
Earlier in 2011, Jones captured the Light Heavyweight belt by overcoming Maurício Rua at UFC 128 and later defended it against former champion Quinton Jackson at UFC 135. Machida, who had previously secured the title at UFC 98, lost it to Rua in 2010. Notably, both Rua and Jackson suffered defeats to Jones earlier that year.
The co-main event was a rematch between Mir and Nogueira, who had met before at UFC 92, where Mir earned a technical knockout victory.
Another significant bout featured Antônio Rogério Nogueira facing off against Tito Ortiz. This fight had been postponed earlier in 2011 due to Ortiz sustaining an injury and replaced Ortiz’s originally scheduled contest with Rich Franklin, who withdrew because of shoulder surgery.
Rory MacDonald was slated to fight Brian Ebersole, but after withdrawing due to injury, he was replaced by Claude Patrick, initially set to face Rich Attonito. Attonito remained on the lineup and instead fought UFC newcomer Jake Hecht.
In his return to lightweight competition, Dennis Hallman failed to make weight, coming in at 158.5 pounds. Consequently, he forfeited 20% of his purse, and his bout with John Makdessi was contested at catchweight.
Event
The UFC 140 card consisted of twelve mixed martial arts contests conducted under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. While non-title fights were scheduled for three five-minute rounds, the championship encounter between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida was planned for five rounds. Four preliminary fights were broadcast live on Ion Television and Canada's Sportsnet, alongside three preliminaries streamed on Facebook. Due to some early finishes during televised prelims, the Facebook prelims were also made available on cable networks. Attendance surpassed 18,000 spectators at the Air Canada Centre, generating close to $4 million from ticket sales. The pay-per-view purchase rate reached about 485,000.
Preliminary card
The event opened with John Cholish securing a technical knockout victory over Mitch Clarke at 4:36 in round two, handing Clarke his first professional MMA loss.
Making his UFC debut, Jake Hecht achieved a second-round technical knockout against Rich Attonito by defending a takedown attempt with effective elbow strikes.
Mark Bocek earned a unanimous decision win (30–27) over Nik Lentz, handing Lentz his initial UFC defeat through dominant takedowns and top control throughout the fight.
Yves Jabouin edged out Walel Watson via split decision after three rounds filled with striking exchanges and submission attempts, utilizing close-range attacks to counter Watson’s reach advantage.
Dennis Hallman submitted John Makdessi with a rear-naked choke at 2:58 of the first round in their catchweight bout; Hallman admitted that his victory was controversial given his failure to make weight.
Costas Philippou knocked out Jared Hamman at 3:11 into the opening round with powerful right-hand strikes, marking his second straight UFC win.
Igor Pokrajac delivered a swift knockout over Krzysztof Soszynski just 35 seconds into their light heavyweight matchup, prompting an early stoppage by the referee.
Main card
The opening pay-per-view contest showcased featherweight fighters Mark Hominick and Chan Sung Jung. Jung delivered a straight right that floored Hominick, followed by a series of strikes that prompted the referee to halt the bout. This seven-second knockout matched the second quickest finish in UFC history and earned Jung the "Knockout of the Night" accolade for the event.
Next, welterweights Claude Patrick and Brian Ebersole engaged in a tightly fought battle, heavily featuring clinch exchanges and ground control. After three rounds, Ebersole emerged victorious via split decision.
In the light heavyweight division, Antônio Rogério Nogueira countered early aggression from Tito Ortiz, landing a knee to Ortiz’s body that dropped him before finishing with ground strikes. Nogueira secured a technical knockout in the first round at 3:15.
The co-main event pitted heavyweights Frank Mir against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Despite Nogueira momentarily staggering Mir early on, Mir escaped a choke attempt and locked in a kimura submission, resulting in Nogueira’s arm breaking. Mir won by technical submission at 3:38 of round one, earning the "Submission of the Night" honor and becoming the first athlete to both knock out and submit Nogueira.
The headline bout featured the Light Heavyweight Championship with reigning champion Jon Jones defending against challenger Lyoto Machida. The contest was evenly matched until Jones inflicted a cut on Machida, briefly pausing the action. Upon resumption, Jones stunned Machida and applied a standing guillotine choke that rendered Machida unconscious. Jones successfully defended his title via technical submission at 4:26 of round two. This marked Machida’s first professional loss by submission and garnered "Fight of the Night" recognition.
Aftermath
Rashad Evans was initially slated to face Jon Jones at this event; however, their UFC Light Heavyweight Championship clash was subsequently scheduled for UFC 145 on April 21, 2012.
Following his victory over Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir advanced closer to a title opportunity. On April 4, 2012, Alistair Overeem failed a pre-fight drug screening due to elevated testosterone levels surpassing permitted limits. UFC President Dana White confirmed on April 20, 2012, that Overeem was removed from his bout against Dos Santos and replaced by Frank Mir.
Results
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Bonus Awards
The following competitors were each awarded $75,000 bonuses:
- Fight of the Night: Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
- Knockout of the Night: Chan Sung Jung
- Submission of the Night: Frank Mir