A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and rival “Suga” Rashad Evans has once again been delayed due to injury. UFC President Dana White announced today that Jones will now defend his title against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 140 on December 10th.
Evans is currently sidelined with a hand injury and would not be ready to compete on the Toronto, Ontario, Canada card. Machida now steps into the title fight after knocking out Randy “The Natural” Couture at UFC 129. The win got Machida back on track after back-to-back defeats in 2010.
Jones (14-1-0) has won five straight since a controversial disqualification loss to Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in late 2009. He captured the UFC 205-pound title in March by stopping Mauricio “Shogun” Rua after Evans was forced to the sidelines due to injury. Jones then suffered a hand injury of his own and his grudge match with Evans was delayed. At UFC 135 last month, Jones retained his title with a fourth-round submission of former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Following Jones’s win, Evans entered the cage and the pair appeared destined to finally square off for the title in the coming months. However, despite reports yesterday that suggested that Jones and Evans would face each other in the UFC 140 main event, Evans’s hand injury has forced him out again and Machida has stepped in to challenge the 24-year-old champion.
Machida (17-2-0) opened his career with 16 straight wins and looked to be poised for a lengthy reign as UFC Light Heavyweight Champion after winning the title from Evans at UFC 98 in May 2009. However, after a controversial decision win over Rua in his next fight, some questioned Machida’s status as the champion. He subsequently lost the title in a brief and violent rematch with Rua six months later and dropped a contentious decision to Jackson before knocking Couture out with a front kick in April.
The bout between Jones and Machida will headline the UFC 140 card. Machida’s elusive striking style could provide a new challenge for the young champion, but Jones has thus far looked dominant in each of his UFC bouts against progressively tougher opposition.
UFC 140 takes place on December 10th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)
I think Lyoto is past his prime, but this will be an interesting fight, nonethless, as Machida is a counter-attack type of guy.