Experience wins in Brazil (UFC 163 Review)
Another title would be up for grabs this weekend when Jose Aldo would defend his Featherweight belt against Chan Sung Jung. It would be an interesting matchup as Aldo would defend his belt against a fighter who not many expected to be here yet. Originally the fight was to be Aldo vs. former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis but an injury would cancel that fight forcing the UFC to find a new challenger. They would find one in the man known as the Korean Zombie who had only won three fights in the UFC so far. He did put on great fights though with a pressing style that excited fans and gave his opponents plenty of issues. Still nobody expected that Jung would win this fight as Aldo represented one of the best pound for pound fighters in the UFC. Jung did not subscribe to this as he believed his style would be able to beat Aldo and force him into a mistake. Jung was looking to end the fight like he had done three times before in the UFC but during the fight something happened. When someone is thrown into a big fight too soon they can change pretty quickly. Aggressive fighters can quickly turn timid and timid fighters can go all out too soon. The pressure of a big fight can force fighters into fighting in a way they are not accustomed too and force them to make mistakes. The champion in these fights will usually take advantage with plenty of experience in big fights and few nerves. This is what happened to Jung during the title fight as the usually forward fighter would not use his same style of fighting. Instead of pressing forward throughout the fight and trying to tire out Aldo Jung would stand in front of the champion and essentially do nothing. Jung’s entire plan was to try to press the action and force Aldo to show everyone what his cardio was like. It was the one perceived weakness that Aldo had and Jung was looking to expose it to become the first Asian champion in the UFC. The plan would fall apart quickly though as Jung would stand with the champion and instead of throwing multiple punches would wait for Aldo to through. The fight would stay this way for most of three rounds as the challenger would seem almost lost in octagon while the champion remained patient and calculated. With Jung standing there and not pressing the action Aldo could easily pick him apart and make sure that his plan went ahead. Aldo would have his way in the fight picking Jung apart on the feet and taking him down at will to ground and pound him. It would be a convincing performance for the champion but the fight would begin to turn at the end of the third. Jung would get up from a takedown and begin firing shots at the champion. The Korean Zombie had finally woken up and was beginning to put his style into action. In the fourth round it would all be for not though as Jung would throw a big overhand right and hit Aldo in the head. It would have no effect on Aldo but it would separate the shoulder of Jung exposing a weakness to Aldo. The champion would jump on the weakened opponent and would finish the fight with Jung on the ground covering up and trying to protect the injured shoulder. It was a different end to the fight but the end result is what most people had expected. Jung would take the loss and will go back into the Featherweight division and try to be the exciting fighter that he has the reputation of being. For Aldo there are a number of fighters just waiting for the shot at Featherweight including Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas as Aldo continues to defend his belt and the title as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the UFC.
Before the Featherweights would find out if they had a new champion or not the light heavyweights would take the focus. Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis would face off with a potential title shot coming for Machida. Davis was not at the point where a title shot was warranted but beating Machida would put him into the conversation. Meanwhile Machida would be ranked #1 before the fight and was on the path to a title shot soon especially if he could beat Davis. There was a lot at stake for this light heavyweight fight and both fighters knew it as they fought in front of the loud and very pro Machida crowd in Rio de Janeiro. Machida would have a very specific plan in the fight as he was hoping to bait Davis into his wheelhouse and unload with counters. With hands down Machida would circle the octagon waiting for Davis to come in and hoping to land counters. Davis would not oblige to the point that Machida had wanted but Machida would land a few solid punches. Meanwhile Davis stayed outside of the reach and would land a few shots but nothing too significant. At the end of the first two rounds Davis would score takedowns and begin to dominate the fight but both rounds were almost over by the time this happened. The rest of the fight was Machida picking apart Davis on the feet leading a lot of people to believe that Machida had won the fight and earned the title fight. In the end the takedowns at the end of the first two rounds seemed to be enough to sway the judges giving Davis the win and moving him into the conversation for a title shot although one more fight, maybe a rematch, may be in order before he gets the shot.
Fight Bonuses
Submission of the Night
Sergio Moraes would have a great night as his fight against Neil Magny would earn him the submission of the night after beating the young TUF product with a Triangle Choke and some vicious elbows
Knockout of the Night
in one of the best stories of the night Anthony Perosh would show that he is ready to move up even at his age with a massive KO of a much younger fighter in Vinny Magalhaes in the first round of their undercard fight
Fight of the Night
Ian McCall was trying to show that he was ready to start moving up the Flyweight division after personal troubles hurt his performance early in his UFC career and he would do just that earning the fight of the night alongside Iliarde Santos and winning in a Unanimous Decision
Fight Results
Main Event:
Jose Aldo “Junior” def. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung [Featherweight Title]
(TKO; Rd. 4)
Main Card:
Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis def. Lyoto “The dragon” Machida
(Unanimous Decision)
Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira def. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
(Submission; Guillotine Choke, Rd. 1)
Thales Leites def. Tom “Kong” Watson
(Unanimous Decision)
John “Hands of Stone” Lineker def. Jose “No Chance” Maria
(TKO; Rd. 2)
Undercard:
Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh def. Vinny “Pezao” Magalhaes
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes def. Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Sergio “The Panther” Moraes def. Neil Magny
(Submission; Triangle Choke, Rd. 1)
Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall def. Iliarde Santos
(Unanimous Decision)
Rani Yahya def. Josh “The Gentleman” Clopton
(Unanimous Decision)
Francimar “Bodao” Barroso def. Ednaldo “Lula” Oliviera
(Unanimous Decision)
Viscardi Andrade def. Bristol Marunde
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Upcoming Events
UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen V (Saturday August 17th; 6:00 pm ET)
Boston, Massachusetts (TD Garden)
Main Event: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Notable: Allistair “The Reem” Overeem vs. Travis “Hapa” Browne
Notable: Urijah “The California Kid” Faber vs. Yuri “Marajo” Alcantara
UFC on Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann II (Wednesday August 28th; 8:00 pm ET)
Indianapolis, Indiana (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
Main Event: Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit vs. Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann
Notable: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
Notable: Melvin Gastelum vs. Brian Melancon
UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis (Saturday August 31st; 10:00 pm ET)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (BMO Harris Bradley Center)
Main Event: Benson “Smooth” Henderson vs. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis [Lightweight Title]
Notable: Frank Mir vs. Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett
Notable: Chad “Money” Mendes vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida
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