Author: Alex Ballentine

Before Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung duke it out for the featherweight championship at the end of the UFC 163 pay-per-view card or Ian McCall looks to get back on track against Iliarde Santos, the Rio de Janeiro card will kick off with the customary Facebook prelims. 

This portion of the card, which can be streamed via the UFC Facebook page, offers three fights, including a bout between featherweight contender Rani Yahya and promotional newcomer Josh Clopton. 

While these aren’t the most well-known fighters in the world, these fights offer fans the opportunity to see some up-and-comers attempting to climb the ladder while getting fight night started a little earlier. 

Here’s a look at the card that kicks off at 6 p.m. ET. 

 

Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde

Kicking off the evening’s action will be a welterweight tilt between Viscardi Andrade and Bristol Marunde. 

At 31 years of age, Marunde might not have much time left to make a run, and this could be his last chance to stick with a ZUFFA company. Marunde was on the losing end of a bout with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in his final fight under the Strikeforce banner.

That’s excusable, Souza was coming off of his only loss in the company and is a former champion. His loss to Clint Hester, however, is a bit more troubling. That makes him a likely candidate to be released if he drops a third consecutive fight. 

Andrade is a much lesser-known commodity. He’ll be making his promotional debut with a six-fight win streak but hasn’t faced the competition that Marunde has seen. 

One of them will need to win in impressive fashion to make sure he stays off the Facebook prelims next time around. 

 

Ednaldo Oliveira vs. Francimar Barroso

UFC fans already got a glimpse of Oliveira in the Octagon once. He’ll be hoping fans don’t even recognize him this time, though. 

Fighting at heavyweight, he was promptly submitted by Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round. Making the drop to 205 pounds, he’ll be looking to take advantage of a second chance to shine. The loss to the UFC veteran marked the first loss of his career, so the potential is there for Oliveira to shine at his new weight. 

Challenging him will be another relatively unknown Brazilian on the card in Francimar Barroso. Fighting primarily on the regional circuit in Brazil, the 33-year-old has only been to a decision once in his 18 fights. Therefore, this should be a fun one. 

 

Rani Yahya vs. Josh Clopton

There’s no bigger mismatch on the card than Yahya vs. Clopton.

In one corner you have a Brazilian fighting in front of a home crowd fresh off of impressive wins against Josh Grispi and Mizuto Hirota. In the other corner you have a fighter in Clopton who lost his only UFC bout against Steven Siler by decision. 

Yahya‘s advanced submission game is the best reason to tune in to this one. Clopton appears to be overmatched in this one, and Yahya could make him opponent No. 16 to submit in his career. 

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The UFC will once again invade Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday as Jose Aldo and Chan-Sung Jung headline UFC 163. 

The card also features a premier light heavyweight encounter as former champion Lyoto Machida takes on Phil Davis in an intriguing co-main event. 

The rest of the card features some of Brazil’s top up-and-coming talent in the organization on a card that should at least provide some memorable finishes. Here’s a look at the entire card with a prediction for each fight and a deeper dive for a some of the more intriguing matchups. 

 

Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh

Vinny Magalhaes enters his fight against Anthony Perosh on the heels of a disappointing loss to Phil Davis that snapped a six-fight winning streak for the Brazilian. 

You can expect him to rectify that disappointment by dominating Perosh. 

The 41-year-old Perosh is just 13-7 in his career and, like Magalhaes, depends on an extensive jiu-jitsu background to gain the upper hand on his opponents. The problem with that is that Magalhaes‘ grappling skills are just as strong. 

Eight of his 10 career victories have come by way of submission.

With both fighters adept at grappling and neither possessing great stand-up skills, the deciding factor could be cardio. Perosh is a former heavyweight who has only gone the distance twice in his career.

Magalhaes has finished his opponent in the third round in two of his last three wins. 

 

Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos

Ian McCall’s fall down the ladder at flyweight is a disappointing development for the 29-year-old. Just over a year ago, he battled current champion Demetrious Johnson to a majority draw.

Now he’s relegated to fighting an opponent in Iliarde Santos, who is just 0-1 in the UFC. 

Santos was knocked out by Iuri Alcantara just two minutes and 31 seconds into the first round in his promotional debut. 

There’s no doubt that “Uncle Creepy” is taking a huge step down in competition, and it should be expected that he’ll show he’s still a top contender. Becoming the first man to submit Santos would be a nice touch. 

 

Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes

In Women’s MMA action, Amanda Nunes will take on Sheila Gaff. These two fringe contenders will be trying to make a statement in a division that is still developing, so there’s a lot on the line. 

Both Gaff and Nunes are coming off losses heading into this bout. Nunes was submitted by Sarah D’Alelio in her final bout with Invicta before heading to the UFC, while Gaff suffered a first-round TKO at the hands of Sara McMann in her UFC debut. 

There’s going to be fireworks, as both of these fighters love to go for the finish. Thirteen of Gaff’s 16 bouts have ended in the first round, while six of Nunes‘ 10 bouts have ended in the opening frame. 

This one should last longer than that as both are skilled fighters, but it’s highly unlikely it goes to the cards, and Nunes has a slightly better track record, with knockout wins over Julia Budd, Ediane Gomes and Vanessa Porto. 

Anything could happen, but Nunes has the slight edge. 

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UFC 163 marks the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the first time since Anderson Silva finished Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 in Oct. 2012. 

Headlined by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung, the card showcases plenty of Brazilian talent including the evening’s co-main event, which will see Lyoto Machida take on Phil Davis in light heavyweight action. 

The return of one-time middleweight title challenger Thales Leites against British up-and-comer Tom Watson also highlights the card, as both fighters will look to show that they deserve a step up in competition. 

Here’s a look at the full card for the Aug. 3 card and a closer look at the biggest fights of the night. 

All statistics via FightMetric unless otherwise noted.

 

Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson

Leites wins if…

He can get Watson to the ground. 

The jiu-jitsu black belt is a submission ace and owns a clear advantage on the ground if he can drag his opponent to the mat. He owns 13 submission victories in his career, while two of Watson’s three career losses have come by way of submission. 

Watson defends just 44 percent of takedowns, so Leites isn’t fighting a wrestling savant. 

 

Watson wins if…

He turns it into a striking battle. 

This is obvious given Leites’ ability on the ground, but sprawl-and-brawl is Watson’s best game plan. He lands 53 percent of his strikes and averages nearly five strikes landed per minute. Meanwhile, Leites is just a 34 percent striker. 

Watson has knocked out eight opponents while never tasting the canvas, so he has to like his odds when these two exchange leather. 

 

Verdict

Leites by decision. He’s the same guy who once beat Nate Marquardt by decision, and Watson is the same guy who was taken down by Stanislav Nedkov and Brad Tavares five times apiece. 

 

Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis

Machida wins if…

He finds Davis’ chin and maintains a safe distance.

Machida is a masterful striker and one of the best at moving in and out of exchanges without getting hit. However, the stats say that Davis is a difficult target to hit as well. The former Penn State wrestler avoids 74 percent of the strikes thrown his way and only absorbs 1.08 strikes per minute.

Davis is a good athlete who will make Machida work to stay out of range.

 

Davis wins if…

He can control position.

Machida’s game relies on spacing and avoiding takedowns. “The Dragon” has a takedown defense percentage of 79 percent, so expecting “Mr. Wonderful” to take the former champion down is unrealistic. If he can drag the fight’s pace to a standstill by forcing the clinch, he can wear Machida down, though.

If Davis can manage to dominate position in the clinch and score a few takedowns, he’s going to give the judges a tough fight to call.

 

Verdict

Davis pulls off the upset with a decision victory. Machida is a massive favorite because he’s a proven contender, while Davis fell flat in his only marquee test against Rashad Evans, but this is a much different fight.

Machida won a split decision against Dan Henderson after landing just 27 strikes though three rounds. This one could be just as ugly, but Davis’ game plan should include enough grappling to see him outpoint The Dragon.

 

Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung

Jose Aldo wins if…

He leg kicks Chan Sung Jung to oblivion.

No one has better leg kicks than Aldo, and they are the perfect weapon against a fighter like Jung. “The Korean Zombie” is all forward all the time and loves to put on the pressure. A few of Aldo’s swift yet powerful kicks to the legs should slow that pursuit down rather quickly.

 

Chan Sung Jung wins if…

He has the best fight of his life and overwhelms Aldo.

Jung is a huge underdog despite having three finishes in three UFC fights. That’s more of a testament to Aldo’s dominance as champion than Jung’s skills as a fighter. He’s an exciting guy to watch and brings the pressure to every opponent he faces.

The problem with his pressure is that he doesn’t have the best defense. He walks through a ton of strikes to land a staggering 4.61 strikes per minute. However, that strategy is not advisable against Aldo.

The Brazilian kingpin has 13 knockout victories in his career.

 

Verdict

Aldo by TKO in the fourth round. The champion continues his reign, but not before the Zombie gives us an exciting moment or two. Few fighters have approached the champion as fearlessly as Jung will on Saturday night.  

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If the odds for the UFC 163 fight card are to be believed, the UFC has produced some serious mismatches on the Brazilian card. 

Reigning UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Lyoto Machida and Rani Yahya will all enter their respective fights on Saturday night as massive favorites. While being heavily favored is generally a positive thing, there are some drawbacks. 

Both obviously have favorable matchups and will be expected to win, but losing with those kind of expectations can be devastating for their title aspirations (or title reign in the case of Aldo). 

Here’s a look at the full fight card, along with a closer look at the biggest favorites on the card who can’t afford to be upset. All odds via OddsShark.com.

 

Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis

Odds: Machida -370, Davis +310

It’s easy to see why Machida is a favorite here. He’s a former champion coming off of back-to-back wins over Ryan Bader and Dan Henderson and will be fighting in front of a Brazilian crowd for the first time since joining the UFC. 

He also has the most on the line heading into Saturday’s card. At 35 years old with just two consecutive wins, “The Dragon” is going to start finding it more and more difficult to climb the ladder once again after losses. 

Davis may be the sizable underdog, but he’s a dangerous opponent. The once highly hyped light heavyweight still has just one loss on his record after dropping a decision to Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox 2. He’s won two fights since then and is looking to make a title run of his own. 

A loss for Machida would most likely force him to either give up on fighting for titles or head down to the middleweight division. 

 

Rani Yahya vs. Josh Clopton

Odds: Yahya -1100, Clopton +700

No one is a bigger favorite on Saturday night’s card than Rani Yahya. On a card that features Machida and Aldo, that’s saying a lot. 

After finishing out his WEC career with back-to-back losses against Joseph Benavidez and Takeya Mizugaki, the 28-year-old Brazilian has gone 3-1 in the UFC. His lone loss came against Chad Mendes, who is currently ranked as the top featherweight contender in the UFC’s media rankings. 

Clopton is just 6-1 in his career with an 0-1 record in the UFC after losing his promotional debut to Steven Siler. With another win, Yahya will have a good case to get a top-10 featherweight in his next bout. 

A loss to an unknownn commodity like Clopton would send him right back to the end of the line. 

 

Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh

Odds: Magalhaes -400, Perosh +325

Vinny Magalhaes’ bout with Anthony Perosh is a crucial one for the 29-year-old. He sits at an even 1-1 in his current run with the UFC after scoring a second-round submission over Igor Pokrajac and dropping a decision to Phil Davis in his last bout. 

Taking on the 13-7 Perosh, the expectation is that he’ll have a winning record by the end of the night on Saturday. 

Magalhaes can put his loss to Davis behind him if he’s able to take care of business against Perosh, but a loss in his home country would make his future with the organization look fairly bleak. 

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