Tag: MMA

UFC 163: Breaking Down Night’s Most Exciting Moments

UFC 163 featured a featherweight championship fight between Jose “Junior” Aldo and Chan-Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung, and many other marquee bouts, but there were several distinct moments that made this event exciting.
While Saturday’s pay-per-v…

UFC 163 featured a featherweight championship fight between Jose “Junior” Aldo and Chan-Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung, and many other marquee bouts, but there were several distinct moments that made this event exciting.

While Saturday’s pay-per-view wasn’t as spectacular as many MMA fans were hoping, all of the following moments still made this an exciting fight night.

 

Anthony Perosh’s Knockout Victory

There are many UFC fans who missed the Anthony Perosh-Vinny Magalhaes fight because it was relegated to the FX preliminary card, but after a 14-second knockout, even some of the fans watching likely missed it.

There were questions about whether Perosh—a 41-year-old MMA veteran—had enough left in the tank to withstand fighting again, but a devastating knockout win proved all the doubters wrong.

Magalhaes was heralded as one of the top stars in the sport when the UFC signed him in 2012, but after another tough loss, the gamble hasn’t paid off. As exciting as the KO was, the future is now very uncertain for Magalhaes.

 

The Decision Between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida

The battle between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida was as uneventful as predicted—Machida’s elusive style was on full display—but the unanimous-decision victory for Davis was a complete shock to most fans and experts around the sport.

Davis had the takedown abilities that stifled his challenger at times, but Machida had no problem countering many of his shoot attempts while mixing in knees, punches and kicks that landed effectively, as shown by FightMetrics.

The two successful takedowns from Davis appeared to be enough to sway the judges, but with Machida in his home country of Brazil and using his normal evasive style to perfection, this was the wrong decision.

 

Ian McCall’s Decision Victory

Call it bias, but watching Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall win on Saturday night was one of the most exciting moments of UFC 163.

After overcoming a tumultuous personal life and a horrible start to his UFC career (0-2-1), McCall was finally able to snag the much-needed victory to get himself and his career back on the right track.

While beating a journeyman like Iliarde Santos is not the greatest victory, the fan favorite is getting his life together, and this is a great start. With a focus on MMA and reaching the level most believe he still can, Uncle Creepy’s rise to the top has begun once again.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 163 Results: 3 Stars from Jose Aldo vs. Korean Zombie Main Card

Despite the obvious showstoppers like Jose Aldo and Lyoto Machida, UFC 163 featured other stars in the making.
From heavy-handed flyweights to former The Ultimate Fighter winners, this weekend’s UFC event in Brazil was a coming-out party for some.
So o…

Despite the obvious showstoppers like Jose Aldo and Lyoto Machida, UFC 163 featured other stars in the making.

From heavy-handed flyweights to former The Ultimate Fighter winners, this weekend’s UFC event in Brazil was a coming-out party for some.

So on the heels of comeback finishes, swift submissions and one-sided beatdowns, here are three stars from the Jose Aldo vs. Korean Zombie main card.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 163: 5 Fights for the Korean Zombie to Take Next

In what was supposed to be one of the more interesting and exciting featherweight title fights in recent memory, challenger Chan Sung Jung was unable to stifle champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163.
Due in part to Aldo’s overwhelming athleticism, versatility, …

In what was supposed to be one of the more interesting and exciting featherweight title fights in recent memory, challenger Chan Sung Jung was unable to stifle champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163.

Due in part to Aldo’s overwhelming athleticism, versatility, strength and home-crowd advantage, “The Korean Zombie” failed to showcase his usual go-for-broke ways.

But even though the 26-year-old took a small step back in the division, he still holds worth as a top contender moving forward. 

Here are five fights for Jung to take next.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 163: 5 Fights for Jose Aldo to Take Next

Jose Aldo defended his featherweight crown one more time at UFC 163.
Aldo controlled each round against the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, and then swarmed him in the fourth round for the TKO stoppage. He continues his incredible roll, further pro…

Jose Aldo defended his featherweight crown one more time at UFC 163.

Aldo controlled each round against the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, and then swarmed him in the fourth round for the TKO stoppage. He continues his incredible roll, further proving he is the absolute best in the world at 145 pounds.

The question is: What’s next?

There are a lot of challengers waiting in the wings and many possibilities outside of the division. What does the UFC want to do with its featherweight kingpin? Time will tell, but I have some ideas.

Here are five fights the UFC could schedule for Jose Aldo’s return to the Octagon.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 163 Results: Top 10 Featherweights in the UFC

UFC 163 saw two featherweight bouts take place on Saturday, and none was more important to the division than the championship bout.
Reigning champion Jose Aldo picked up another TKO stoppage when he defeated “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Aldo con…

UFC 163 saw two featherweight bouts take place on Saturday, and none was more important to the division than the championship bout.

Reigning champion Jose Aldo picked up another TKO stoppage when he defeated “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Aldo controlled the fight for more than three rounds and then swarmed on an injured Jung. Referee Herb Dean had to step in to stop the fight.

Aldo has been atop the division since 2009.

Also in featherweight action, Rani Yahya dominated Josh Clopton on the Facebook prelims. Yahya has now won three straight, looking increasingly impressive. Has he done enough to get into the official Top 10?

Following UFC 163, these are our top 10 featherweights in the UFC.

Begin Slideshow

Jose Aldo Would ‘Love’ to Go to Lightweight If the UFC Gives Him the Opportunity

Jose Aldo successfully defended his UFC featherweight title for the fifth time on Saturday night, defeating “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung by fourth-round TKO.
The victory came for Aldo after a clean sweep through the first three rounds, where he u…

Jose Aldo successfully defended his UFC featherweight title for the fifth time on Saturday night, defeating “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung by fourth-round TKO.

The victory came for Aldo after a clean sweep through the first three rounds, where he used tactical striking to time every shot he landed on Jung to outpoint the tough featherweight challenger.

The end of the fight came, however, after a strange exchange of punches left Jung with only one arm.

As the two fighters both threw punches, Jung’s right hand slammed into Aldo’s shoulder, and the Korean’s own arm seemed to pop in a weird motion. A second later, Jung was shaking his arm and something was noticeably wrong with his shoulder.

“I noticed his arm popped out and then I took him down and tried to punch him,” Aldo told Fuel TV after his victory at UFC 163. “I knew that I won the first, second and third rounds, I just wanted to slow down a little bit so I wouldn’t be exposed against him.”

It was an odd end to the fight, but a dominant victory for Aldo nonetheless, who was winning on the scorecards going into the final two rounds.

After the fight was over, Aldo explained that his strategy was such to avoid Jung’s heavy-handed bombs, which he’s known to throw, while admittedly slowing down in the fourth round to preserve the victory.

“I knew that I was winning the first three rounds, and I didn’t want to expose myself,” Aldo explained. “Normally, I slow down a little bit in the fourth because I don’t want to expose. I hold the belt, the belt’s mine, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. You don’t fight to expose yourself in the fourth round. Every time people think that I’m getting tired, I’m not, my cardio’s great.”

The win on Saturday night marked Aldo’s 13th in a row since signing to Zuffa in 2008 (originally in the WEC before moving to the UFC), with all of those victories coming in the featherweight division.

With such a dominant reign atop the weight class, Aldo has teased in the past about a potential move to lightweight for a new crop of challenges.

Following his win over Jung, it seems that door is open more now than ever before.

“I don’t know, I would love it, but this is with Joe Silva,” Aldo said. “If he gives me the opportunity, I would go there and fight.”

There are plenty of interesting matchups for Aldo at 155 pounds, but before he can think about going there he first had to tend to an injured foot he suffered in the fight against Jung.

According to Aldo, the first kick he threw of the night connected flush with Jung’s knee, and while he’s not sure if he broke it or not, he’s taking a trip to the hospital to have it X-rayed to find out exactly what may be wrong.

Hopefully, Aldo’s injury isn’t too severe and he can get back in action soon; then it’s just a matter of which weight class he’ll be competing at when he returns.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com