Despite “The Korean Zombie” being unable to attack champion Jose Aldo with his usual consistency, their featherweight championship showdown offered a variety of hot spots for UFC 163 onlookers.
The four-round exchange ended in part because of Chan-Sung…
Despite “The Korean Zombie” being unable to attack champion Jose Aldo with his usual consistency, their featherweight championship showdown offered a variety of hot spots for UFC 163 onlookers.
The four-round exchange ended in part because of Chan-Sung Jung’s separated shoulder, but Aldo had done enough damage prior to the injury to have won the fight if it went to the judges.
But beyond the self-inflicted separation, both fighters displayed world-class discipline, game planning, versatility and focus.
In culmination with their efforts, here are the pivotal moments from last night’s featherweight battle.
The rumored bout between UFC middleweights Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping has a date, location and television network.
According to the UFC, Munoz (13-3) and Bisping (24-5) will meet on Oct. 26 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The fight …
The rumored bout between UFC middleweights Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping has a date, location and television network.
According to the UFC, Munoz (13-3) and Bisping (24-5) will meet on Oct. 26 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The fight will be the headlining bout on Fox Sports 2. Fox Sports 2 is currently Fuel TV. The network will be rebranded Fox Sports 2 sometime in the near future.
Munoz, the No. 6 ranked middleweight, is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 162. The victory came nearly a year after Chris Weidman knocked out Munoz. Following the loss to Weidman, Munoz found out his foot was broken, necessitating the lengthy layoff between fights.
Bisping, ranked fourth in the 185-pound division, last fought in April of this year. Bisping won that fight, defeating Alan Belcher via technical decision after Belcher could not continue following an accidental eye poke in the third round.
Prior to the Belcher fight, Bisping suffered a technical knockout defeat at the hands of VitorBelfort. Had Bisping won that fight, he seemed poised to earn a shot at the UFC middleweight title.
Bisping, never lacking for confidence or short on inflammatory words, spoke to Fox Sports about the fight, “I’m going back to Manchester and I’m going to knock Mark Munoz the f— out. He can put that in his pipe and smoke it.”
The more reserved Munoz had the following to say about the upcoming fight, also telling of Fox Sports, “It will be an honor to fight Michael. I’m going to be training extremely hard and smart. I’m looking forward to it for sure.”
With Chris Weidman knocking Anderson Silva off his perch as the top middleweight in the UFC, the division feels a lot more wide open than it did a short while ago. Weidman and Silva will meet on Dec. 28 in a rematch. The winner of this fight, with an impressive performance, could be considered for the next UFC middleweight title shot.
UFC 163 saw a major changeup to the landscape of the light heavyweight division. In addition to Anthony Perosh’s surprise 14-second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes, Phil Davis shocked Lyoto Machida with a decision victory that set the Twitter world ablaze….
UFC 163 saw a major changeup to the landscape of the light heavyweight division. In addition to Anthony Perosh’s surprise 14-second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes, Phil Davis shocked LyotoMachida with a decision victory that set the Twitter world ablaze.
In a lackluster affair, Davis used more aggression and several takedowns to score points and win the fight. Many felt that he had not done enough to outpoint the crisper, more quantitative strikes of Machida, but nevertheless the American made a big move in the 205-pound division.
In the aftermath of UFC 163, here are the top 10 205-pounders in the company.
Prior to his UFC 163 loss to Phil Davis, UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida was no stranger to controversial decisions—he had, after all, experienced both ends of the spectrum with a questionable decision victory in his title fight aga…
Prior to his UFC 163 loss to Phil Davis, UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida was no stranger to controversial decisions—he had, after all, experienced both ends of the spectrum with a questionable decision victory in his title fight against Shogun Rua and an equally odd decision loss to Rampage Jackson not long thereafter.
Sure, neither of those bouts delivered a FightMetric analysis so directly opposed to what the on-site judges had scored on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, but they granted the opportunity for questions to arise of Machida’s possible transition to the UFC’s middleweight roster.
With four of his last eight bouts going to decision, Machida is at an odd crossroads where blowout victories at light heavyweight are no longer prime for the taking. It’s no surprise, then, that fans and media alike began to whisper of his possible middleweight relocation not long after Chris Weidman dethroned Anderson Silva at UFC 162.
But perhaps it’s not so simple.
Convenience and logic would certainly play into Machida’s willingness to move. Silva is, after all, no longer the residing kingpin at 185. With his ousting, Machida has a window of opportunity to pursue the middleweight belt.
For all intents and purposes, a 20-pound weight cut would serve him admirably—he would be taking his lethal ensemble of karate-based strikes and evasive maneuvers to a division that hadn’t yet experienced them.
But before even leaving the HSBC Arena shortly after the disappointing decision loss, Machida shed light on a rather obvious fight to take after Saturday night’s defeat: a rematch against Davis to firmly avenge the controversial decision.
When asked about the possible second attempt during an interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani, Machida boldly exclaimed, “Yes, I have no doubt. I want to rematch with Phil Davis because I want to prove that I can beat him.”
Even if the UFC were hesitant to present another go at Davis-Machida, the “Dragon” isn’t heavily impacted by this loss. He entered the bout with an official No. 1 contender slot in the UFC light heavyweight rankings, whereas Davis barely broke the Top 10 cutoff. It stands to reasons that such a controversial decision won’t send Machida plummeting downward.
Moving to a fresh weight class could potentially sacrifice some of the momentum he’s built at 205. Fresh faces might present fresh opportunities for a calamitous defeat. Would it be wise for Machida to leave the division on such an odd note, only to risk the uncharted waters of 185?
Worse yet, he can’t underestimate the consequences of his bond with Silva. In an interview with ESPN, the “Spider” illuminated how close his relationship is with Machida:
We spend more time together than with our own families. We share the pains, the frustrations, and just because [Dana White] wants to sell a fight that [Dana White] thinks it would be cool and that the public would like to see two companions fighting. [Dana White] wants to match a fight with two friends? That’s impossible, it only happens with people who aren’t real friends.
If Silva is triumphant in his December rematch against Weidman, Machida would be left as the odd man out—plenty of middleweight matchups with no willingness to actually challenge for the middleweight belt.
Is that a risk worth taking, or would he be better served with some more time at light heavyweight as the year draws to a close?
During the post-fight interview at UFC 163, Machida despondently looked into the crowd and voiced his dismay: “I don’t know what they’re judging—just listen to the crowd and they’ll tell you what happened. (My corner) told me to go in hard, and that’s what I tried to do. I don’t know what happened.”
The reality of the case is that many in the MMA community felt much the same way.
Machida will need to take some time to collect and compose—scampering away to middleweight leaves behind the viable rematch against Davis, not to mention a bevy of fights made possible by his top-tier rank within the division. A trilogy fight against Shogun Rua certainly comes to mind. Keep in mind that—unlike a title fight against Silva—he has no reservations about a second attempt to solve the Jon Jones puzzle.
If the year draws to a close and Machida still feels disheartened by his efforts at light heavyweight, a drop to the lower weight class would be reasonable enough.
In the interim, he’s best served by maximizing his efforts in a division he’s long called home. Considering his library of highlight reel finishes at light heavyweight, there’s no reason to doubt that Machida’s return to form is only one flashy knockout away.
Jose Aldo lived up to his billing as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world yet again Saturday night after finishing off the gritty Chan Sung Jung via fourth-round TKO at UFC 163.
It was Aldo’s second career finish in a UFC title fight, …
Jose Aldo lived up to his billing as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world yet again Saturday night after finishing off the gritty Chan Sung Jung via fourth-round TKO at UFC 163.
It was Aldo’s second career finish in a UFC title fight, but one that came to fruition after the “Korean Zombie” blew his own shoulder out while punching.
In any case, Aldo produced another tantalizing performance on the back of blazing speed, raw power, well-rounded ground skills and unmatched athleticism.
Following his fourth straight featherweight title defense, what can we expect next from one of Brazil’s biggest names?
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 LyotoMachida
The battle between Phil Davis and LyotoMachida 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.
Prior to his 