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…
The UFC will once again invade Rio deJaneiro, 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 LyotoMachida 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 IuriAlcantara 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, EdianeGomes and Vanessa Porto.
Anything could happen, but Nunes has the slight edge.
August is a stacked month for the UFC.
Things kick off on Saturday night with UFC 163. The main event features Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie.”
However, that is only the beginning, with three more…
August is a stacked month for the UFC.
Things kick off on Saturday night with UFC 163. The main event features Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie.”
However, that is only the beginning, with three more events in the month.
The highlight is the first event on Fox Sports 1. Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will square off in a light heavyweight tilt in Boston boasting an undercard stacked with competitive and compelling fights.
UFC Fight Night 27 and UFC 164 close out the month. The title pictures will be rearranged: some fighters will emerge as new contenders while others will fall out of the discussion as they show themselves to be mere pretenders.
These are those men, and women, for the month of August.
UFC 163 comes to you from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The next installment of fights from the UFC is led by Jose Aldo’s defense of the UFC Featherweight Championship.
Aldo takes on No. 5-ranked Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Z…
UFC 163 comes to you from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The next installment of fights from the UFC is led by Jose Aldo’s defense of the UFC Featherweight Championship.
Aldo takes on No. 5-ranked Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie, in the main event. The Korean Zombie takes his place atop the card following an injury to Anthony Pettis that forced him off the card. He will try to make the most of the opportunity after the other 11 bouts conclude.
The co-main event of the evening is a light heavyweight feature between No. 1-ranked LyotoMachida and No. 7-ranked Phil Davis. A potential title shot could be hanging in the balance.
The other 10 bouts take place across seven divisions. There will be a lot of movement in the divisions after the dust settles in Rio.
Stay here at Bleacher Report for live reactions from every fight at UFC 163.
Sure, UFC 163 underwent some unexpected changes and fans are now left concerned about the quality of the overall pay-per-view card. But in spite of the shuffle, there are still several exciting bouts to be had Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.
The spot…
Sure, UFC 163underwent some unexpected changes and fans are now left concerned about the quality of the overall pay-per-view card. But in spite of the shuffle, there are still several exciting bouts to be had Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.
The spotlight will, of course, be focused on national hero Jose Aldo as he attempts to keep the “Korean Zombie,” Chan-Sung Jung, at bay in front of thousands of Brazilians crowding the HSBC Arena. Few can forget Aldo’s last appearance in his native Brazil—fans embraced the overjoyed champion as he rushed into the stands in celebration of his knockout victory over Chad Mendes.
Will he deliver another riveting performance or will the Korean Zombie’s tenacity be too much for him to handle?
Before that question is answered, UFC 163 presents a few other fights of noteworthy mention.
Let’s examine the most prominent, can’t-miss fights going down tomorrow night.
Heading into his title shot against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163, Chan-Sung Jung has described his nickname as both a “blessing and a curse.” Well, on Saturday night, the “Korean Zombie” will be moving forward straight into the line …
Heading into his title shot against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 163, Chan-Sung Jung has described his nickname as both a “blessing and a curse.” Well, on Saturday night, the “Korean Zombie” will be moving forward straight into the line of fire—don’t expect Aldo to leave him standing.
We should all come to terms with that before the fight even gets underway.
Jung is as equally surprised with the unexpected title shot as is the rest of the MMA community; featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas was running an impressive four-fight win streak when Aldo’s original opponent, Anthony Pettis, was injured and pulled from the highly anticipated title bout.
Yet for reasons unclear, here we are with the Korean Zombie’s gifted title shot.
To be unequivocally clear, I should clarify that Jung is a perennial fan favorite for good reason—his nickname finds its origin in his constantly forward-moving style. Regardless of how hard he’s blasted, the Zombie rarely goes down. An admirable trait—to be sure—and certainly one that leads to memorable Octagon outings. Few can forget Jung’s first bout with Leonard Garcia, a fight riveting enough for UFC commentator Joe Rogan to deem it the “Fight of the Decade.”
Looking back, though, it was a nightmare of a fight style to ever present against a tactician like Aldo. Garcia and Jung duked it out recklessly over the course of three rounds at WEC 48—neither man was willing to disengage from the multitude of exchanges. Haymakers were thrown endlessly and without much concern for accuracy.
Exciting stuff, to be sure.
But when the rematch was announced for UFC Fight Night 24, MMA analysts questioned whether either fighter had patched up the sloppier deficiencies in their fight games. Korean Zombie would infamously walk away with the UFC’s one-and-only twister submission, but—far more relevant to his title shot against Aldo on Saturday night—he also revealed that he wasn’t concerned with a controlled approach to fighting.
Let’s take a look at the exchanges leading up to the eventual submission win:
Notice how heavily Jung distributes weight on his lead leg—a frightening proposition when you consider Aldo’s track record of shredding thighs to pieces. Just ask Urijah Faber. Worse yet, once Garcia started to fall back into his tried-and-true method of swinging haymakers like windmills, he also started catching Jung with surprising consistency. By the time the first round came to a close, Jung was already cut under the eye.
When all is said and done, Jung went through two wars with Garcia, a fighter who was booted out of the UFC after five consecutive losses and the same fighter who showed a pathological disregard for proper striking offense and defense.
There’s also a telling loss on Korean Zombie’s record that took place between the Garcia fights—Jung was absolutely starched by George Roop. And don’t even dare to label that defeat as an “innocent mistake.” Roop began to initiate the footwork necessary for a high kick, whereas Jung opted to plant both feet and lazily wing a left hook. Fractions of a moment later, a left high kick acted as the headshot needed to down the zombie.
But perhaps it’s those very same issues that have won over droves of fans in his favor.
He presses forward with seemingly unrelenting cardio and the knowledge that his ground game is to be feared. In that regard, even the most dominant featherweights should respect his unusual fight style.
But Aldo is a considerable step above the normal standard of measure for a UFC featherweight.
His lethal uppercuts are tailor-made for Jung’s tendency to weave and dodge while tilting at the hips. Remember how I mentioned Korean Zombie’s flat-footed style that results in an emphasis on the lead leg? Yeah, Aldo will likely capitalize on that weakness inside of one round.
All of the minutiae add up to the perfect recipe for Aldo’s success. Even the stats, courtesy of Reed Kuhn, reveal the likely conclusion on Saturday night.
Bleacher Report’s own Jack Slack provided a brilliant technical breakdown of the bout. Even when speaking of Jung’s admirable head movement, he couldn’t help but mention his tendency to get hit:
The unfortunate side effect of owning good head movement is it encourages a fighter to commit to exchanges far more often. Consequently, their opponent misses plenty of punches, but even connecting at a low percentage, the strikes rapidly add up. Leonard Garcia would hit Jung clean with the fourth or fifth punches of his salvos as Jung got sloppy late in exchanges.
Regardless of his exact method, Jung notoriously gets hit. Historically speaking, Aldo doesn’t necessarily hit often, but when he does, he makes sure it counts.
Perfect performances are few and far between in the UFC. Even the most premier fighters misstep over the course of any given contest. Add in the extra ten minutes afforded by the championship rounds and you’re left with an overwhelming amount of time to execute with flawless precision.
Though he’s shown marked improvement over the course of his recent, three-fight win streak, Korean Zombie isn’t the archetype for what I’d confidently describe as a precision fighter. And that realization, in and of itself, seals his fate on Saturday night.
He’ll be squaring off against a fearsome featherweight champion, one who’ll engage him with the added confidence of a 15-fight unbeaten streak. Aldo is the manifestation of Zombie’s nightmare—he’s not a volume striker but, instead, a multifaceted combatant who attacks with near-surgical precision.
Four-ounce gloves have always been MMA’s great equalizer, so, of course, the main event at UFC 163 could prospectively end in favor of either of these great fighters. In theory, the Korean Zombie could be fueled by another fight that sees him as the underdog. He could even wear down the champion over the course of several rounds.
Don’t hold your breath, though.
The UFC featherweight championship fight at UFC 163 is worth your time and money not as an evenly matched contest but, instead, as another devastating display of Aldo’s arsenal. It’s not a matter of if but more a matter of how.
I’m tuning in to see the champion put the Korean Zombie out of his misery. Trust me when I say that you should do the same.
Jose Aldo will look to defend the UFC featherweight title, once again, at UFC 163. Challenging the champion will be Chan Sung Jung, who stepped in as a replacement for an injured Anthony Pettis.
Should he beat Jung on Saturday, Aldo would join Tito Ort…
Jose Aldo will look to defend the UFC featherweight title, once again, at UFC 163. Challenging the champion will be Chan Sung Jung, who stepped in as a replacement for an injured Anthony Pettis.
Should he beat Jung on Saturday, Aldo would join Tito Ortiz, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre as the only fighters to earn five consecutive UFC title defenses. Aldo is already considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA today, but being put on the same level as those names could earn him more recognition as one of the best competitors in history.
Meanwhile, Jung has his sights set on completing an amazing career turnaround following a knockout loss to now-bantamweight George Roop.
As Aldo and Jung prepare to meet at UFC 163, it’s time to dig deeper into the matchup and see which fighter is most likely to have their hand raised over the coming weekend.
Key Stats
Noted for his wild fights with Leonard Garcia and Dustin Poirier, Jung gets hit frequently. Avoiding only 64 percent of strikes thrown at him, Jung does not have better striking defense than any of Aldo’s past UFC opponents. Obviously, Jung going tit for tat with one of the best strikers in MMA won’t be a formula for success on Saturday.
Stuffing 92 percent of takedowns against him, Aldo is not taken down often. However, all three opponents who took the Brazilian down since he became a champion under the Zuffa banner have dragged Aldo into deep waters and forced him to win on the scorecards.
While Aldo has faced solid wrestlers like Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes inside the Octagon, Jung’s takedown success rate of 83 percent is better than any of the featherweight titleholder’s previous UFC opponents. In order to become champion at UFC 163, Jung will likely need to find a way to drag Aldo down multiple times.
Game Plans
The last time Aldo faced an opponent with the submission ability of Jung, he adopted a boxing approach against Kenny Florian. The champion did mix in a few leg kicks against the now-UFC commentator, but he kicked much less than he usually does to avoid putting himself in a position to be taken down with a caught leg.
Expect a similar game plan from Aldo on Saturday.
Jung, meanwhile, will likely look to wear Aldo down with grappling and fast pacing. Although the Korean’s striking isn’t bad, there’s probably not one featherweight in MMA capable of beating Jose Aldo in a kickboxing match. The blueprint for beating Aldo seems to include making him carry your weight and taking advantage of his sometimes-poor conditioning in the later rounds.
Breakdown
Against almost all of his opponents, Aldo’s leg kicks have been one of his primary attacks. While Aldo might also be able to have plenty of success with leg kicks against Jung, the risk won’t be worth the reward, considering he has the ability to pick his challenger apart with punches.
Jung showed his capability to catch leg kicks against Dustin Poirier, and the last thing Aldo wants in this matchup is to hand his opponent a takedown with a strike he didn’t need to throw.
There’s little doubt Aldo would do a better job of setting up his kicks than Poirier did against Jung. However, Aldo’s chances of retaining his belt against an opponent who has been knocked out by George Roop are so much greater when standing that it just doesn’t make sense for him to give Jung extra opportunities for takedowns.
Although he’d be best served boxing, it’s worth noting Aldo’s ability to escape almost immediately from takedowns that result from his rare caught leg kicks.
Even if Aldo does stray from what would seem to be the ideal approach against Jung, he’s not going to be easy to hold down in the event of mistakes. Almost every time the champion has been taken down inside the Octagon, he’s bounced right back up like a spring.
While Jung does have some solid head movement that could allow him to work inside and clinch, Aldo isn’t going to put himself in bad spots like some of the Korean’s past opponents have.
The champion will sit back on his punches and force Jung to be the aggressor in order to get in tight, whereas Poirier essentially handed Saturday’s title challenger a takedown when he overcommitted on the above lunging left hand.
One of the best strikers in MMA, Aldo’s punches keep him in position to defend takedowns when needed. Aldo always keeps a healthy distance between his feet when punching and never gets them crossed up when navigating around the Octagon. When his opponents do shoot in, Aldo’s usually just a whizzer, hip turn and pivot away from creating space and turning his focus back toward striking.
When he’s looking to create takedowns on his own, Jung often backs opponents up with looping punches, hoping to corner them. Aldo rarely allows his adversaries to back him down, and, when he does, he is a master of evading attacks and circling back to the center.
Look for a lot of jabs and straights from Aldo, as he attempts to beat Jung’s wider punches and looks to avoid having a hook of his own timed for a takedown. When Aldo does throw hooks, though, Jung has a tendency to duck them by bending at the waist, as pointed out by Bleacher Report’s own Jack Slack on Tuesday. That could set up the knee that this writer believes will end Saturday’s main event.
If Jung wants to become the new featherweight champion, he’s going to have to find a way to do what others have had difficulty doing against Aldo and pin the champion to the fence. That will help put Aldo’s suspect conditioning to the test early. Should Aldo’s pace start slowing in the third round instead of the fourth, that’s when the titleholder becomes beatable.
Nothing is ever out of the question in MMA, but it’s just very hard to envision “The Korean Zombie” accomplishing something that Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber and others couldn’t.
The UFC will once again invade Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday as Jose Aldo and Chan-Sung Jung headline UFC 163. 
