Tag: UFC 163

Brian Stann to Fill in for Joe Rogan as UFC 163 Color-Commentator


(“…AND ONCE AGAIN MACHIDA PROVES HE’S ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND ELUSIVE FIGHTERS IN THE DIVISION, LET’S KICK IT BACK TO CURT AND JAY IN THE STUDIO GRRRRAAAAAAHHHHGGH!!!”)

Newly-retired American hero Brian Stann has already lined up a gig covering college football for FOX Sports South this fall, but he’ll get a little more experience on the mic next month when he fills in for Joe Rogan at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro). Ariel Helwani first reported the news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, adding that a scheduling conflict is preventing Rogan from performing his usual color-commentary duties at the event.

As MMAMania points out, this will be the first time since UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami back in August 2011 that Rogan has been absent from a UFC pay-per-view card. (We can only assume that either Joe Rogan doesn’t like Brazil or Brazil doesn’t like Joe Rogan.) In the past, Kenny Florian has been the go-to guy when the UFC needs a substitute color-man, but it looks like the UFC wants to give this Brian Stann kid a shot and see if he’s got the goods. Will Stann be able to toss in relevant analysis in between Mike Goldberg’s endless plugs for Corn Nuts? And will you be paying to watch this two-fight card in the first place?


(“…AND ONCE AGAIN MACHIDA PROVES HE’S ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND ELUSIVE FIGHTERS IN THE DIVISION, LET’S KICK IT BACK TO CURT AND JAY IN THE STUDIO GRRRRAAAAAAHHHHGGH!!!”)

Newly-retired American hero Brian Stann has already lined up a gig covering college football for FOX Sports South this fall, but he’ll get a little more experience on the mic next month when he fills in for Joe Rogan at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro). Ariel Helwani first reported the news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, adding that a scheduling conflict is preventing Rogan from performing his usual color-commentary duties at the event.

As MMAMania points out, this will be the first time since UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami back in August 2011 that Rogan has been absent from a UFC pay-per-view card. (We can only assume that either Joe Rogan doesn’t like Brazil or Brazil doesn’t like Joe Rogan.) In the past, Kenny Florian has been the go-to guy when the UFC needs a substitute color-man, but it looks like the UFC wants to give this Brian Stann kid a shot and see if he’s got the goods. Will Stann be able to toss in relevant analysis in between Mike Goldberg’s endless plugs for Corn Nuts? And will you be paying to watch this two-fight card in the first place?

Brian Stann to Fill in for Joe Rogan as UFC 163 Color-Commentator


(“…AND ONCE AGAIN MACHIDA PROVES HE’S ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND ELUSIVE FIGHTERS IN THE DIVISION, LET’S KICK IT BACK TO CURT AND JAY IN THE STUDIO GRRRRAAAAAAHHHHGGH!!!”)

Newly-retired American hero Brian Stann has already lined up a gig covering college football for FOX Sports South this fall, but he’ll get a little more experience on the mic next month when he fills in for Joe Rogan at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro). Ariel Helwani first reported the news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, adding that a scheduling conflict is preventing Rogan from performing his usual color-commentary duties at the event.

As MMAMania points out, this will be the first time since UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami back in August 2011 that Rogan has been absent from a UFC pay-per-view card. (We can only assume that either Joe Rogan doesn’t like Brazil or Brazil doesn’t like Joe Rogan.) In the past, Kenny Florian has been the go-to guy when the UFC needs a substitute color-man, but it looks like the UFC wants to give this Brian Stann kid a shot and see if he’s got the goods. Will Stann be able to toss in relevant analysis in between Mike Goldberg’s endless plugs for Corn Nuts? And will you be paying to watch this two-fight card in the first place?


(“…AND ONCE AGAIN MACHIDA PROVES HE’S ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND ELUSIVE FIGHTERS IN THE DIVISION, LET’S KICK IT BACK TO CURT AND JAY IN THE STUDIO GRRRRAAAAAAHHHHGGH!!!”)

Newly-retired American hero Brian Stann has already lined up a gig covering college football for FOX Sports South this fall, but he’ll get a little more experience on the mic next month when he fills in for Joe Rogan at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro). Ariel Helwani first reported the news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, adding that a scheduling conflict is preventing Rogan from performing his usual color-commentary duties at the event.

As MMAMania points out, this will be the first time since UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami back in August 2011 that Rogan has been absent from a UFC pay-per-view card. (We can only assume that either Joe Rogan doesn’t like Brazil or Brazil doesn’t like Joe Rogan.) In the past, Kenny Florian has been the go-to guy when the UFC needs a substitute color-man, but it looks like the UFC wants to give this Brian Stann kid a shot and see if he’s got the goods. Will Stann be able to toss in relevant analysis in between Mike Goldberg’s endless plugs for Corn Nuts? And will you be paying to watch this two-fight card in the first place?

Breaking Down the Non-Brazilians’ Chances at UFC 163

UFC 163 marks the return to Brazil, a market that the UFC has heavily exposed the last year or so. With its return, speculation runs rampart as to the matchups between Brazilian fighters and non-Brazilian fighters.
The reason speculation is so heavily …

UFC 163 marks the return to Brazil, a market that the UFC has heavily exposed the last year or so. With its return, speculation runs rampart as to the matchups between Brazilian fighters and non-Brazilian fighters.

The reason speculation is so heavily examined is because many fans feel that the Brazilian fighters—on their home soil—have been getting “easy” fights or fights where they are advantageous. This is especially true in their last two trips to the MMA-crazy country, from the undercard to the main attractions.

Here is a look at the chances of the non-Brazilians fighting on the UFC 163 card.

Begin Slideshow

Korean Zombie: ‘I’m Sure I Will Defeat Jose Aldo’

Despite being an over 5-to-1 underdog, via BestFightOdds, in his UFC 163 featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo, Chan-Sung Jung believes he has what it takes to pull off the massive upset.
In a pre-fight interview with UFC.com, “The Korean Zombie” …

Despite being an over 5-to-1 underdog, via BestFightOdds, in his UFC 163 featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo, Chan-Sung Jung believes he has what it takes to pull off the massive upset.

In a pre-fight interview with UFC.com, “The Korean Zombie” explains that he will exploit the advantage he has on the ground to wear the champion out. 

“I think he has a weakness on the ground,” Jung said in Korean. “I will be pushing for it. I’m sure I will defeat Jose Aldo. It’s been my goal from the beginning of my MMA career. I never give up before reaching a goal. But, it won’t be easy.” 

The fan favorite, well-liked for his penchant for finishing fights, fills in for former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, who withdrew from his title showdown with Aldo about a month ago following a knee injury. 

Jung, currently sitting at No. 5 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings, enters his bout with Aldo on the strength of a three-fight win streak. 

As a matter of fact, Jung earned four fight bonuses during that 14-month span, two “Submission of the Night” honors, one “Knockout of the Night” award and finally a “Fight of the Night” bonus. 

Many also considered his twister submission over Leonard Garcia in March 2011 the “Submission of the Year,” while his battle with Dustin Poirier last May was widely regarded as the 2012 “Fight of the Year.”

While the upcoming title challenger has an impressive recent resume, his claim that he has an advantage on the ground will certainly lead to some debate among fans. 

Aldo, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, has defeated some elite grapplers on the mats, most notably winning two decisions over multiple-time BJJ world champion Reubens “Cobrina” Charles when they were still brown belts. 

Of course, “Scareface’s” ground game is rarely on display inside the cage due to his brutal Muay Thai striking game. 

Never say never though, as eight of Jung’s 13 professional wins have come by way of submission, despite being only ranked a blue belt in BJJ. 

Does Jung have what it takes to shock the world, or will August 3 be a quick, easy night for Aldo? 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com. 

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Cursewatch: UFC 163 Loses Two More Fighters to Injury/Fear of Brazilians


(Clint Hester sends Bristol Marunde into a graveyard spiral at the TUF 17 Finale. Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

Ladies and gents, we got ourselves a curse goin’. After losing three notable American fighters due to injury — Anthony Pettis, Josh Koscheck, and Robert Drysdale — we have even more UFC 163: Aldo vs. Zombie withdrawals to report today. Also falling off the August 3rd card in Rio are…

– TUF 17 castmember Clint “Headbussa” Hester, the Georgia-bred middleweight who was supposed to face TUF: Brazil winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira. Hester has pulled out of the main card bout due to injury, and Ferreira will now face 8-1 newcomer Thiago “Marreta” Santos.

– British flyweight Phil “Billy” Harris is also out of his scheduled main card bout (for undisclosed reasons) against Brazilian contender John Lineker, who will now be facing 33-3 veteran Jose Maria Tome.

Is it a coincidence that four Americans and one Brit have all pulled out of scheduled matchups against Brazilian fighters on this card? Yes. Do Brazilian UFC fighters have a notoriously high win-percentage while fighting at home? Sure. Should we file this under #boringconspiracies? Why the hell not.

The current UFC 163 lineup is after the jump. You know it’s a bad-sign when a barnraiser like Machida vs. Davis is by far the second-most-interesting match on this card…


(Clint Hester sends Bristol Marunde into a graveyard spiral at the TUF 17 Finale. Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

Ladies and gents, we got ourselves a curse goin’. After losing three notable American fighters due to injury — Anthony Pettis, Josh Koscheck, and Robert Drysdale — we have even more UFC 163: Aldo vs. Zombie withdrawals to report today. Also falling off the August 3rd card in Rio are…

– TUF 17 castmember Clint “Headbussa” Hester, the Georgia-bred middleweight who was supposed to face TUF: Brazil winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira. Hester has pulled out of the main card bout due to injury, and Ferreira will now face 8-1 newcomer Thiago “Marreta” Santos.

– British flyweight Phil “Billy” Harris is also out of his scheduled main card bout (for undisclosed reasons) against Brazilian contender John Lineker, who will now be facing 33-3 veteran Jose Maria Tome.

Is it a coincidence that four Americans and one Brit have all pulled out of scheduled matchups against Brazilian fighters on this card? Yes. Do Brazilian UFC fighters have a notoriously high win-percentage while fighting at home? Sure. Should we file this under #boringconspiracies? Why the hell not.

The current UFC 163 lineup is after the jump. You know it’s a bad-sign when a barnraiser like Machida vs. Davis is by far the second-most-interesting match on this card…

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)
Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung
Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos
Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
John Lineker vs. Jose Maria Tome

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes
Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT)
Josh Clopton vs. Rani Yahya
Francimar Barroso vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde

UFC 163: Robert Drysdale Forced out of Fight Due to Staph Infection

BJJ ace Robert Drysdale will have to wait a little bit longer to make his UFC debut.
Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting the Las Vegas native has been forced out of his scheduled upcoming bout at UFC 163 due to a staph infection. He …

BJJ ace Robert Drysdale will have to wait a little bit longer to make his UFC debut.

Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting the Las Vegas native has been forced out of his scheduled upcoming bout at UFC 163 due to a staph infection. He was originally scheduled to meet Ednaldo Oliveira in a light heavyweight contest.

It is unclear at this time whether the promotion will look for a substitute for Oliveira or if he will be removed from the card entirely. It’s another bite from the injury bug which has already transformed much of the UFC 163 main card.

Drysdale is one of the most accomplished grapplers in the world and is a former ADCC champion. He’s also won numerous medals in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships over the years. Aside from his personal accomplishments in BJJ, Drysdale is also a coach for many of Las Vegas’ top MMA fighters and has worked with some standout fighters in the past.

He also appeared on The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 as a coach for Team Mir.

Thus far in his MMA career, Drysdale has amassed a 6-0 professional record, with all wins coming via first round submission. His last three fights were competed under the Legacy FC banner, with his last fight being earlier this year in April.

For the 32-year-old Drysdale, time is precious. He’s still very new to the fight game despite having a wealth of knowledge in BJJ. Sitting on the sidelines isn’t going to further his career, but he should take some measure of confidence in knowing that past grappling champions such as himself have done very well in their MMA careers despite the late start.

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