When this fight was originally booked, we thought it might be the UFC’s way of getting rid of Kos. (Maia is on a three-fight win streak at 170 pounds, Koscheck has lost his last two, and the fight is in Brazil, for God’s sake.) So maybe this injury was a blessing in disguise — unless the UFC just re-books Koscheck vs. Maia for their next Brazilian event.
UFC 163 will proceed with 12 scheduled bouts instead of 13. The current lineup is after the jump…
(Let me guess…motorboating accident? / Photo via Getty)
When this fight was originally booked, we thought it might be the UFC’s way of getting rid of Kos. (Maia is on a three-fight win streak at 170 pounds, Koscheck has lost his last two, and the fight is in Brazil, for God’s sake.) So maybe this injury was a blessing in disguise — unless the UFC just re-books Koscheck vs. Maia for their next Brazilian event.
UFC 163 will proceed with 12 scheduled bouts instead of 13. The current lineup is after the jump…
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes
Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
Josh Clopton vs. Rani Yahya
The injury bug that has forced the UFC to reset a number of UFC on Fox 8 bouts has now infected the UFC 163 fight card. Josh Koscheck has been injured and was forced from his scheduled fight against Demian Maia.
The UFC made the announcement of the inj…
The injury bug that has forced the UFC to reset a number of UFC on Fox 8 bouts has now infected the UFC 163 fight card. Josh Koscheck has been injured and was forced from his scheduled fight against Demian Maia.
The UFC made the announcement of the injury Friday morning. Maia will not get a replacement opponent, and the card will proceed with 12 scheduled fights.
Koscheck (17-7), the No. 10 welterweight in the UFC, is currently on a two-fight losing streak after dropping a split decision to Johny Hendricks and falling to TKO to Robbie Lawler. Maia (18-4) is 3-0 since dropping to welterweight, defeating Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch. That run has earned Maia the No. 5 ranking in the welterweight division.
No specifics were given on Koscheck’s injury or if the fight would be rescheduled for a later card.
UFC 163 will take place Aug. 3 from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The event will be headlined by a featherweight title bout, as champion Jose Aldo will put his title on the line against Chan Sung Jung.
Jung is an injury replacement for Aldo’s original opponent, former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Full UFC 163 Fight Card
Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung (for featherweight title)
Light heavyweight stalwarts Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis will face each other on August 3 at UFC 163 in Brazil. Fans have appraised this match as a plan by the UFC to consolidate Machida’s highlight …
Light heavyweight stalwarts Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis will face each other on August 3 at UFC 163 in Brazil.
Fans have appraised this match as a plan by the UFC to consolidate Machida‘s highlight reel, but Davis’ chances shouldn’t be discounted.
The implications of this clash are monumental. Machida, racing his age, is mounting a final crusade for Jon Jones’ belt. A loss would thwart this quest.
Meanwhile, people will doubt Davis’ ascent into relevance until he mounts a solid performance, as he’s desperate for a career-defining moment.
With The Dragon opening as a favorite (minus-250 per 5Dimes.com), oddsmakers are favoring Machida‘s elusive, calculating tactics over Davis’ grappling acumen.
Considering Machida‘s ability to negate takedowns using movement and sumo-oriented clinch work, those odds are apt. Davis, however, isn’t a sacrificial outlet for Machida‘s glory. Perhaps Mr. Wonderful has the discipline and athleticism to duplicate the successful strategies that others have used to defeat the Brazilian.
Machida, a karate wizard, tends to ensorcel wrestlers like Davis into a frenzy. The Dragon employs feints and an arsenal of kicks to distance himself from grapplers, thereby dealing damage from a range that is safe from incoming takedown attempts.
Vexed, his foes become impatient, leading them to charge into Machida‘s trap—his straight counters.
Davis cannot plod into Machida‘s web, as did Ryan Bader and Thiago Silva. Instead, he needs to emulate those who have upset Machida‘s range in the past, like Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jon Jones.
Shogun was able to punish The Dragon before he could roost by intercepting his escapes with thudding leg kicks. Rua‘s adherence to smashing Machida‘s motor—his legs—reduced his opponent’s speed and agility, allowing Shogun to hone in on a gimpy Machida.
Davis could consider spamming kicks, too. Granted, Mr. Wonderful is not the Muay Thai kingpin that Shogun is, and kicking Machida isn’t a routine task. Exhausting The Dragon with leg kicks, however, is a more plausible route to Davis’ likely game plan—taking Machida down—than bull rushing him is. Machida is too well-equipped to deal with overzealous charges from grapplers.
Davis would be wise to Jones’ success against Machida, too. In Round 2, Machida wilted under the pressure of the champion’s grapple-centric approach. This outcome may have been a result of The Dragon’s failure to utilize the disciplined, long-distance probing he used to shoo Jones in Round 1.
Jones took advantage of Machida‘s errant burst of confidence by pursuing a takedown once they were in a clinch. As soon as Jones dragged him into his realm, Machida was ruined. Should Machida present any such opportunity to Davis, the American needs to capitalize with the same urgency that Jones did.
The odds against Davis are steep. The ravenous Brazilian crowd will seethe at him as they await his demise. The hometown hero, a man with a skill set tailored for beating fighters like Davis, will be confident and eager to impress his nation.
Still, a fighter of Davis’ mettle can overcome any odds. Watch for Mr. Wonderful to close the distance methodically, apply pressure when advisable and punish Machida for any strategic lapses.
Chan Sung-Jung enters his UFC 163 title bout with Jose Aldo as a four-to-one underdog, but the Korean has plenty of reasons to believe he can pull off an upset against the mini-powerhouse in Brazil (Bloody Elbow). Aldo holds the advantage in the standi…
Chan Sung-Jung enters his UFC 163 title bout with Jose Aldo as a four-to-one underdog, but the Korean has plenty of reasons to believe he can pull off an upset against the mini-powerhouse in Brazil (Bloody Elbow).
Aldo holds the advantage in the standing exchanges as well as a champion’s advantage on the scorecards, but when it comes to all other aspects, Jung can rival the champion.
There is almost no area where either fighter is truly weak. Instead an analysis only points to who is slightly stronger than the other.
Anthony Pettis may want to think about changing his nickname from “Showtime” to “Hard Luck.” The 26-year-old former WEC lightweight champion just can’t seem to catch a break. The latest setback for Pettis saw him forced fr…
Anthony Pettis may want to think about changing his nickname from “Showtime” to “Hard Luck.” The 26-year-old former WEC lightweight champion just can’t seem to catch a break. The latest setback for Pettis saw him forced from the main event at UFC 163 due to a knee injury.
How Pettis got the UFC 163 main event booking against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo was an example of a fighter trying to make his own luck. After defeating Donald Cerrone in January of this year, Pettis looked like he was going to get a shot at the UFC lightweight title. The problem was that he was going to have to wait for that shot.
Champion Benson Henderson already had a fight booked with Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez for April, which put a potential title fight for Pettis pretty far into the future. Not wanting to wait and fearing a potential move to lightweight from Aldo, Pettis threw his hat in the ring and said he wanted a shot at Aldo at featherweight.
That request was granted and the fight was booked for August 3 in Brazil, and everything was trucking along well until Pettis was injured.
Sherdog.com caught up with Pettis and asked him about the injury:
I injured my knee in Brazil, during the press conference. I was rolling with Phil Davis, went for a calf crusher position, he rolled the wrong way and my knee popped. I thought I was fine. I got on the plane, 11-hour flight, I get to Atlanta, and I can’t even walk, my knee’s swollen, so I got the MRI done. I tore my LCL and unfortunately they said it’s an injury I can’t bounce back from in enough time to fight.
And just like that, another title shot evaporated for Pettis.
Pettis’ other shot at UFC gold that failed to come to fruition was supposed to happen sometime in early 2011. After the UFC absorbed the WEC, Pettis looked like he was in line for a unification bout, but the draw between then UFC champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard put the Pettis fight on the backburner until those two could rematch. Injuries to both Edgar and Maynard delayed that bout, and Pettis decided to take a fight instead of waiting for Edgar and Maynard to do battle once more.
That fight was the June 4, 2011 bout against Clay Guida. The 31-year-old Guida walked away from that contest with a unanimous decision victory, crushing any immediate title hopes for Pettis.
Pettis’ timing and luck have not been the best over the last two plus years, but he is only 26 years of age and remains ranked near the top of the lightweight division, so there’s plenty of time for things to reverse course for the former WEC champion.
Phil Davis, the No. 8 ranked light heavyweight, will meet No. 1 ranked Lyoto Machida at UFC 163 in August. Will a victory in Rio be enough for Davis to potentially challenge for the gold later this year?Yes,it will be. There are several factors at play…
Phil Davis, the No. 8 ranked light heavyweight, will meet No. 1 ranked LyotoMachida at UFC 163 in August.
Will a victory in Rio be enough for Davis to potentially challenge for the gold later this year?
Yes,it will be.
There are several factors at play for Davis to get a title shot, but first and foremost, lets focus on winning.
A win at UFC 163 will mark Davis’ third in a row—the other two victories in the streak are Wagner Prado and Vinny Magalhaes. While not exactly marquee victories, they are still consecutive wins.Only one fighter ranked above Davis would have a longer winning streak than three: Glover Teixeira.
Of the fighters ranked ahead of Davis currently, two are coming off losses and two are previous victims of his.
In a 2011 fight between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Davis, Davis took home a unanimous decision.
Since that loss, Nogueira has pulled off consecutive victories over Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans. Those two wins are certainly better than Davis’, but in making a case for a title shot Davis still holds a head-to-head win over Nogueira.
Aside from the win streak, Davis will have knocked off the No. 1 contender in Machida. Adding that to his resume will only add to his claim for a title shot.
Davis can even claim being the only current blemish on Alexander Gustafsson‘s record. Gustafsson is next up for Jon Jones at UFC 165.
With a win, there is only one likely fighter to be ahead of Davis, and that is No. 3 ranked Teixeira; he has not lost a single fight since 2005. His win streak and momentum will almost definitely win out over Davis.
One of the biggest things in Davis’ favor is the upcoming title fight itself.
Machida has been promised a title shot, but according to Dana White at the UFC 161 pre-fight press conference Jones doesn’t want to fight Machida because he already defeated him. The champion wants new challenges, but he has already defeated half of the top 10.
And should Gustafsson win, there is little doubt he would want to try and erase the memory of the loss with a rematch against Davis.
No matter who wins at UFC 165, Davis has a legitimate claim for the next title shot.
First things first, a very dangerous fighter awaits him. A victory against Machida would elevate Davis in to the top five, and a win over the top-ranked light heavyweight would give him a leg up on his competition. Looking too far down the road is dangerous, but it is hard to avoid taking a glance at the top of the mountain.
A win in Rio puts Davis near the summit.
In the current landscape of the division, a win over Machida makes Davis’ title aspirations very realistic— he would be in the catbird’s seat.
So, could he be next in line at the light heavyweight crown?
There is little doubt a win over Machida does just that for Davis. He has all the right things going for him to make it happen.
Now just comes that pesky little detail of defeating LyotoMachida.
Light heavyweight stalwarts 