Tag: UFC 163

Jose Aldo Will Face Chan Sung Jung in UFC 163 After Anthony Pettis’ Injury

The fight set to headline UFC 163 on Aug. 3 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil has hit a major snag.Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (16-2) had dropped weight to take on featherweight champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo (22-1) for his title, but a knee injury to Pettis has …

The fight set to headline UFC 163 on Aug. 3 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil has hit a major snag.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (16-2) had dropped weight to take on featherweight champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo (22-1) for his title, but a knee injury to Pettis has forced Dana White to replace him with “The Korean Zombie” Chang Sung Jung (13-3).

While the Korean Zombie is certainly a formidable challenger to Aldo, he doesn’t have the star power that Pettis has.

Showtime is one of the most dynamic strikers in the sport, and he’s extremely underrated on the ground. He is also the last man to defeat lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Seeing him challenge Aldo—one of the pound-for-pound best—would have been exciting, but it won’t be happening any time soon.

Pettis was the No. 1 contender for Henderson’s lightweight title after destroying “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone at UFC on Fox 6 in January. Despite his standing as No. 1 contender, Pettis told Matt McNulty of The New York Post, he was tired of waiting on a title shot at lightweight.

He had planned to make a temporary move to featherweight before resuming his quest for the lightweight crown. Those plans have obviously been dashed and there is no word on what Pettis’ next move will be.

Jung himself had other plans, but leaped at the opportunity to challenge for Aldo’s title. Per MMA Weekly, The Korean Zombie was set to take on Ricardo Llamas at UFC 162, but this opportunity is clearly more enticing.

UFC 163’s main event could still be entertaining, but Pettis’ removal could be seen as a bit of a letdown.

 

Follow me, because Royce Gracie started me on this MMA path, and now I’m out of control.

 


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Anthony Pettis Out of UFC 163 With Knee Injury; ‘Korean Zombie’ to Replace Him Against Jose Aldo

(Replace the number ‘162’ with ‘163’, and this promo is still pretty damn relevant. / Props: TheSuperactiontv)

Anthony Pettis‘s divisional line-cutting has apparently angered the vengeful MMA Gods, who have struck down the crowd-pleasing striker with a knee injury. UFC president Dana White just confirmed the bad news, saying that Pettis is officially out of his scheduled featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo, which was slated to go down at UFC 163, August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Pettis described the injury as a “small tear in my meniscus,” but didn’t give a specific timetable on his return.

So that’s the bad news. The good news is, Pettis has already been replaced by a title-challenger who’s actually earned a crack at the 145-pound belt: Chan Sung Jung, better known to us Westerners as “The Korean Zombie.” Jung was originally scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas in a likely #1 contender bout at UFC 162 next month, but has now been fast-tracked to a title fight in order to rescue the UFC 163 main event.

“TKZ” is 3-0 in the UFC, with incredible stoppage victories against Leonard Garcia (via twister submission), Mark Hominick (via seven-second KO), and Dustin Poirier (via d’arce choke, in a Fight of the Year candidate last May).

So who’s your pick in Aldo vs. Zombie? And is this a more interesting matchup to you than Aldo vs. Pettis?


(Replace the number ’162′ with ’163′, and this promo is still pretty damn relevant. / Props: TheSuperactiontv)

Anthony Pettis‘s divisional line-cutting has apparently angered the vengeful MMA Gods, who have struck down the crowd-pleasing striker with a knee injury. UFC president Dana White just confirmed the bad news, saying that Pettis is officially out of his scheduled featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo, which was slated to go down at UFC 163, August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Pettis described the injury as a “small tear in my meniscus,” but didn’t give a specific timetable on his return.

So that’s the bad news. The good news is, Pettis has already been replaced by a title-challenger who’s actually earned a crack at the 145-pound belt: Chan Sung Jung, better known to us Westerners as “The Korean Zombie.” Jung was originally scheduled to face Ricardo Lamas in a likely #1 contender bout at UFC 162 next month, but has now been fast-tracked to a title fight in order to rescue the UFC 163 main event.

“TKZ” is 3-0 in the UFC, with incredible stoppage victories against Leonard Garcia (via twister submission), Mark Hominick (via seven-second KO), and Dustin Poirier (via d’arce choke, in a Fight of the Year candidate last May).

So who’s your pick in Aldo vs. Zombie? And is this a more interesting matchup to you than Aldo vs. Pettis?

Anthony Pettis Injured, Korean Zombie Now Fights Jose Aldo at UFC 163

Get this one: An injury has compromised a major upcoming UFC title fight. Luckily, this time there were plenty of other deserving challengers waiting in the wings. UFC president Dana White tweeted minutes ago that Anthony Pettis injured his knee a…

Get this one: An injury has compromised a major upcoming UFC title fight. Luckily, this time there were plenty of other deserving challengers waiting in the wings. 

UFC president Dana White tweeted minutes ago that Anthony Pettis injured his knee and is out of the headlining UFC 163 bout against featherweight champ Jose Aldo. 

Filling in for him will be Chan-Sung Jung, better known by his nickname, “The Korean Zombie.” 

Pettis, the last reigning WEC lightweight champ, was announced to fight “Scarface” in February, after he texted White indicating that he’d prefer dropping down a weight class instead of waiting for a shot at 155 pounds (via MMA Junkie). 

“Showtime” had his UFC debut spoiled by Clay Guida in June of 2011 but has since rattled off three straight wins against Jeremy Stephens, Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. 

Coincidentally, Jung recently told BJPenn.com that Pettis “cut in line” and should have to earn a shot at the featherweight title like everyone else. 

The Korean Zombie is a big fan favorite, riding a ton of momentum after earning four “Fight Night” bonuses in three bouts between March 2011 and May 2012. 

Jung earned “Submission of the Night” honors for submitting Leonard Garcia with a twister at UFC Fight Night 24, the first fighter in UFC history to execute the spine/neck crank hold. 

He then earned the “Knockout of the Night” award for knocking out former title challenger Mark Hominick in just seven seconds at UFC 140, before earning both “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” bonuses against Dustin Poirier at UFC on FUEL 3. 

After 16 minutes of high-paced action, Jung tapped “The Diamond” with a D’arce choke early in the fourth round. 

Jung had been on the shelf for a while following shoulder surgery but was set to return against fellow contender Ricardo Lamas at UFC 162 next month. 

The UFC has not immediately announced if Lamas will still have an opponent for the July 6 pay-per-view event.

Will The Korean Zombie be able to pull off a major upset, or will Aldo add another highlight-reel finish to his impressive resume?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show. 

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CreepyWatch: Ian McCall Gets Booked for UFC 163, Could Really Use a Win Here


(Now there’s a guy who’s probably tied some women to railroad tracks in his day. Photo via CageWall.com)

Once upon a time, Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall was considered by many to be the #1 flyweight fighter in the world. Of course, this was back in 2011, when the UFC didn’t have a flyweight division, and the 125-pound MMA scene in America was pretty much limited to the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.

Public opinion of McCall has changed dramatically since then. First, he went 0-1-1 in a pair of fights against Demetrious Johnson during the UFC’s inaugural flyweight tournament in 2012, and followed that up by losing a decision to Joseph Benavidez at UFC 156 this past February. (Along the way, he soldiered through problems both personal and legal.) So even though McCall is still officially listed as the UFC’s #3 flyweight contender — despite being winless in three Octagon appearances — it’s clear that his back is against the wall, and his next fight is of the “must win” variety.

On Saturday, the UFC announced that Ian McCall will return at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro) against Iliarde Santos, a Brazilian scrapper who lost his UFC debut last month when he was KO’d by Yuri Alcantara. On paper, this is a fight that McCall should win. Unfortunately, paper goes out the window when you’re talking about UFC events in Brazil, where Brazilian fighters have been winning over 80% of the time when matched up with non-Brazilian opponents. (Brazilians enjoyed a 7-0 sweep against foreigners at UFC on FUEL 10, by the way.) Can McCall rescue his UFC career with a win against Santos? Or will he just give the bloodthirsty — and occasionally shirtless — Brazilian fans another reason to celebrate?

The current UFC 163 fight-lineup is after the jump…


(Now there’s a guy who’s probably tied some women to railroad tracks in his day. Photo via CageWall.com)

Once upon a time, Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall was considered by many to be the #1 flyweight fighter in the world. Of course, this was back in 2011, when the UFC didn’t have a flyweight division, and the 125-pound MMA scene in America was pretty much limited to the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.

Public opinion of McCall has changed dramatically since then. First, he went 0-1-1 in a pair of fights against Demetrious Johnson during the UFC’s inaugural flyweight tournament in 2012, and followed that up by losing a decision to Joseph Benavidez at UFC 156 this past February. (Along the way, he soldiered through problems both personal and legal.) So even though McCall is still officially listed as the UFC’s #3 flyweight contender — despite being winless in three Octagon appearances — it’s clear that his back is against the wall, and his next fight is of the “must win” variety.

On Saturday, the UFC announced that Ian McCall will return at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis (August 3rd, Rio De Janeiro) against Iliarde Santos, a Brazilian scrapper who lost his UFC debut last month when he was KO’d by Yuri Alcantara. On paper, this is a fight that McCall should win. Unfortunately, paper goes out the window when you’re talking about UFC events in Brazil, where Brazilian fighters have been winning over 80% of the time when matched up with non-Brazilian opponents. (Brazilians enjoyed a 7-0 sweep against foreigners at UFC on FUEL 10, by the way.) Can McCall rescue his UFC career with a win against Santos? Or will he just give the bloodthirsty — and occasionally shirtless — Brazilian fans another reason to celebrate?

The current UFC 163 fight-lineup is after the jump…

Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis
Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
Josh Koscheck vs. Demian Maia
Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
Cezar Ferreira vs. Clint Hester
Robert Drysdale vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Josh Clopton vs. Rani Yahya
Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes
Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos
John Lineker vs. Phil Harris
Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde

Legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor Robert Drysdale Signs With UFC, Debuts at UFC 163

Huge news out of Las Vegas today, as it has been announced that legendary BJJ instructor turned MMA fighter Robert Drysdale has signed with the UFC and will make his promotional debut against Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis.

A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who holds over 90 tournament titles to his credit — including an ADCC Absolute Division championship in 2007, video here — Drysdale has tutored such UFC veterans as Forrest Griffin and Dan Hardy in the art of ground fighting (or as Bob Arum calls it “homosexual skinhead rolling-about“). Since making the transition from the mat to the cage in 2010, Drysdale has submitted six straight opponents, such as TUF 3‘s Mike Nickels and Bellator vet D.J. Linderman (a.k.a the guy who Anthony Johnson planked at WSOF 1), inside the first round.

For his big debut, Drysdale will face Brazilian slugger Ednaldo Oliveira, who hasn’t competed in the UFC since being strangled out in Gabriel Gonzaga’s first post-unretirement UFC bout at UFC 142. Prior to his own debut, however, “Lula Molusco” — which if my Portuguese is correct means “Lady Mollusk” — was also undefeated, collecting 8 TKO’s in 12 contests.

Featuring a light heavyweight sure-to-be…uh…barnraiser? (lunker?) between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis as well as the return of Thales Leites (please, CONTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT), UFC 163 goes down on August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

–J. Jones

Huge news out of Las Vegas today, as it has been announced that legendary BJJ instructor turned MMA fighter Robert Drysdale has signed with the UFC and will make his promotional debut against Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163: Aldo vs. Pettis.

A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who holds over 90 tournament titles to his credit — including an ADCC Absolute Division championship in 2007, video here – Drysdale has tutored such UFC veterans as Forrest Griffin and Dan Hardy in the art of ground fighting (or as Bob Arum calls it “homosexual skinhead rolling-about“). Since making the transition from the mat to the cage in 2010, Drysdale has submitted six straight opponents, such as TUF 3‘s Mike Nickels and Bellator vet D.J. Linderman (a.k.a the guy who Anthony Johnson planked at WSOF 1), inside the first round.

For his big debut, Drysdale will face Brazilian slugger Ednaldo Oliveira, who hasn’t competed in the UFC since being strangled out in Gabriel Gonzaga’s first post-unretirement UFC bout at UFC 142. Prior to his own debut, however, “Lula Molusco” — which if my Portuguese is correct means “Lady Mollusk” — was also undefeated, collecting 8 TKO’s in 12 contests.

Featuring a light heavyweight sure-to-be…uh…barnraiser? (lunker?) between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis as well as the return of Thales Leites (please, CONTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT), UFC 163 goes down on August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

–J. Jones

Robert Drysdale Signs with UFC, Will Debut at UFC 163

For all you hardcore Brazilian jiu-jitsu fans, get ready for one of the biggest signings the UFC has made in recent times.According to MMAJunkie.com, the UFC has signed world champion jiu-jitsu artist Robert Drysdale to its light heavyweight division. …

For all you hardcore Brazilian jiu-jitsu fans, get ready for one of the biggest signings the UFC has made in recent times.

According to MMAJunkie.com, the UFC has signed world champion jiu-jitsu artist Robert Drysdale to its light heavyweight division. The grappling ace will make his UFC debut in Brazil when he takes on former heavyweight Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163.

Drysdale trains out of Las Vegas and is the jiu-jitsu coach for many notable fighters in that area. He was seen on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was the BJJ coach for Frank Mir‘s team.

Drysdale‘s MMA career has been incredibly impressive so far, running a 6-0 record. His longest fight in that six-fight span was just under three minutes long.

All of his wins have come via a submission, proving that he is one of the top submission artists in the world. In addition to beating UFC veteran Mike Nickels with a guillotine choke, he has also taken out notables Isaac Villanueva (armbar) and DJ Linderman (rear-naked choke).

Going forward, the UFC has definitely bolstered its light heavyweight division with this top-notch prospect. Nobody in the division will be able to match up grappling-wise with Drysdale, who could be a contender if he develops some striking.

His fight against Oliveira will be a real litmus test for him. The former heavyweight competitor makes his 205-pound debut against Drysdale, so he will likely have the size advantage.

Oliveira has good boxing skills and was a main sparring partner of Junior dos Santos. He gets good training and will be ready for a specialist like Drysdale.

Time will tell how good Drysdale will be, but with a great jiu-jitsu base like his, there is no reason why he cannot be a contender in the division. Guys like Vinny Magalhaes have used a superior BJJ base to carve out a pretty solid place in the organization.

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