(UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo defends his title against Chan Sun Jung in the 4th round)
If you passed out shortly after staying up with our live event play by play of UFC 163 last night or missed the event entirely, make sure to check out highlights from the night’s biggest fights as well as the full post event press conference. Above, you can see The Korean Zombie hang tough against Jose Aldo until an apparent dislocated shoulder spelled the end for the challenger.
After the jump you can see highlights from the fight all Brazilians are bitching about this morning – Phil Davis winning a unanimous decision over Lyoto Machida. Listen to Daniel Cormier break down both fights and then check out what the night’s fighters had to say about it all at the post-event presser. Also, you’ll find out who won the night’s big bonus awards.
(UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo defends his title against Chan Sun Jung in the 4th round)
If you passed out shortly after staying up with our live event play by play of UFC 163 last night or missed the event entirely, make sure to check out highlights from the night’s biggest fights as well as the full post event press conference. Above, you can see The Korean Zombie hang tough against Jose Aldo until an apparent dislocated shoulder spelled the end for the challenger.
After the jump you can see highlights from the fight all Brazilians are bitching about this morning – Phil Davis winning a unanimous decision over Lyoto Machida. Listen to Daniel Cormier break down both fights and then check out what the night’s fighters had to say about it all at the post-event presser. Also, you’ll find out who won the night’s big bonus awards.
Phil Davis wins a unanimous decision over former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida:
They didn’t headline the card, but much of the chatter exiting UFC 163 has focused around the results of Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida.
The two light heavyweight contenders met one another in a three-round contest that saw both men exchange offensive ch…
They didn’t headline the card, but much of the chatter exiting UFC 163 has focused around the results of Phil Davis vs. LyotoMachida.
The two light heavyweight contenders met one another in a three-round contest that saw both men exchange offensive charges. Machida was once again involved in a close decision on the scorecards, which has become the norm for the karate fighter.
Davis would end up taking the decision by scores of 29-28, but it’s clear many fans aren’t digging the scorecards. Most will argue that Machida should’ve won, but what do the stats say?
At almost the very instant that Bruce Buffer announced Phil Davis’ 29-28 unanimous-decision victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 163, a cacophony of overwhelming boos erupted from the audience in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In fact, both winner and los…
At almost the very instant that Bruce Buffer announced Phil Davis’ 29-28 unanimous-decision victory over LyotoMachida at UFC 163, a cacophony of overwhelming boos erupted from the audience in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil.
In fact, both winner and loser struggled to make it through their respective post-fight interviews as the uproar grew louder and louder.
Were the fans in attendance—not to mention the MMA media and fighters elsewhere—justified for being so outraged?
Take a look at the official scorecard procured shortly after the fight came to a close:
Well, if the calculated analysis offered by FightMetric carries any respectable weight, the controversy was justified—according to its statistical analysis, Machida should have walked away with a 30-27 victory over Davis.
Let’s briefly examine what took place on a round-by-round basis.
Round 1
Key takeaways for Davis: more total strikes, more strikes to the body, two attempted takedowns and one successful takedown.
Key takeaways for Machida: more significant strikes, more strikes to the head and a definitive salvo of strikes that dropped Davis to his knee.
FightMetric total effectiveness score: Davis with 20, Machida with 34.
Round 2
Key takeaways for Davis: more significant strikes, more total strikes, more strikes to the body, more strikes to the legs, four attempted takedowns and one successful takedown.
Key takeaways for Machida: more strikes to the head.
FightMetric total effectiveness score: Davis with 26, Machida with 41.
Round 3
Key takeaways for Davis: more strikes to the legs and four attempted takedowns with none successfully landing.
Key takeaways for Machida: more significant strikes, more total strikes, more strikes to the head and more strikes to the body.
FightMetric total effectiveness score: Davis with 2, Machida with 32.
Summary
The judges at UFC 163 unanimously declared Davis to be a 29-28 winner in his efforts against Machida.
Perhaps they were heavily influenced by the two successful takedowns, or perhaps they were indifferent to Machida‘s dominant use of the center of the Octagon to maintain cage control. According FightMetric, Davis landed more total strikes (29 vs. 27) but failed to land as many that proved to be significant (21 vs. 27).
Machida was clearly traumatized by how the decision unfolded—he lamented that “he didn’t know what they were judging.” Davis used the post-fight press conference to reveal an even-keel, though certainly indecisive, outlook on the fight:
Fighting is an emotional thing. If I had lost this fight, I would be like, “I didn’t lose that fight, and they know it.” That’s how it is. You put all you have into it. So everyone who was a Lyoto fan, I understand where you’re coming from. It’s an emotional thing. You’re cheering for your guy. He’s a Brazilian. I can imagine how that feels…I know how this works. Anytime it goes to the judges, you forfeit your right to be upset. You’ve just got to give it to the judges, and whatever they say is what they say.
Perhaps there’s much to be garnered from Davis’ critique—MMA fans seem to have decisively sided with FightMetric‘s breakdown but, when all is said and done, the judges determine who walks away with another digit in the win column.
If you dropped upwards of $50 on UFC 163 last night, you’re probably pretty frustrated right about now. This isn’t to say that UFC 163 was the worst pay-per-view in recent memory – although it certainly wasn’t the best – but that it failed to meet expectations across the board. The main event saw a fairly solid fight end early after the challenger, Chang Sung Jung, dislocated his shoulder and the champion, Jose Aldo, took advantage of that fact in brutal fashion. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Lyoto Machida somehow managed to lose to Phil Davis despite landing harder, cleaner strikes, more strikes overall, dictating the exchanges, taking virtually no damage, stuffing 80% of Davis’ takedowns, and being better by virtually any acceptable metric. And while there were some bright spots from the other fights, it just wasn’t enough to overshadow that feeling that what should have been simply wasn’t in the fights we really cared about.
The main event itself, in a way, was hampered from the get-go. In the first round the Korean Zombie checked an Aldo leg kick, possibly breaking Aldo’s right foot. As a result, the champion was forced to call upon his other weapons. In particular, he favored the jab he developed prior to his last fight against Frankie Edgar. Because he’s an exceptional fighter, Aldo was able to still take the fight to Jung without his primary weapon, but began to slow in the third. Whether that’s because Aldo is getting too large for the division and was fatigued from cutting weight or because fighting on a broken foot kind of sucks, I don’t know. But Jung began to gain some momentum heading into the fourth round. There, as he threw a right cross, Aldo countered with a left hook over Jung’s outstretched arm. As Jung’s arm was exposed to the awkward momentum generated from colliding with Aldo’s hook, his shoulder dislocated. The Korean Zombie gritted his teeth and tried to pop the arm back in, but Aldo smelled blood, took him down, and unloaded with ground and pound. While it may not have been enough to stop a fight against a healthy Jung, Herb Dean noticed Jung was unable to defend himself and stopped it.
If you dropped upwards of $50 on UFC 163 last night, you’re probably pretty frustrated right about now. This isn’t to say that UFC 163 was the worst pay-per-view in recent memory – although it certainly wasn’t the best – but that it failed to meet expectations across the board. The main event saw a fairly solid fight end early after the challenger, Chang Sung Jung, dislocated his shoulder and the champion, Jose Aldo, took advantage of that fact in brutal fashion. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Lyoto Machida somehow managed to lose to Phil Davis despite landing harder, cleaner strikes, more strikes overall, dictating the exchanges, taking virtually no damage, stuffing 80% of Davis’ takedowns, and being better by virtually any acceptable metric. And while there were some bright spots from the other fights, it just wasn’t enough to overshadow that feeling that what should have been simply wasn’t in the fights we really cared about.
The main event itself, in a way, was hampered from the get-go. In the first round the Korean Zombie checked an Aldo leg kick, possibly breaking Aldo’s right foot. As a result, the champion was forced to call upon his other weapons. In particular, he favored the jab he developed prior to his last fight against Frankie Edgar. Because he’s an exceptional fighter, Aldo was able to still take the fight to Jung without his primary weapon, but began to slow in the third. Whether that’s because Aldo is getting too large for the division and was fatigued from cutting weight or because fighting on a broken foot kind of sucks, I don’t know. But Jung began to gain some momentum heading into the fourth round. There, as he threw a right cross, Aldo countered with a left hook over Jung’s outstretched arm. As Jung’s arm was exposed to the awkward momentum generated from colliding with Aldo’s hook, his shoulder dislocated. The Korean Zombie gritted his teeth and tried to pop the arm back in, but Aldo smelled blood, took him down, and unloaded with ground and pound. While it may not have been enough to stop a fight against a healthy Jung, Herb Dean noticed Jung was unable to defend himself and stopped it.
Messy as it was, at least the main event had a definitive finish. I’m not sure what more can be said about Phil Davis’ “win” over Lyoto Machida that hasn’t already be said. Virtually every media observer scored the fight 30-27 for Machida. Some will argue that Machida “didn’t do enough,” which is ridiculous. By any standard – if you argue Davis landed more takedowns, it could be argued stuffing eight as opposed to allowing two inconsequential ones is more significant – he did more than Phil Davis. There really isn’t any room for debate here. People will toss around the phrase “don’t leave it up to the judges,” or some variation thereof, which is an exceptionally stupid reaction to have. Fights go to the judges. When they do, the judges ought to be able to score them competently. If they can’t, they shouldn’t judge fights. Simple as that. Machida isn’t under obligation to change his style; whether or not it requires patience to appreciate, it’s undeniably effective. Unfortunately, in MMA, effectiveness doesn’t always beat incompetence.
With all that said, there were some legitimate bright spots on the rest of the card. Anthony Perosh had a stunning 14-second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes. I’m not really sure if this is a bright spot considering Magalhaes is a much more interesting fighter than the 40 year-old Perosh, and he’ll probably end up cut because of this, but it was a shocking, exciting finish nonetheless. Ian McCall got back on the winning track with a Fight of The Night performance against Iliarde Santos. And John Lineker made a big entrance into the UFC flyweight division (OK, catchweight division) with a vicious TKO of Jose Maria Tome. Don’t be surprised to see Lineker get fast tracked to a title shot against Mighty Mouse with another win or two, assuming he can make the weight; the man has legitimately earned his nickname “Hands of Stone.” (Sorry Sam Stout. “Hands of Polyester” is still available, though!)
Still, it wasn’t enough to make up for what could have – or what should have – been. Aldo will hopefully move up in weight after this and, as much as I feel bad for poor T.J. Grant, get an immediate title shot. Hopefully against Anthony Pettis. For Jung, he’ll have to work his way back into contention. Assuming he recovers well, that shouldn’t be too hard, although I can’t say I’d favor him against Frankie Edgar. As for Phil Davis, I doubt this performance will land him a title shot, especially as Daniel Cormier looks to drop down to 205 after his fight with Roy Nelson. Machida deserves a rematch, but he won’t get one. Regardless of how effective, intelligent and even artful his style is, most fans just don’t have the patience for it. And unfortunately, it appears some judges don’t as well.
Full Results:
Main Card
Jose Aldo def. Chan Sung Jung via TKO (punches), 2:00 of Round Four
Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida via Unanimous Decision
Cezar Ferreira def. Thiago Santos via Submission (guillotine choke), 0:47 of Round One
Thales Leites def. Tom Watson Unanimous Decision
John Lineker def. José Maria via TKO (punches), 1:03 of Round Two
Preliminary Card
Anthony Perosh def. Vinny Magalhães via KO (punches), 0:14 of Round One
Amanda Nunes def. Sheila Gaff via TKO (elbows), 2:08 of Round One
Sergio Moraes def. Neil Magny via Submission (triangle choke), 3:13 of Round One
Ian McCall def. Iliarde Santos via Unanimous Decision
Rani Yahya def. Josh Clopton via Unanimous Decision
Francimar Barroso def. Ednaldo Oliveira Unanimous Decision
Viscardi Andrade def. Bristol Marunde via TKO (punches), 1:36 of Round One
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.
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.
At almost the very instant that Bruce Buffer announced Phil Davis’ 29-28 unanimous-decision victory over 