UFC 163: 'Aldo vs Zombie'

[wandshogun09]

Just a few weeks until this bastard;

 

 

PPV MAIN CARD

Jose Aldo vs Chan Sung Jung - UFC Featherweight Title

Lyoto Machida vs Phil Davis

Cezar Ferreira vs Thiago Santos

Thales Leites vs Tom Watson

John Lineker vs Jose Maria Tome

 

FX PRELIMS

Vinny Magalhaes vs Anthony Perosh

Sheila Gaff vs Amanda Nunes

Sergio Moraes vs Neil Magny

Ian McCall vs Iliarde Santos

 

FACEBOOK PRELIMS

Rani Yahya vs Josh Clopton

Francimar Barroso vs Ednaldo Oliveira

Bristol Marunde vs Viscardi Andrade

 

Considering we were meant to be getting this...

 

 

The UFC have done a good job saving this event from being a disaster. Aldo vs Pettis was probably the fight for me this year so I'm gutted it's off, but as far as replacements go, they couldn't have picked a better one in my opinion.

 

 

You have to love the Zombie. One of the most exciting fighters in MMA hands down. He'll be fighting an uphill battle against Aldo and it's a fight he's not likely to win I don't think, but what Zombie lacks in technique at times, he makes up for in unpredictability, creativity in his attacks and toughness. And don't sleep on his ground game. If he can find a way to put Aldo on the ground...

 

 

He's coming off a long layoff though. He hasn't fought since May 2012. Then again, cage rust didn't stop Chris Weidman last Saturday did it. Before the layoff, Zombie was riding perhaps the most incredible three fight winning streak in MMA history, for style points at least.

 

First he submitted Leonard Garcia, with the first ever twister in MMA, as pictured above. His next fight he knocked out respected veteran striker Mark Hominick in 7 seconds! Tying the second fastest KO in UFC history with Todd Duffee (first place is Duane Ludwig's KO of Jonathan Goulet). Then in his last fight last May, he submitted Dustin Poirier with a D'Arce in an amazing FOTY contender and called out Aldo afterwards.

 

Zombie Jung was mega popular at that point and people were calling for him to get the title shot. Sadly injuries fucked that up and in his absence other contenders emerged. Plus the potential for an Aldo vs Anthony Pettis fight got everyone moist. Zombie has lost a lot of momentum and this fight doesn't seem as big as it would've been a year ago as a result.

 

Whatever happens, it should be exciting.

 

 

Machida vs Davis is the co-main. I'll be honest I'm not that interested in this. I've said before, I like Phil Davis. He seems a good chap and he's usually a fun interview and all that. But Christ is he boring when the cage door closes. There's no getting away from it. It's a shame because he has the physical gifts, he's a great athlete, marketable look, relatively young and a likable personality. But he's held back by his dull style of fighting. He's a bit of a throwback to the 'one style' fighter days. His striking is awful and he seems to lack killer instinct at times. He's a phenomenal wrestler though and he mixes submissions in well. Especially his anaconda chokes. And who can forget his version of the Kimura, now dubbed the 'Mr Wonderful', on Tim Boetsch? He's talented, he just seems to have come along 10 years too late. Unless he improves drastically on his striking, and soon.

 

Machida is still a force. He's kind of become the forgotten man at 205 but to me he's still the man best equipped to solve the Jon Jones puzzle. At 205 anyway. I fancy Machida winning by whatever he wants in this fight. Machida eats wrestlers for breakfast, no doubt washing them down with a big glass of piss. I don't see him having much bother with Davis, unless his fluorescent pink shorts blind him or something.

 

Maia vs Koscheck is a funny piece of matchmaking. I don't really smell what Joe Silva was cooking when he knocked this one together. All I can think is maybe Koscheck asked for it as a revenge thing for Maia sending Kos' bird Fitch out of the UFC and to the minor leagues. Still, Koscheck is on a slump and Maia is on a streak. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

Still an intriguing fight though. I'm hoping Maia chokes him purple. I really like Maia at 170. Talk about a career resurgence. He was fast becoming irrelevant at 185, and pretty boring as well. The cut to 170 and the fresh start seems to have given him a new lease of life. If he wins this fight, fuck it, I say give him a title shot. He probably won't get one yet, probably will need another win still, but I'd actually be very interested in a GSP vs Demian Maia title fight. Providing GSP gets by Johny Hendricks of course.

 

Ferreira vs Hester could be the sleeper on the main card I reckon. Two TUFers. Ferreira won the first TUF Brazil, Hester was on TUF 17. Could be a fun one this. Ferreira's got some great BJJ but he's dangerous standing also, his TUF finale vs Sergio Moraes was great fun and a forgotten fight from 2012. Hester, I only know from his recent TUF stint but I liked him. And in his UFC debut he did this...

 

 

Lineker vs Harris should be a fun way to open up the PPV. Can't remember too much about Phil Harris, but John Lineker is brilliant to watch. I've really became a fan of his during his last few fights. If you haven't seen it, go out of your way to watch Lineker vs Louis Gaudinot from last year. He's so exciting to watch, stupid fast and aggressive, and he's a KO artist in a division sorely lacking them. He might be my favourite Flyweight.

 

Some good stuff on the prelims. Leites vs Watson stands out. Leites' return to the UFC. I remember thinking they were way harsh to cut him at the time. Without bothering to wiki it, I'm sure after the shitty Anderson Silva fight, he beat someone quick and looked good. Then he lost a decision which most thought he was screwed in (against Sakara I think) and they sacked him. I never agreed with how almost the entire blame got dumped on him for the Anderson fight. Good to see him back. Not sure how he's looked recently but Watson's coming off that crazy fight with Nedkov. I'm looking forward to this.

 

What else? The women usually deliver, 'Uncle Creepy' is on the card and BJJ world champion and long-time grappling coach to the stars Robert Drysdale makes his long awaited UFC debut.

 

Should be good. And it's in Brazil so the atmosphere will be top drawer as well. Especially with the Brazil vs The World feel to the card, there's a Brazilian in every fight there.

 

 

Discuss.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

The UFC have done a good job saving this event from being a disaster. Aldo vs Pettis was probably the fight for me this year so I'm gutted it's off, but as far as replacements go, they couldn't have picked a better one in my opinion.

 

For me, Aldo vs. Zombie is my fight of the year. When Aldo vs. Pettis was made I was bummed that Zombie wasn't getting the shot, I was of the opinion that the second Jung was healthy, he should be pitted against Aldo. Aldo vs. Pettis would have been an amazing fight, but Pettis' decision to go and challenge at FW was way out of the blue and really shafted the FW contenders, including Jung, Swanson and Lamas. Totally unnecessary too, as Pettis would be in Grant's spot if he didn't jump the gun and text Dana to fight Aldo, he would have had the rematch with Bendo in his hometown from the beginning. I'm all for seeing Aldo vs. Pettis down the line, as Aldo has said he'll be fighting at LW soon enough as the cut to FW gets more difficult. Pettis would be the perfect guy for Aldo to make his LW debut against, if anything it'll be a better fight as neither man will have the weight cut issues like at 145.

 

Zombie is the no. 1 guy at FW for me, Swanson and Lamas have both been impressive, but he eclipses them considerably with the 3 fight run you mentioned. In a nice bit of marketing, a promo video I watched noted that both Aldo and Zombie are undefeated in the UFC.

 

He's coming off a long layoff though. He hasn't fought since May 2012. Then again, cage rust didn't stop Chris Weidman last Saturday did it.

 

Nor Mark Munoz. I think the whole thing of "cage rust" is mostly mental. It's all well and good to train and spar to get the physical aspects down, but if you lack confidence getting back in the cage for the real thing after a long layoff, your performance will suffer accordingly. Both Weidman and Munoz had a chip on their shoulder, something to prove going into Saturday's event, Weidman with facing the legendary Silva, and Munoz with the injury/weight issue. If Zombie walks into the Octagon with the right mindset to accompany hard training, we'll get the best version of the fight possible.

 

 

Machida vs Davis is the co-main. I'll be honest I'm not that interested in this. I've said before, I like Phil Davis. He's talented, he just seems to have come along 10 years too late. Unless he improves drastically on his striking, and soon.

 

I feel you on the lack of interest. Davis seemed to lose some of his fire after getting schooled by Rashad. Compare the Davis that came at Boetsch to the guy who fought Magalhaes. I don't think his striking is that bad, it's just fundamentally very basic. There's opportunity for him to improve (look at Maia) but that definitely has to happen quickly, aka before fighting a guy like Machida.

 

Machida is still a force. He's kind of become the forgotten man at 205 but to me he's still the man best equipped to solve the Jon Jones puzzle. At 205 anyway. I fancy Machida winning by whatever he wants in this fight. Machida eats wrestlers for breakfast, no doubt washing them down with a big glass of piss. I don't see him having much bother with Davis, unless his fluorescent pink shorts blind him or something.

 

Brilliant. You're right about Machida becoming the forgotten man at 205. I think it's a combination of his refusal to save UFC 151 (which Dana had a go at him for) and the subsequent bore-fest with Hendo. Hendo is equally to blame on both those points, but let's be honest, Hendo is infinitely more likable than Machida is.

 

 

Maia vs Koscheck is a funny piece of matchmaking. I don't really smell what Joe Silva was cooking when he knocked this one together. All I can think is maybe Koscheck asked for it as a revenge thing for Maia sending Kos' bird Fitch out of the UFC and to the minor leagues. Still, Koscheck is on a slump and Maia is on a streak. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

Koscheck has been on a slide, and I haven't really enjoyed a fight of his in years. His Hughes stoppage was good, but ol' country boy was looking pretty damn good up until that finishing flurry. Besides that, he lost in fairly dull fashion to Hendricks, won in fairly dull fashion over Pierce, and was GSP's boxing bag before that. He still is a name though, which was probably Joe Silva's reasoning. Koscheck isn't as good as Fitch in the wrestling department IMO, and unless he can clip Maia early, I see Maia's run continuing. GSP vs. Maia sounds awesome to me as well.

 

On the prelims, I like Vinny vs. Perosh. Both guys suck at striking but it'll be a tremendous BJJ chess match (hopefully, not a sloppy kickboxing attempt). I'm a little surprised Perosh got another shot after the Jimmo KO, given his age I figured he'd quietly go off into the sunset, especially after this gruesome toe injury.

 

 

Also, Sheila Gaff... don't judge me, I found her a bit attractive. Apparently she has a 'berserker' fighting style, we could use a female Wanderlei

[wandshogun09]

Totally unnecessary too, as Pettis would be in Grant's spot if he didn't jump the gun and text Dana to fight Aldo, he would have had the rematch with Bendo in his hometown from the beginning.

 

That would have still gone tits up when Pettis got injured though. Dana even considered giving Pettis Grant's title shot the other week but the doctors wouldn't give Pettis the all-clear in time for the Milwaukee show.

 

You're probably right though. Zombie, Lamas and Swanson are all more deserving contenders. And Pettis is bound to cross paths with Aldo and Benson again at some point, if he can somehow stop getting injured all the time.

 

Koscheck isn't as good as Fitch in the wrestling department IMO, and unless he can clip Maia early, I see Maia's run continuing. GSP vs. Maia sounds awesome to me as well.

 

Koscheck is a better pure wrestler than Fitch ever was in my opinion. He's a multi time NCAA Div 1 wrestler with a ridiculous amateur wrestling record from what I remember. He's a freak athlete. One of the best in MMA. I'd say he's stronger than Fitch as well, and has a more explosive shot. And more power in his strikes. I think he'll be harder to take down than Fitch was as well.

 

But where Fitch was better than Kos, I think, is he fought less risky and was a bit better on the submission side. Kos sometimes neglects his wrestling because he's had success with his KO power.

 

It's an interesting one. If Maia can do to Koscheck what he did to Fitch, man, that's a scary prospect for GSP, because Koscheck is a powerhouse. If Maia can drag Kos down, I think he'll probably finish him. Fitch was notoriously hard to catch in submissions (despite the Burkman loss recently). But Kos brings the threat of his KO power which Fitch didn't.

 

Also, Sheila Gaff... don't judge me, I found her a bit attractive. Apparently she has a 'berserker' fighting style, we could use a female Wanderlei

 

Course you do. You Aussies love your Sheilas. Not keen on Gaff looks-wise myself.

 

On the female Wanderlei point - we've already got one of them...

 

 

 

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Koscheck is a better pure wrestler than Fitch ever was in my opinion. He's a multi time NCAA Div 1 wrestler with a ridiculous amateur wrestling record from what I remember. He's a freak athlete. One of the best in MMA. I'd say he's stronger than Fitch as well, and has a more explosive shot. And more power in his strikes. I think he'll be harder to take down than Fitch was as well.

 

But where Fitch was better than Kos, I think, is he fought less risky and was a bit better on the submission side. Kos sometimes neglects his wrestling because he's had success with his KO power.

 

I think that last sentence is what made me rate Fitch over Kos (and you know how much I hate Fitch). On paper, Kos is the more decorated wrestler, but when was the last time he used it to great effect in the cage? What I do remember is that Kos isn't really the type to grind until the clock runs out, if he gets someone on the ground, he uses effective GnP. Even that could work to Maia's advantage though.

 

Koscheck is done as an elite title contender in my view, if he manages to win here it'd just derail a very promising challenger. Koscheck wouldn't get another shot at GSP even if everyone in the top 10 blew their knees out.

 

 

Also, Sheila Gaff... don't judge me, I found her a bit attractive. Apparently she has a 'berserker' fighting style, we could use a female Wanderlei

 

Course you do. You Aussies love your Sheilas. Not keen on Gaff looks-wise myself.

 

On the female Wanderlei point - we've already got one of them...

Haha, I didn't think Gaff was attractive when I saw her in pics or anything, but once in the cage I thought a bit differently. She has a nice bum.

 

Is Cyborg ever going to get her shit together? Once Tate fights Rousey again (and most likely loses), Rousey vs. Cyborg is really the only big fight left in the women's division.

 

I'd love to see Carano fight Rousey, but I think Hollywood has her for good now.

[wandshogun09]

Koscheck is done as an elite title contender in my view, if he manages to win here it'd just derail a very promising challenger. Koscheck wouldn't get another shot at GSP even if everyone in the top 10 blew their knees out.

 

That's another reason why it's odd matchmaking. Maia is a potential fresh challenger for GSP, or even Hendricks. And although Maia is on better form right now, Koscheck is a risky fight for him. If he comes out and knocks out Maia in a minute or something, what does that do for the division? As you say, he won't get a title shot, especially while GSP is holding the belt, so all you've done is eliminate a fresh challenger in a division that's almost been cleaned out.

 

They'd have been better off matching Kos up with someone like Kampmann, Hardy or Marquardt. Even Condit. Maia could have faced another guy who's "in the mix", or at least coming off a win, like Saffiedine, Lawler or even a Stun Gun rematch.

 

Haha, I didn't think Gaff was attractive when I saw her in pics or anything, but once in the cage I thought a bit differently. She has a nice bum.

 

Yeah, she has a cracking bottom half to be fair. But from the waist up she was a bit of a brick shithouse as I recall. Muscles you could strike a match on.

 

Is Cyborg ever going to get her shit together? Once Tate fights Rousey again (and most likely loses), Rousey vs. Cyborg is really the only big fight left in the women's division.

 

Cyborg is fighting Marloes Coenen in Invicta tomorrow night. I really rate Coenen, I wish she was in the UFC, but she's probably getting a pasting tomorrow. As for Cyborg, it's at the point now where regardless what side anyone takes in the debate, it's futile to argue because Zuffa holds all the cards. Cyborg is going to have to either make the cut to 135, or forget the UFC and the Rousey fight altogether.

 

On the 'only big fight left' bit, really it was always the only really big fight in the womens division. Rousey-Tate 2 is up there but the Cyborg fight could be huge promoted correctly. The only fight that I think would rival it right now would be Rousey vs Carano but that's not happening.

 

The UFC/Ronda will be just fine for a while yet though. It's Cyborg who's soon going to find herself out of interesting fights because the UFC is snapping up most of the good fighters and Cyborg's walking through the rest. She's going to run out of bodies soon.

 

Meanwhile, if Ronda keeps the title, she has this potential bunch of contenders;

 

Miesha Tate rematch - obviously this is happening next, and with their history, TUF and their rivalry it should feel like a big fight by December.

 

Cat Zingano - this is probably next for Ronda if she beats Miesha again. Very interesting fight. Both undefeated, which would be only the second time ever that the UFC had a title fight between two undefeated fighters. First was Rashad vs Machida.

 

Sara McMann - this would do wonders for MMA and the UFC's legitimacy and publicity. Two Olympic medalists facing off in the Octagon. Rousey got bronze in Judo, McMann got the silver in wrestling.

 

Liz Carmouche rematch - if Carmouche racks up a couple of wins, with how the first fight went and was received by the fans and Dana, I could see a rematch doing well.

 

Then there's Alexis Davis and Julie Kedzie knocking about. Marloes Coenen could work her way back in by then as well. And there's a few good, experienced fighters on TUF. Even if, say, Ronda loses to Miesha in December, how awesome would the trilogy be? A third fight with them at 1-1, and with the rivalry and all that, it would be great.

 

So yeah, I think the UFC womens division will tick along nicely for at least a couple more years yet. And by then we should be getting new girls popping up all the time, especially once this next TUF airs.

 

Cyborg needs the UFC more than they need her. Hopefully they'll work it out but I'm not hopeful. Especially if Tito Ortiz is still giving her career advice (is he?).

 

I'd love to see Carano fight Rousey, but I think Hollywood has her for good now.

 

Yeah odds are against that for a few reasons. Of course, like you say, she's found a way to make money without getting punched in the face and kicked in the legs. Also, a big part of it would be the weight. Gina had issues making 140-145 when she was fighting regularly, and when she was 4 or 5 years younger. For her to come back now, and make 135, would be rough on her.

[jimufctna24]

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/showthrea...29#post84686629

 

Maia vs Koscheck is off. Kos is injured

[wandshogun09]

Just when we were saying it's odd matchmaking as well. Right, is Stun Gun booked? I'd like to see that rematch if possible. Long shot, but Nick Diaz was asking Dana to get him a fight recently also.

[jimufctna24]

Stun Gun is not booked.

 

I say that would be a decent and realistic replacement. I think that is a better match-up in relation to rankings also. I would love it to be Diaz though.

 

EDIT: There is a rumor that Diaz wants to step up, could be bollocks though.

[wandshogun09]

Well Demian Maia wanted Diaz as his opponent on this card originally if I'm remembering right. And Diaz is nuts enough to do this. As you say, could be balls but you never know with Diaz.

 

He'd be mad to take this fight though in my opinion. Maia, on current form, is a nightmare for him I reckon. Even if Diaz had a full camp I'd pick Maia, taking it on 3 weeks notice would be silly.

[jimufctna24]

I think Maia would win as well by smothering Diaz over 3 rounds , but I would love Diaz to upset the apple-cart.

 

And yes Diaz is that menta (or silly if you like)l where he would take it on 3 weeks notice,

[wandshogun09]

As great as it would be for this card to get Diaz as a late addition, coming off two losses I'd rather see him wait and give himself more time to get ready and hopefully face someone he matches up better with like the Condit-Kampmann winner or Thiago Alves. I'd like to see him fight Maia but if he's going to go on a 0-3 skid I'd hate to see it be because he jumped in on short notice.

 

But, if Maia vs Diaz winds up happening on this card, I actually think they should bump it to co-main. It doesn't really matter I suppose but it's a way more appealing match up than Machida-Davis.

[jimufctna24]

It doesn't really matter I suppose but it's a way more appealing match up than Machida-Davis.

Your confidence in a Machida win makes me smile, but I cannot have confidence in Machida post Shogun he is very inconsistent.

 

The Rampage fight he failed to pull the trigger in the first two rounds, before showing he was a class above in the third and still lost on points. In contrast he was pin point and almost perfect against Couture and Bader.

 

Against Hendo he won, but should have looked a lot better. He was fighting a guy who he should have outclassed more clearly, Machida had a lot more weapons, speed and accuracy yet he let Hendo drag him into a competitive bout. You never know what Machida will show up, and I am worried if he is not motivated that he could let Davis steal a win on points if Davis can score a few takedowns and Machida is overly-passive with his striking (not going for counters and such)

[wandshogun09]

Have faith Jimmy. Phil Davis is basically the black Ryan Bader, minus KO power. He won't be slaying the piss drinking Dragon.

 

You have a point though. Machida can be gun-shy at times. I put the Rampage fight down to his confidence being rocked in the Shogun fights. Until then he had that untouchable thing going on. No-one could handle his speed or really lay a glove on him so he just seemed to coast on his speed/elusiveness. Once Shogun showed that good strategy and timing can beat speed, I think it really shattered Machida's confidence for a little while. He got it back though. He looked phenomenal against Couture, and I put the Bader performance among his very best along with his Rashad and Thiago Silva fights. When Machida is on, there's amost nothing like it. When he's at his best, he's the closest thing to Anderson for me. He's just never found the consistency Anderson had.

 

The Hendo fight was weird. I don't know if he was a bit spooked by Hendo's power or what, but he looked off a step from his usual form to me. Like you say, on paper, Hendo is tailor made for Lyoto's style and he was coming back from a year out as well. Still, it's not like its easy to beat Hendo. And the positive is he did end Hendo's career high streak of wins.

 

I don't see Davis lasting two rounds, I'll be honest. His best chance is to just wrestle-hump to the scorecards but I don't see him getting hold of Machida much. Like Bader, he's not fast enough, and he's going to be very predictable on the feet for a striker the level of Machida. Machida will probably be seeing his attacks in slow motion.

 

I'll plump for a Lyoto KO, round 2.

[jimufctna24]

Yeah, makes sense, if Machida comes out with less fear and more commitment with his work, it would prove your point that he was scared of Hendo's power, as Davis has not really shown much power in his hands.

 

I would try and argue that Davis is a better wrestler than Bader, but Rashad did not have much trouble with Davis. The thing with Davis is, he looks like he is going to be good. He is very tall and has a great physique, he looks like a pro basketball player. It could be that people slightly overrate him due to his athletic look, sort of like the opposite of Fedor or Roy Nelson.

 

Machida is in great shape though judging by this picture - http://instagram.com/p/brdjHYMAkE/

[wandshogun09]

Maia is off the card completely now Leites vs Watson has been promoted to PPV, and Creepy vs Santos has been bumped up from Facebook to FX.

 

Wonder if they'll just re-book Maia vs Koscheck for another show now.