UFC 163: 'Aldo vs Zombie'

[wandshogun09]

* Aldo/Zombie was a strange fight. I don't see the logic if Zombie's gameplan was to to take Aldo deep and tire him out. It would be fair enough if Zombie was pushing the pace to actually make Aldo tire but he couldn't simply do nothing, allow himself to go 3 rounds down in Aldo's homeland and hope that he'd get tired. I think the situation got to him and he froze in the headlights so to speak, he showed Aldo too much respect early and he allowed Aldo into a lead that its very unlikely he would have clawed back injury or not.

 

My thinking was that maybe Zombie, coming off the layoff and injury, didn't fancy his own cardio to hold up if he went balls out early on when Aldo is sharpest. And like I said, he probably saw that the 3rd is usually Aldo's fading point in a lot of fights. It's not a great plan and there might be something to the theory that he froze a bit as well but I think he was pinning everything on Aldo tiring and then going all out for a finish in the later rounds. It's the way he seemed to completely change at the start of the 3rd, he'd done nothing to that point then suddenly he's winging haymakers and flying knees.

 

I usually pick up on injuries but i had no idea that Aldo was injured during the fight. The lack of kicking was strange but i put it down to Aldo wanting to concentrate on his hands. The champ didn't look great but considering he was fighting on a broken fight you've gotta give him a pass. That finish was ruthless though, attacking a clearly dislocated limb...fighting is a cruel, brutal game.

 

Ha, yeah it was Aldo's "sweep the leg" moment. Vicious bastard.

 

I didn't notice the injury either. I did wonder why he wasn't kicking because Zombie often just stands there flat-footed so he'd be open for Aldo to really tee off. I just put it down to Aldo thinking Zombie's only chance was on the ground so he didn't want to risk kicking too much. But even then, he's never shown any fear of the takedown before.

 

As for Kong, i think he's gotten ahead of himself with calling for fights and stuff, it's all well and good if he's winning but he's now 1-2 in the UFC and is back to square one. Kong's the kind of guy the UFC need to matchup correctly, he's a blood and guts type fighter and it's always worth taking advantage of that...id be down for Kong/Leben (if Leben is sticking around).

 

I'd be up for that. It's the kind of fight Leben needs now. If he looks like shit against Kong, who's pretty much perfect for him to have a good scrap with, then it might be time to just call it a day.

 

* Was very impressed with Cezar Ferreira until i found out that his opponent has only ever beaten one guy with a winning record. I think this was a bit of a gimmie to show off the guy to an audience clearly on board with him. Ferreira could be a bit of a star, I expect him to get a bit of a high profile fight on the next Brazilian card.

 

I've been saying this for over a year but nothing ever comes of it, they need to book Ferreira vs Daniel Sarafian. I don't know why they haven't yet. It makes perfect sense. It was supposed to be the TUF Brazil final last June but Sarafian got injured. That would be the fight I'd choose, it's got a ready made backstory and I think it'd be a good fight. Sarafian would certainly give him more a test than Santos did.

 

I know next to nothing about how they score these fights but I was very surprised that they gave the decision to Davis. Machida seemed in control of the fight and I thought he landed some good clean shots. Davis never seemed to hurt him, but I

[jimufctna24]

The last paragraph is the crux of it all for me. Machida is too talented and skillful in my opinion to run close with Rampage, Hendo and Davis. I think like the article says he may have to change his approach to be more aggressive and take more chances. But at 35, it may come all a bit too late.

[wandshogun09]

"Machida throws kicks and punches like they cost him money", kind of sums Lyoto up in a nutshell for me.

 

He's hugely talented as a striker but he's never quite shook that Karate point fighter thing. He seems to think that winning the points game in Karate and winning the points game in MMA are the same thing. The frustrating thing is, when he does attack he looks absolutely lethal. We see it in bursts. That flurry in round 1, most of it didn't land but he gave Davis something to worry about at least. He looked great against Rampage when he finally let loose as well, but it was too late. When it works - like it did against Bader, Couture and Evans - and he waits and waits and draws the opponent in and finally lands that one deathblow, it's spectacular. But if that deathblow never comes it just looks like you're doing nothing. It's a fine line to walk between brilliance and inactivity when it comes to Machida.

 

And the thing is, I don't really know how he'd go about changing up at this point. Or if he even wants to. Remember his style isn't just his style, it's the Machida family style. He probably feels like he has to stay true to that. And he's been doing that style since he was a toddler, it's a big ask to change now. Especially if he keeps convincing himself that it's the judges who are 100% the problem and not his style. And to be honest, what makes Machida so hard to deal with is the very style that makes his fights hard to judge. If he starts trying to be Wanderlei Silva to avoid decisions, he's probably going to get caught with something. I suppose it's a question of finding a balance. I'd like to see a bit more of his combinations (he's like Ryu when he gets going at the finish vs Rashad), and also more of his grappling which is said to be really solid but he rarely uses it.

 

I can't even think who he should fight next. With all the backlash, and Dana saying he thought Machida won, I wouldn't be too surprised if we get an immediate rematch of Machida vs Davis. There's no-one else who really jumps out as obvious opponents for either right now. Glover is tied up, they've both already fought Rashad (although Machida vs Rashad 2 wouldn't be an awful idea right now I suppose) and Wandy and Hendo are surely fighting each other, I'm guessing.

[Egg Shen]

what about Mousasi?

[Dead Mike]

I don

[Egg Shen]

yeh that's fair enough Mike, but Lyoto's been in many close fights in his career and in all of them you'd think if he'd just pulled the trigger that little more often he'd have gotten the nod in all of them. Lyoto's only definitive losses were the ones to Shogun & Bones.

[wandshogun09]

That's true, I still genuinely believe that Davis, Rampage and Hendo are fighters he has the style to beat comfortably. Yet he went 1-2 against those three and all were fights where you felt like he could have done more.

 

I always forget Mousasi for some reason. Him vs Machida would be interesting. He could fight Machida or Davis.

[jimufctna24]

If Chael beats Shogun.

 

I say its time for Machida vs Shogun 3! They may decide to re-book Shogun vs Lil Nog 2 though, regardless of the outcome of Chael vs Shogun. Mousasi would be interesting, Mousasi is a better striker than Davis and Hendo but would not threaten with a wrestling game.

[wandshogun09]

There was talk that Shogun and Little Nog would be coaching TUF Brazil 3, regardless of the result of Shogun vs Chael. Fuck knows, but depending on Nog's health, I could see Shogun coaching against either Nog or Machida.

 

Shogun vs Machida 3 should happen at some point.

[METAL ON METAL]

Turns out Aldo was also battling Kidney Stones!

[Rey_Piste]

The kidney stones were brought on because of cutting weight, it's a regular thing that happens with fighters who have to cut a load of weight.

[wandshogun09]

Korean Zombie is fucked up. On top of the separated shoulder, he also suffered a fractured orbital bone AND a fractured foot. Poor sod. All this after a 15 month layoff. I hope he's not the new Mr Porcelain. A title previously owned by Mike Swick.

[Egg Shen]

fucking hell, that fight might be up there for the 'most damage in one fight' award, and it wasn't particuarly action packed.