By TXMMA Staff
UFC 163 Features Jose Aldo Defending His Belt Against Korean Zombie In Rio; Lyoto Machida Versus Mr. Wonderful Phil Davis
The UFC is taking their act to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this weekend with their latest international MMA offering, UFC 163, set for Saturday August 3rd at the HSBC Arena in Barra da Tijuca.
The UFC 163 fight card is headlined by a featherweight title fight pitting champion Jose Aldo against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. The event also features a light heavyweight co-main event with elusive Brazilian Lyoto Machida taking on American wrestler Phil Davis. The main card also features the official debut of TUF Brazil 1 winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira, the UFC return of Thales Leites, and a flyweight bout featuring John Lineker.
Here is the entire fight card for the event below.
145 lbs.: Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung <title>
205 lbs.: Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis
185 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos
185 lbs.: Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
125 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Jose Maria Tome
TV Prelims (FX)
205 lbs.: Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
135 lbs.: Amanda Nunes vs. Sheila Gaff
170 lbs.: Sergio Moraes vs. Neil Magny
125 lbs.: Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos
Prelims (Facebook)
135 lbs.: Rani Yahya vs. Josh Clopton
170 lbs.: Ednaldo Oliveira vs. Francimar Barroso
205 lbs.: Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde
UFC 163 Preview and Predictions
145 lbs. Title: Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung
This fight actually supposed to feature Jose Aldo taking on #2 ranked lightweight and former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis before the challenger was forced to pull out with a knee injury. In his place steps the “Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung.
With three wins in a row over Leonard Garcia, Mark Hominick, and Dustin Poirier, “Korean Zombie” has been doing quite well for himself as of late but he’ll be asking a lot out of himself versus the champion in this one. Jose Aldo is the most vicious striker in the division and is well-versed at handling himself should it come down to grappling in this one – plus he’s the better wrestler. With Aldo having tested himself against relentless pacers like Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes, and Kenny Florian in his own three fights he shouldn’t have a problem with Jung in this one.
Prediction: Jose Aldo over Chan Sung Jung by decision.
205 lbs.: Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis
This is a very interesting matchup featuring the karate, Judo/Greco, and general elusiveness of Lyoto Machida against the pure wrestling of Phil Davis. True, the American here (Davis) is a world-class grappler and has transitioned that very well into MMA but “The Dragon” may be a bad matchup for him. When it comes to balance and distance, Lyoto is one of the best out there and that may confound his opponent. If Davis is unable to get the takedown then he’ll be forced to exchange strikes with his opponent and that’s not an area he would want to be in. Machida is too far ahead of him in that department and too versed everywhere else as well.
Prediction: Lyoto Machida over Phil Davis by TKO, RD2.
185 lbs.: Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos
For those of you that don’t know or didn’t get an opportunity to watch this season stateside, Cezar Ferreira aka “Mutante” was the middleweight tournament winner of the premier season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. He’s also been out of the octagon for about a year due to injury so this fight will be his opportunity to make another, fresher statement. To be honest we’re not too familiar with his opponent but the UFC has historically given their TUF winners winnable fights in their first time out so I don’t foresee anything different here.
Prediction: Cezar Ferreira over Thiago Santos by decision.
185 lbs.: Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
It’s been a long winding road for Thales Leites ever since his awkward decision loss to Anderson Silva in his 2009 title shot. The guy went 6-1 in the UFC prior to that but it seems he dropped off since. Following up that Silva fight with a loss to Alessio Sakara, Leites dropped off the UFC map but that doesn’t mean he’s been inactive. He’s beaten Matt Horwich, Dean Lister, and more since then. Making his return, he’ll be facing Tom Watson, a UK-based striker with a 1-1 record in the UFC. He too has some legit wins on his record including over Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Matt Horwich but what he doesn’t have, we’re guessing, is an answer for the grappling of his Brazil-based opponent.
Prediction: Thales Leites over Tom Watson by submission, RD2.
125 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Jose Maria Tome
In the opening bout of the evening on PPV we get this flyweight matchup between up-and-coming John Lineker and tennis player / golfer sounding debutant Jose Maria Tome. As far as overall experience goes, Tome has the edge but Lineker has more reps in the UFC cage and seems to be getting more acclimated, winning two in a row after dropping his debut to Louis Gaudinot.
Prediction: John Lineker over Joe Maria Tome by TKO, RD3.
UFC 163 Undercard Quick Picks
Vinny Magalhães over Anthony Perosh by submission, RD3
Amanda Nunes over Sheila Gaff by TKO, RD3
Sergio Moraes over Neil Magny by submission, RD3
Ian McCall over Iliarde Santos by TKO, RD1
Rani Yahya over Josh Clopton by submission, RD1
Viscardi Andrade over Bristol Marunde by decision
Ednaldo Oliveira over Francimar Barroso by TKO, RD2