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By: Christian Walsh, MMATorch Contributor
Last weekend's UFC 163 event wasn't one of the UFC's strongest pay-per-view events, but it did feature a number of fighters and moments which stood out for positive and negative reasons.
The Event Itself: The viewers who tuned into UFC 163 saw an average card. How many people watched the event is hard to guess, because (like always) the UFC didn't put out as strong an advertising campaign for this – a lighter-weight championship – compared to the higher weight classes. It seems they're set on treating the lighter weight classes as lesser weight classes – hopefully the fans don't see them that way.
The co-main event was a snooze, and many people saw the fight going the loser's way, which puts a bit of salt in the bore-wound. The main event was a bit better, but nothing to write home about. In a year or two, when some guy sees an old UFC 163 poster in his local bar, and asks his friend if he watched that one, the response will most likely be, "Uhhh, I think so. That was the one where the Zombie dislocated his own shoulder, I think." And that's all they'll say about that, because – regardless of the decent undercard – if the main event is unmemorable, the event is forgotten entirely.
Judging: Davis vs Machida was close, and in a boring close fight there really is no true winner, but the judges are there for a reason. But time and time again the judges prove that maybe it would be better that they weren't there – maybe replace them with a paid coin-flipper to decide the winner instead. The only one in the fight game who's calling for a change in the judging is Joe Rogan, and he wasn't even there Saturday night – judging was allowed to run rampant. But seriously, whether you agree with the Davis-Machida decision or not, fight fans' decision is unanimous: a change has to be made.
Brian Stann: This was Stann's commentary debut, and I think he did a fantastic job; he was very knowledgeable and useful, as he has been on the studio panel for recent UFC events. Next to Kenny Florian, Stann has had the most successful fighter-to-analyst transition. He'll be a great substitute in the future, or a welcome permanent addition of one of the commentary teams.
Ian McCall: McCall fought the safe fight against Santos, but managed to be somewhat entertaining. He had great movement and activity throughout the fight, and managed to stay out of Santos's range and game most of the time. He looked like the top fighter he was, and his win over Santos was nothing more than a stepping stone to keep him relevant in the flyweight division.
Sergio Moraes and the triangle from mount: Moraes's technique was air-tight, and I expect nothing less from a four-time jiu-jitsu world champ. This is his second win in the UFC, and as it was aired on the PPV he earned a lot of fans (who hadn't watched TUF: Brazil) with his impressive win (I sure didn't know who the heck he was before this fight, now I won't soon forget him).
The triangle from mount is the real star from Moraes's fight, however. It shows a high-level of jiu-jitsu, and it is stunningly underutilized in MMA considering how an opponent's arms are so often positioned defensively in mount-bottom, which provides a window for this technique. I have a feeling that the triangle from mount is going to become much more prevalent in the sport that's always growing after Moraes' use of it.
Amanda Nunes: Nunes put on a strong performance against... oh, right, Sheila Gaff. See what happens? I had to check my notes, and I literally just watched this fight. In quick one-rounders, the winner almost always looks great while the loser is quickly forgotten. Nunes showed a well-rounded game that had a technical, exciting style. If she makes a run in the division, this fight will be the source. The UFC women's bantamweight division is still in its infancy, so anyone who can win (impressively) is shot to the top. Given that Nunes is Brazilian and preformed that well in Brazil, and her fight was shown on the PPV as well, she's got a lot of new fans – and that helps her case in the rankings as well. Currently sitting at #7 in the UFC rankings, she's looking up after this successful debut – but with Rousey sitting on top of the heap, who really wants to get up in the rankings, right?
Viscardi Andrade: Andrade looked very comfortable in the octagon, with promising skills. Luckily for him people actually got to see his fight because it was aired on FX after being live on Facebook. It was definitely a great UFC debut, and it adds to an impressive win streak that now stands at seven.
Anthony Perosh: Perosh's striking skills put Magalhaes away early. Finishes that quick are always remembered by fans, and this is a big win for Perosh's career. He needed this win after being knocked out twice as quickly July 2012 – seven seconds.
Vinny Magalhaes: It's hard to call Magalhaes' loss a poor performance – there was hardly anything to judge. After a poor performance against Phil Davis in April, that's two losses in a row for Magalhaes after winning his debut last year, and while this may not be his ticket out, in today's UFC he's in need of a win, desperately. Preferably something that can overshadow the fact that he was put to sleep in fourteen seconds.
John Lineker and Jose Maria: Sure, Maria ended the fight without his hand raised, but he still walked away from this fight better than he came into it. It was an exciting fight, and fans and UFC brass alike love exciting fighters – fighters who try to finish. These flyweights put on a show, and both of them deserve praise. Lineker, with the win, moves forward in the division, and he gets credit for surviving that first round.
Thales Leites: Leites and Watson both got gassed in their fight, but Leites was able to push through it and put on an exciting performance.
Cezar Ferreira: Wow. Good lord. No wonder this guy won TUF: Brazil. A lot of TUF winners have drifted into the crowd and disappeared; after his performance against Thiago Santos, I don't see that happening to Ferreira any time soon. He looked really comfortable in the Octagon, and with his technique combined with his strength and speed, I won't be surprised if he becomes a real force in the middleweight division; a division that – if Anderson Silva loses the rematch to Weidman in December – is no longer on lockdown.
Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis: Regardless who you thought should've gotten the decision, neither one of these fighters won. When you have to count each strike afterword to decide the winner, how is that fight victor at all? The problem with Machida's counter-striking game is that sometimes fighters won't play into it, and that ends up making for a very boring fight – did Machida fight Dan Henderson ever? Hm. Can't recall. Sad thing is, I was in attendance of Machida's fight with Henderson, and I was forced to watch the same thing Saturday night.
Davis moved well enough to avoid Machida, but was too mindful of his counter-striking to go for the win, and Machida only had one offensive flurry. I understand these men are participating in a sport, and they are trying to smartly add wins to their record, but they need to remember that their sport is fighting, and one that relies directly on entertainment. If Machida truly was the number one contender as UFC rankings claimed, he should've proved it. If he thought he did enough to win Saturday night, fine, but in no realm of stupidity did the Lyoto Machida who fought Phil Davis deserve a rematch with Jon Jones. On the other hand, Phil Davis needs to realize the same fact: if he wants to progress and truly win in his division, he needs to fight like he's actually in a fight, not a points match.
Jose Aldo: In my mind, Aldo is undoubtedly the most underrated UFC Champ next to Demetrius Johnson. This is not Aldo's fault (or Johnson's, for that matter). Like I said earlier, the advertising just isn't there. The UFC just hasn't treated the lower weight classes with the same respect they do the heavier ones – if I'm only seeing commercials while I'm watching UFC rerun programming, that's a problem. This discrimination – weightism, if you will – is an issue I could go on for some time about, but this bullet is about Aldo, so I'll go on to him. *Cough* Three Featherweight/Bantamweight/Flyweight Championships have been co-main events, four have been on free TV *Cough*. Aldo's popularity (and the division's) would skyrocket if the UFC treated him as the number four pound-for-pound fighter they claim he is.
On Saturday night against Chan-Sung Jung, Aldo further cemented not only his status as a Champion, but his status as one of the MMA Greats. Jones has his crawling-start, Liddell had his wrist-cross insignia deal, Velazquez has his emotionless man-of-steel thing going on, Couture had his "how can this old man keep doing this?" factor, A. Silva had his aura of cool invincibility, and Aldo has his overcharged-energizer-bunny walk-out until he goes into killer-mode while he stares at his feet before he fights. When a fighter has that legend-mystique, those unique traits build anticipation, make fight fans all tingly and hyped up that they are actually witnessing this super-champion fight. Jose Aldo, I believe, acquired that mystique, and if he hasn't (in which weightism is to blame I tell you), he's unquestionably well on his way there.
The skill that Aldo displayed with his fight with the "Zombie" on Saturday night was Anderson Silva-esque (pre-Weidman, serious Silva, that is) – the quickness and precision with which Aldo moved was unbelievable. He reacted to every movement of Jung's flawlessly – the clip of Jung jumping for a flying knee and Aldo catching him and turning him around for a takedown is going to be showed on Aldo's highlight reel for some time – that kind of reactionary technique is just astounding, and showed just another level of Aldo's already-high game.
And when they were on the ground? I often forget the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt side of Aldo, who won several major jiu-jitsu championships after starting as a teen – he was excellent on top of Jung. Aldo will be remembered in this fight for his implementation of his combination of speed, technique, and strategy. He mixed his offensive-striking with his counter-striking so well, there is not a single second of the fight that Jung seemed to be winning on the feet. Compare Aldo's counter-striking with Lyoto Machida's – Machida had only one offensive flurry in his fight with Davis, the rest was all itty-bitty counter pecks; Aldo, on the other hand, was in a constant state of effective movement and striking. He jumped in, landed a combination, and jumped just out of Jung's range when he was on the offensive. When he was countering he dodged Jung's strikes in such a way that he could land one of his own. It was just beautiful.
It's a shame the fight ended the way it did, with a freak injury, but regardless of that injury and the fact that this was hardly Aldo's most impressive or exciting performance, Aldo walked out of UFC 163 truly deserving the belt he wore and the title of all-time great.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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