The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tonight for UFC 163: “Aldo vs Korean Zombie.” The event was headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champ José “Scarface” Aldo and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.

Also on the card tonight, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida took on fast-rising star Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis in the co-main event. Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira faced Thiago “Marreta” Santos in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

 

UFC Featherweight Championship

José “Scarface” Aldo vs “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung

Round 1:
Jung looked to establish his jab early in round one, but Aldo cracked him with a hard one-two. Jung attempted a head kick and Aldo ducked under. He landed a chopping leg kick and followed with a punch-kick combo. Jung landed a leg kick of his own and Aldo fired back with a right cross. He took Jung down very briefly and landed a grazing right hand on the way up. Aldo landed a spinning wheel kick and Jung rushed forward with punches at the bell. 10-9 Aldo.

Round 2:
Aldo landed leg kicks in the opening minute of round two and Jung tried to put together combinations of punches, but Aldo kept his distance. A three-punch combo to the body and head landed for Aldo and he followed with a stiff jab. Jung could not close the distance to land his combos and Aldo stopped him in his tracks with another jab. Aldo countered a right hand with a takedown into half-guard. Jung got back to full guard and Aldo landed short punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Aldo.

Round 3:
Aldo landed a left hook and Jung jumped in with a flying knee. Aldo caught it and took Jung down against the fence. Jung got to a knee and a stalemate followed with neither fighter able to land anything damaging. The fighters were stood up and Jung pressed forward with a combination. Aldo responded by clinching in search of another takedown. Jung defended with elbows. After another restart on the feet, Jung ran in with a flying switch knee. 10-9 Aldo.

Round 4:
Short left hooks landed for both fighters in the fourth round. Jung threw a lunging combination that grazed Aldo’s chin. Jung’s shoulder dislocated as he threw a punch and Aldo landed a kick as Jung tried to put his shoulder back in. Jung fell to the ground and Aldo threw punches while Jung covered up in great pain. Referee Herb Dean intervened to stop the fight.

Winner: José Aldo by TKO (Dislocated Shoulder) at 2:00 of round four. He improves to 23-1-0 and remains the UFC Featherweight Champion.

 

Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis vs Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida

Round 1:
Davis opened the action with body kicks and Machida responded with one of his own. Davis threw more kicks and Machida landed a left cross. A head kick from Machida backed Davis up to the cage. Davis recovered and landed an overhand right, but Machida countered with a left cross and two body kicks. Machida blocked a head kick and unloaded with a lengthy combination of punches and a flying knee. Davis took him down and tried to set up a kimura. 10-9 Machida.

Round 2:
The fighters exchanged kicks in the second round and Machida went high with a head kick. Davis attempted a head kick of his own, but Machida easily blocked it. Davis ducked under a combination and clinched for a takedown, but Machida broke free. Both men landed body kicks and Davis followed with a right hand over the top. Davis attempted a flying switch kick and another takedown. A straight left backed Davis up and Machida threw more kicks. He landed a right hook, but Davis took him down in the final seconds and scored with knees and elbows. 10-9 Machida.

Round 3:
Davis came up well short with his punches in round three and Machida landed a body kick. He scored with a big knee to the chest as Davis shot in for a takedown. Davis fell to the mat and Machida took his back as the fighters stood. Davis broke away and Machida landed another kick to the body. A left cross and a second knee to the chest scored for Machida and he shrugged off a takedown attempt. Machida landed a right cross and another knee. He stayed on his feet and landed more kicks late in the fight. 10-9 Machida.

Winner: Phil Davis by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0, 1 NC.

 

Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira vs Thiago “Marreta” Santos

Round 1:
Ferreira rocked Santos with a left hook early on and he followed with a head kick. Santos tried to shoot for a takedown and Ferreira countered with a modified guillotine choke. He pulled guard with the choke, which was essentially an inverted arm-triangle, and Santos tapped out.

Winner: Cezar Ferreira by Submission (Modified Guillotine Choke) at 0:47 of round one. He improves to 6-2-0.

 

Thales Leites vs Tom “Kong” Watson

Round 1:
Leites landed a nice combination right away and he took Watson down into back control. Leites worked for a rear-naked choke and landed some surprisingly damaging hammerfists with his right hand. Watson began to bleed from beside the left eye as he continued to defend against the choke attempts. Watson tried to escape to his feet and Leites flattened him out. Leites landed punches, but Watson scrambled and got to his feet. Watson landed kicks and Leites replied with two right hands. 10-9 Leites.

Round 2:
Leites flurried with punches again in round two and he backed Watson up against the cage. Leites took Watson down and quickly moved to mount. Watson got back to half-guard and Leites looked to set up his signature arm-triangle choke. He transitioned to back control and worked for a rear-naked choke and then an armbar. Watson stood up to try to escape the armbar.

Watson got out of the armbar and the fighters exchanged punches. Leites jabbed and Watson landed a combination that ended with a knee. Leites secured a Thai clinch and landed two knees, but Watson fought free with a right hook to the temple. He followed with an uppercut as Leites slowed down. Punches were exchanged and Leites tripped Watson at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Leites.

Round 3:
Leites rocked and bloodied Watson in the opening seconds of round three. A clinch ensued against the cage and Watson began to bleed heavily from near his right eye. Leites backed away and landed three stiff jabs. He took Watson down and moved to mount. Watson continued to bleed everywhere and Leites took his back. Leites locked on an arm-triangle choke from mount, but he could not secure a finish. He tightened the choke by moving to side control, but Watson survived until the bell. 10-9 Leites. Could be a 10-8.

Winner: Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 21-4-0.

 

John “Hands of Stone” Lineker vs José Maria “No Chance” Tomé

Round 1:
Lineker looked to counter Tomé’s kicks with straight right hands early on. A kick from Tomé strayed low, but action continued and Lineker landed a hard right hand. Tomé recovered and tried unsuccessfully for a takedown. Tomé rocked Lineker with a spinning backfist, but Lineker stayed on his feet. Tomé rocked him again and Lineker fell. Lineker got back up and escaped a guillotine choke.

Lineker began to regain his composure on the feet and he reversed a takedown. The fighters stood and Lineker maintained back control. Time was called for a low blow from Tomé. Action resumed and Tomé tried for a takedown. Lineker stayed on his feet and he landed two right hands late in the round. Tomé fell to the mat and Lineker landed ground and pound at the bell. 10-9 Tomé.

Round 2:
Lineker stuffed a takedown in round two and avoided a heel hook attempt from Tomé. The fighters stood and Tomé fell after throwing a kick. He appeared to injure his knee in the process. Lineker took advantage by landing a series of right hands until the bout was stopped.

Winner: John Lineker by TKO (Punches) at 1:03 of round two. He improves to 22-6-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)