UFC 169 was to be held in Rio De Janeiro at the HSBC arena.With many hometown fighters it was set to be an excellent pay per view culminating in an interesting fight for the featherweight championship between Jose Aldo and The Korean Zombie. Also on the card we would see the Brazilian Lyoto Machida take on Phil Davis in a unofficial number one contenders match up. Here is my report of the main card at UFC 163. First Match: John Lineker vs. Jose Maria. Winner: John Lineker Flyweight Division John Lineker looked to claim another victory in his home country of Brazil against fellow compatriot and last minute replacement Jose Maria. Jose Maria had not been beaten since 2008 whilst Lineker has won 16 of his last 17 fights. Lineker is known for exciting fighting style and his knockout power and he looked to showcase this in the match. It didn't look like it was going to go that way at all though as Lineker was caught in the first round by a spinning back fist by Maria that caught Lineker swell on the back of the head. Maria then took control of the first round after starting riskily with loose kicks. Despite this Lineker turned it around in the last twenty seconds of the first round and the bell saved Maria, I still gave the round to Maria though. Maria would not get any more chances in the second round however, the loose kicks which Maria was using in the first round cost him in the second round when his leg seemed to buckle on him and this allowed Lineker to go for the knock down and proceed to ground and pound Maria until the referee called it at one minute twenty in the second round. After not the best of starts by Lineker he will be pleased he stayed disciplined and controlled the fight in the second round with superior boxing. Another win for Lineker against a potentially dangerous opponent. Fight two: Thales Leites vs. Tom 'Kong' Watson. Winner: Thales Leites Middleweight Division Thales Leites was the hometown favorite for this match up , the match was made more significant as this was Leites return to UFC after a four year absence. Many people believe Tom Watson to be the most exciting fighter in the UK at the moment so this fight was set to be an exciting bout. Leites took control straight from the off landing some effective strikes to the head and successfully taking down Watson within thirty seconds of the round. Leites then went for a rear naked choke which he did not manage to lock in however Leites was able to hit Watson with some clubbing blows on the ground. Watson eventually escaped the claws of Leites but I think Tom Watson's mother gave the round to Leites. The second round started toe to toe with both fighters exchanging some decent shots to the face. Leites then once again successfully took down Watson and attempted an armbar which failed. Watson got back to his feet and the two fighters start boxing again, Leites looked very tired after spending so much energy trying to close the fight with the armbar. The bell tolls and I think everyone once again gave the round to Thales Leites. The third round saw Watson get a huge cut on right eye and the blood seeped out everywhere. but Herb Dean admirably lets the fight go on. Leites then spends a majority of the round wasting time by pressing Watson against the cage and taking him down. Not much action in the third round but this was just what the doctor ordered for Leites, I once again gave the round to Thales Leites. Thales Leites won a unanimous decision in convincing fashion. It was a smart if not very exciting match by Leites and he will be looking to build on this and get ranked in the top ten very soon. Fight Three: Thiago Santos vs. Cezar Ferriera. Winner: Cezar Ferriera Middleweight Division Thiago Santos made his debut in UFC in his hometown after being a contestant on Ultimate Fighter Brazil. Ferriera on the other hand was a winner of the season of Ultimate Fighter. Ferriera was favorite for the bout. It was easy to see why Ferriera was favorite for this match as it only lasted forty seven seconds before Ferriera finished it. Ferriera went straight into the fray landing an overhand left and a kick strong to the head of Thiago Santos. He then locked in a beautiful looking guillotine choke with relative ease to make Santos Submit. It was an easy nights work for Ferriera in what seemed a real mismatch, Ferriera is now two in two in UFC and will be looking at bigger and better things this year. Co-Main Event: Light Heavyweight Division Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis Winner: Phil Davis This was the first time Lyoto Machida fought in Rio and the fans were ecstatic to see him, the home support was one of the best iv'e heard for a while in UFC. Machida was up against former NCAA champion Phil Davis, Davis was fifth ranked in the world with a lot of momentum behind him whilst Machida was number one, many people believed that the winner of this match would be up against the champion next. Round one and there was a lot of feeling each other out in the early goings on the match up, a very cagey start with Machida looking for Davis to commit to a strike so he could set up a counter. The first real attack was a high left kick by Machida but moments later a quick flurry by Machida set up a couple straights to the head followed up by a lethal knee that fortunately for Davis did not connect full on.Davis composed himself at the end of the round scored a takedown followed up by a few strikes to the chest.I was unable to split the pair in the first round and judged it to be a draw. The second round start how the first one did, there was a lot of hesitation on both parts with Davis fighting clever by not allowing Machida to counter. They stand up fight for a while with great defense shown by Machida. Davis attempts three take downs in a short space of time and they are all expertly defended by Machida. Machida lands a straight left and a big right hand with precision. Davis once again recuperates in time to score a knockdown right at the end of the round. I gave round two to Machida. Round three starts and Machida shows great defense under pressure by Davis, Davis also attempts a takedown which fails. Machida hits Davis flush with a left hand straight but Davis shook it off impressively. Machida scores a weak takedown attempt late on in the round. I gave that round to Lyoto Machida. The judges gave the fight to Phil Davis in a unanimous decision, this surprising result gets massive boos and jeers from the audience. Personally I scored the fight to Lyoto Machida granted it was a close and cagey fight. Machida has himself to blame for not pushing Davis enough as we only saw one flurry from Machida. Three rounds were not enough for the competitors on this day.
Main Event: Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung Winner: Jose Aldo Featherweight Championship Jose Aldo is ranked 4th when it comes to pound for pound UFC fighters in the world, before this fight he had won fifteen straight fights and was fighting in his hometown,clearly Aldo was the favorite. However his opponent better known to fight fans as The Korean Zombie would be a tough challenge, Zombie is one of the most unorthodox and exciting fighters there is in UFC and is ranked 5th in the world at featherweight. The fight starts and although Zombie is the aggressor he soon starts to uncharacteristically play it safe after Aldo hits him with an overhand right. After a steady pace going toe to toe Aldo gets a takedown but Zombie shoots right back up. The action ensues without much drama until the the last seconds of the round when Aldo hits Zombie with a spinning heel back kick to make sure he wins the round.Round two and Zombie reverts back to his more open style which he normally uses in fights. However Zombie gets caught coming in and Aldo starts hitting at will. Aldo hits a body,head, head punch combination as Aldo takes control of the fight. Aldo connects with jabs at will and also leg sweeps Zombie to the ground to decisively win the round. Round three starts and Zombie comes in with high flying knee to the head of Aldo which fails as Aldo catches Zombie in mid air and takes him to the ground. Aldo then utilizes the cage to gain control but Herb Dean stands them up after a while of no action. Zombie then gains the upper hand for a short period at the end of the round. Despite this round three goes to Aldo comfortably. Round four starts and their toe to toe again, they both exchange jabs before Zombie's shoulder pops out of place after a combination that ended in overhand right. Aldo see's the injury and attacks the shoulder with kicks, Aldo gets Zombie to the ground and shows no mercy in pummeling him until Herb Dean steps in to give the TKO victory to Jose Aldo. Although it was sad to see the fight end the way it did, I think it's fair to say that Aldo was dominating the fight anyway. Hopefully Zombie won't be out for too long as we all appreciate his style in the octagon.