José Aldo com nova luta marcada no UFC. Foto: Carlos Arthur Jr./GRACIEMAG

Ainda com planos de reconquistar o cinturão peso-pena do UFC, o ex-campeão José Aldo tem nova luta marcada no Ultimate, contra um adversário conhecido dos cages.

Quase dez anos depois, Aldo terá pela frente o americano Cub Swanson, no UFC 233, agendado para o dia 26 de janeiro, em Anaheim, na Califórnia. As informações são da repórter Ana Hissa, do Combate.com.

A luta remonta o duelo realizado entre os pesos-penas no extinto World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), no qual Aldo aplicou uma joelhada voadora que nocauteou Swanson em apenas oito segundos de luta, em junho de 2009.

Aldo (27v, 4d) vem de sucesso sobre Jeremy Stephens em julho deste ano, vitória essa que trouxe o ex-campeão dos penas de volta ao trilho do sucesso, após perder o cinturão e a revanche imediata para Max Holloway, atual campeão até 66kg.

Já Swanson (25v, 10d) vem de situação complicada no Ultimate. Veterano na organização, Swanson acumula três derrotas seguidas (Brian Ortega, Frank Edgar e Renato Moicano), e terá contra Aldo a chance de espantar a aposentadoria.

O card, ainda sem luta principal confirmada, tem confirmado o duelo entre os campeões TJ Dillashaw e Henry Cejudo, além dos brasileiros Kron Gracie e Francisco Massaranduba, Markus Maluko e Ariane Lipski.

E você, amigo leitor, aposta em uma vitória de José Aldo para voltar a sonhar pelo cinturão? Comente conosco!

Renato Moicano’s winning move. Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 227 took place this Saturday in California, with two belts on the line and a total of eight decisions out of 12 fights. One of the bouts pitted Renato Moicano against the experienced Cub Swanson in the featherweight division. Swanson was seen as the favorite, but Moicano used jiu-jitsu to unbalance the fight in his own favor.

After a precise jab that dropped Swanson to the canvas, Moicano advanced to the back and attacked with a rear naked choke. Also a competent ground player, Swanson stopped Moicano squeezing with one of his arms. The Constrictor Team alum then adapted quickly and moved to a different choke — now with a hand-to-hand grip — to get around the defense and conclude the adjustment. With this finish, Moicano was awarded the prize for performance of the night.

Click the play button below to see Moicano’s transition and adjustment.

Renato Moicano com o bote certo no estrangulamento. Foto: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Em noite repleta de decisões, foram oito em 12 lutas, o UFC 227, realizado na Califórnia, contou com duas disputas de cinturão. Na luta principal, TJ Dillashaw superou Cody Garbrandt ainda no primeiro assalto por nocaute técnico, enquanto na luta coprincipal o até então intocável Demetrious Johnson acabou superado pelo azarão Henry Cejudo, e este ficou com o título peso-mosca ao superar o 11 vezes defensor do cinturão.

Contudo, para os fãs de Jiu-Jitsu que acompanham o UFC, outro grande lance teve destaque nessa noite de sábado, dia 4 de agosto. Em luta aguardada, Renato Moicano ficou frente a frente com o veterano casca-grossa Cub Swanson na divisão peso-pena. Cub era visto como favorito, mas Moicano usou o Jiu-Jitsu para desequilibrar a disputa ao seu favor.

Depois de encarar um jab preciso que levou Cub ao solo, Moicano avançou para as costas e atacou no mata-leão. Forte também no solo, Cub defendeu ao impedir o arrocho de um dos braços de Moicano. A adaptação foi rápida, e o faixa-preta formado na Constrictor Team estrangulou mais uma vez, agora na pegada mão com mão, para evitar a defesa e concluir o ajuste final. Com a finalização, Renato conquistou não só a vitória, mas também o bônus de desempenho da noite.

Ainda no card, outros quatro brasileiros entraram em ação: Thiago Marreta, Pedro Munhoz e Ricardo Carcacinha venceram na decisão, enquanto Polyana Viana acabou superada, também por decisão dos árbitros.

UFC 227
Los Angeles, Califórnia
4 de agosto de 2018

TJ Dillashaw venceu Cody Garbrandt por nocaute técnico aos 4min10s do R1
Henry Cejudo venceu Demetrious Johnson na decisão dividida dos jurados
Renato Moicano finalizou Cub Swanson no estrangulamento aos 4min15s do R1
JJ Aldrich venceu Polyana Viana na decisão unânime dos jurados
Thiago Marreta venceu Kevin Holland na decisão unânime dos jurados

Card preliminar

Pedro Munhoz venceu Brett Johns na decisão unânime dos jurados
Ricky Simon venceu Montel Jackson na decisão unânime dos jurados
Ricardo Carcacinha venceu Kyung Ho Kang na decisão dividida dos jurados
Sheymon Moraes venceu Matt Sayles na decisão unânime dos jurados
Alex Perez venceu José Torres por nocaute aos 3min46s do R1
Weili Zhang venceu Danielle Taylor na decisão unânime dos jurados
Marlon Vera venceu Wuliji Buren por nocaute técnico aos 4min53s do R2

Ortega catches Swanson in the main event. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

After 12 bouts had been fought at UFC Fresno, held Saturday night, we got to see a great featherweight duel for the main event. Brian Ortega, undefeated in 13 fights, faced his biggest challenge yet — Cub Swanson, whose 32-fight record included 25 wins, some of which against big names of the sport. The fight, which could have gone for a maximum of five rounds, lasted only two. After a first round which saw strong blows landed by Swanson and a near-finish by Ortega via hand triangle, round 2 served as a showcase of Ortega’s jiu-jitsu skills. Next to the mesh, he threw a knee strike and jumped on the guillotine. Swanson defended competently, but Ortega let the grip go, only to soon go back and persist in his specialty. His confidence in the technique and his adjustment forced Swanson to surrender.  Watch the move here:

No sábado 18 de abril, pelo UFC on Fox 15, Max seguiu o planejamento ao vencer o arisco Cub Swanson no chão. Depois de aplicar bons socos, o havaiano derrubou e montou em Cub. Na posição de domínio, firmou bem os joelhos para dar pressão na montada, e laçou pescoço do adversário na guilhotina. Pressão e três tapinhas!

Reveja:

UFC: Machida x Rockhold

Prudential Center, Nova Jersey, EUA

18 de abril de 2015

Luke Rockhold finalizou Lyoto Machida no estrangulamento pelas costas aos 2min31s do R2
Ronaldo Jacaré finalizou Chris Camozzi na chave de braço aos 2min33s do R1
Max Holloway venceu Cub Swanson via guilhotina aos 3min58s do R3
Paige VanZant venceu Felice Herrig na decisão unânime dos jurados

Card preliminar

Beneil Dariush venceu Jim Miller na decisão unânime dos jurados
Ovince St. Preux nocauteou Patrick Cummins aos 4min54s do R1
Gian Villante venceu Corey Anderson por nocaute técnico aos 4min18s do R3
Aljamain Sterling finalizou Takeya Mizugaki no triângulo de mão da guarda, aos 2min11s do R3
Tim Means finalizou George Sullivan no katagatame aos 3min41s do R3
Diego Brandão venceu Jimy Hettes por interrupção médica (orelha estourada) ao fim do R1
Chris Dempsey venceu Eddie Gordon via decisão dividida dos jurados

Repare como Edgar pega as costas e passa o braço para finalizar mas não consegue o arrocho perfeito no pescoço. Viagem perdida? Nada disso. O casca-grossa aplica a pressão no queixo e sobe o braço, o que obriga Cub a bater no maxilar e na pressão cervical. Será que doeu? Confira abaixo o replay, os resultados do evento e comente conosco!

UFC Fight Night: Edgar x Swanson
Austin, EUA
22 de novembro de 2014

Frankie Edgar finalizou Cub Swanson no mata-leãos aos 4min56s do R5
Edson Barboza venceu Bobby Green na decisão unânime dos jurados
Chico Camus venceu Brad Pickett na decisão dividida dos jurados
Oleksiy Oliynyk nocauteou Jared Rosholt os 3min21s do R1
Joseph Benavidez venceu Dustin Ortiz na decisão unânime dos jurados
Matt Wiman venceu Isaac Vallie-Flagg na decisão unânime dos jurados

Card preliminar

Ruslan Magomedov venceu Josh Copeland na decisão unânime dos jurados
Roger Narvaez venceu Luke Barnatt na decisão dividida dos jurados
James Vick venceu Nick Hein na decisão unânime dos jurados
Akbahr Arreola finalizou Yves Edwards no armlock a 1min52s do R1
Paige VanZant venceu Kailin Curran por nocaute técnico aos 2min54s do R3
Doo Ho Choi venceu Juan Puig por nocaute técnico aos 18s do R1

Frank Edgar proved once again that he has one of the best cardios of all MMA today.

After a good start on Rd 1 by Cub Swanson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 57, in Austin, Texas, Edgar took the control of the fight and punished Cub for four rounds straight.

With precise takedowns, high level grappling and much improved ground and pound, Frankie had the fight sorted out in his favor by the end.

That was when with only seconds to go on Rd 5, he got to Swanson’s back and with quick neck crank got the tap.

“Dana White, you said that you were watching and I hope you liked what you saw. I coming for that belt. If you’re not giving it to me this time, I still want that title shot,” said Edgar after the win. “For those who didn’t believe in me, I tell you that the best of Edgar is yet to come. I haven’t reached the ceiling.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-AywZBGWhY

In the co-main event of the night, Brazilian Edson Barbosa gave no importance to Bobby Green’s taunts and worked his kicks and punches to dominate all three rounds and win by unanimous decision.

Another highlight of the night was the flyweight battle between former title contender Joseph Benavidez and David Ortiz.

Decided to come back up the ladder of the division, Benavidez displayed a lot of speed and power to win via unanimous decision.

Here are the full results of the night.

UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson

Main Card
Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:56 of R5
Edson Barboza def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Chico Camus def. Brad Pickett via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Jared Rosholt via KO (punches) at 3:21 of R1
Joseph Benavidez def. Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matt Wiman def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ruslan Magomedov def. Josh Copeland via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Roger Narvaez def. Luke Barnatt via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
James Vick def. Nick Hein via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Akbarh Arreola def. Yves Edwards via submission (armbar) at 1:52 of R1
Paige VanZant def. Kailin Curran via TKO (punches) at 2:54 of R3
Dooho Choi def. Juan Puig via TKO (punches) at 0:18 of R1

Phil Davis is announced the winner in a fight that many believe should have been in favor of Lyoto Machida. Photo via UFC Facebook.

Lyoto Machida got robbed. Plain and simple.

It’s not every day that a column of mine starts off with frustration about a bad call. After all, this is MMA and bad decisions happen from time to time. But this one at UFC 163 was way too bad.

The culprits in this fiasco were judges Sal D’Amato, Chris Watts and Rick Winter. These people, for whatever reason they felt they needed to, scored a fight for Davis when it was clearly won by Machida.

“I don’t know what they are judging,” Machida said.

I don’t think they know what they’re judging either, Lyoto.

FightMetric.com, the industry standard for measuring fight statistics, published a comprehensive breakdown of the Machida-Davis bout. Sure enough, the breakdown concluded that Machida was the more accurate striker and landed more significant blows than his opposition, and scored the bout 30-27 for Machida. Yes, 30-27.

The factor, we all assume, that the judges were looking at were the two takedowns that Davis secured at the end of the first and second rounds. The former Penn State wrestler successfully got Machida to the ground and kept him there, opening up the opportunity to rain strikes from top position.

From the outside looking in, though, the majority of strikes that Davis successfully landed were in his second takedown, whereafter he landed knees and elbows that scored him the lion’s share of his points.

Official UFC 163 scorecard for Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis. Image courtesy of UFC.

The first takedown was followed by striking attempts — but that’s about it, mostly just attempts. The definition of effective striking was used too loosely by two of three  judges (D’Amato and Winter) when they scored the first and second rounds.

Apart from the lack of effective striking after the takedowns, there’s the success rate of said takedowns. Davis got Machida down to the mat twice, but those two successful shots took him 10 times to accomplish. That’s a 2-for-10 performance for a 20 percent success rate. With that fact I ask you this: In what world is that considered a satisfactory ratio?

Short answer: there isn’t one.

But let’s forget about FightMetric’s statistics for a bit. How about we look at the fight for face value? In the third round, Machida looked fresh and ready to go another two rounds, stuffing every takedown attempt, while Davis looked frustrated and puzzled. Davis went 0 for 4 in takedowns during the last frame.

Shortly after the decision, when Twitter’s site traffic blew up to nuclear proportions, some began to say things, like “Never leave it in the hands of the judges.” That’s a cop out. Fighters shouldn’t have to worry about incompetence. But they do because judges are incredibly lost in a fight world that heavily depends on them having direction.

This isn’t Davis’ fault. He’s unfortunately involved in a controversial decision that pits him the winner of a fight that he fought hard in and trained hard for. Good on him.

The problem here — and this will be a problem until stupidity is erased from existence — is officials failed us. Again.

Jose Aldo got the job done. Who should he fight next? 

At UFC 163, Jose Aldo did what he does best: win.

It was nothing spectacular or mind boggling that would have made you jump out of your bar stool or off your couch, depending on where you were watching the pay-per-view. He just got the job done and capitalized when the time was right.

Before Chan Sung Jung separated his shoulder and Aldo swarmed in on him like a hungry predatory animal, questions about the champ’s cardio were asked during the main event’s broadcast. The questions, however, were unnecessary because Jung, at no point, showed any explosive flurries where Aldo had trouble keeping up.

At 23-1 and on a 16-fight win streak, Aldo is appearing to be more and more unstoppable as time goes on. And it’s not as though he has peaked and is nearing his decline any time soon. Scary thought for featherweights.

The UFC isn’t making an official announcement about Aldo’s next fight yet, but names like Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson and Chad Mendes are being thrown around the internet as the next in line. Swanson, in fact, already started a Twitter campaign to get his shot. Observe:

Photo via Cub Swanson’s Twitter page.

Despite Swanson’s hopes through the social media pool, Lamas is currently the most deserving challenger to the featherweight crown. With all due respect to Swanson, Aldo has already beaten him — an eight-second knockout at WEC 41 in 2009. He also lost to Lamas at the inaugural UFC on Fox event in November 2011, so it’s tough to justify Swanson getting a title shot in front of him.

Lamas, at the very least, will provide a never-before-seen challenge to Aldo. And with four wins in row in the UFC, there’s little room to boast someone else as the new challenger, regardless of Chad Mendes’ status in the official UFC rankings as No. 1 contender.

Having Aldo fight anyone beyond Lamas the next time out would be a waste of time in developing the featherweight division into a pay-per-view powerhouse.

But when he’s paid his dues, Conor McGregor’s laser precision and incredible speed will make for an entertaining night of 145-pound action against Aldo. Imagine the striking exchange in that tilt. Oh boy.

Now we just have to wait for the champ’s broken foot to heal. I guess that’s what happens when you fight a “Zombie.”

See you in 2014, featherweight title fight.

O faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Charles do Bronx e sua exótica finalização na panturrilha. Foto: UFC

Charles do Bronx é conhecido pelo jogo de chão afiado. O faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu tem nove, das 16 vitórias, por finalização e conquistou os fãs do UFC com seu estilo de luta. Prova disso é que, mesmo vindo de revés por nocaute para Cub Swanson, ele vai enfrentar o último desafiante ao cinturão de José Aldo, o ex-campeão dos leves do Ultimate Frankie Edgar.

A três semanas do UFC 162, o GRACIEMAG relembra uma das finalizações mais bonitas do paulista (e do UFC recentemente), quando o paulista encaixou uma chave de panturrilha exótica e, ainda no primeiro assalto, fez Eric Wisely desistir do combate.

UFC 162
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, EUA
6 de julho de 2013

Anderson Silva x Chris Weidman
Frankie Edgar x Charles do Bronx
Tim Keneddy x Roger Gracie
Ricardo Lamas x Adversário a ser definido
Cub Swanson x Dennis Siver

Card Preliminar

Mark Muñoz x Tim Boetsch
Chris Leben x Andrew Craig
Norman Parke x Kazuki Tokudome
Edson Barboza x Rafaello Trator
Gabriel Napão x Dave Herman
Seth Baczynski x Brian Melancon
Mike Pearce x David Mitchel

No Ultimate, Charles, que é faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, teve todas as suas vitórias por finalização, mas agora encara o maior desafio de sua carreira até o momento. Esta é a oportunidade também de Charles se tornar o primeiro a finalizar o americano.

Charles do Bronx, faixa preta de Jiu-Jitsu, tem todas as suas vitórias no UFC por finalização. Foto: Divulgação

Frankie Edgar, depois de defender o seu cinturão por dois anos e perdê-lo para Ben Henderson, baixou para os pesos penas. Sua estreia na categoria foi contra ninguém menos que o campeão, José Aldo, em fevereiro deste ano, no UFC 156. O americano se saiu bem, lutou os cinco rounds, mas não foi contundente o bastante para derrotar o manauara. Frankie é conhecido pela agressividade no seu jogo em pé, e já foi considerado um dos melhores peso por peso do Ultimate.

Frankie Edgar busca sua primeira vitória nos pesos penas. Foto: ZUFFA/Divulgação

Em julho, Charles do Bronx e Frankie Edgar tem a chance de se recuperar de seus últimos reveses e se posicionarem no ranking da organização. Quem leva essa?

No mesmo card, o UFC ainda divulgou outro combate de pesos penas: Cub Swanson vs Dennis Siver.

Confira as lutas confirmadas para o UFC 162 até o momento:

UFC 162

Sábado, 6 de julho de 2013

Las Vegas

Anderson Silva vs Chris Weidman
Mark Muñoz vs Tim Boetsch
Roger Gracie vs Tim Kennedy
Chris Leben vs Andrew Craig
Ricardo Lamas vs Chan Sung Jung
Seth Baczynski vs Brian Melancon
Charles Do Bronx vs Frankie Edgar
Cub Swanson vs Dennis Siver