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Following Saturday's UFC 163 event, we asked MMATorch readers to send us their reactions to the card. Here are some of those responses:
MMATorch Forum User BFoe: I rate it 6.5. Overall it was a good night of fights, but no one fight really dazzled me. Perosh's 14 second KO of Magalhaes was surprising, and I don't know what's next for Magalhaes. He has a great jiu jitsu game, but in MMA I've always viewed him as a can crusher. I also view Perosh as a can, so that really doesn't say much for Vinny's MMA game. Lineker's fight was really enjoyable for me, and I liked the Machida fight quite a bit. It wasn't a barn burner, but it was a solid fight--a shame it had to be ruined with such an awful decision. The main event was a letdown, especially considering how much potential it had. But Jose Aldo at least demonstrated to me once again that if someone is going to beat him, that person won't be weighing 145 pounds.
Matt W. (via email): I had been hyping this main event to my roommate since it was announced; he knows nothing about MMA other than really liking my Korean Zombie shirt. First round ends and he's like, "So what's the big deal?"
It's just unfortunate that some of these big fights end up lackluster, because of injury (Aldo's foot/Zombies shoulder) or tentativeness (Ellenberger v MacDonald). It's hard converting new fans when stars don't perform up to the hype and judges don't get the score cards correct; Machida v Davis.
Matthew D. (via Facebook): Gotta say the PPV card gets a three from me since the top three fights in terms of name value all pretty much sucked. The FX prelim card gets a nine though because, for a free card, it was kickass! Three solid finishes and Ian "always fun to watch" McCall doing his thing makes for good free entertainment.
MMATorch Forum User TYSON24: I would have to rate this card a weak six. I was going to rate it lower because of the damn judges, but I thought about some of the other fights and they showed some good action. I thought Machida was more aggressive than he usually is and that was good to see. Davis doesn't deserve that win and anyone who thinks he does, you're just as blind as the judges.
The main fight was a little disappointing, but finding out that Aldo broke his foot, I let it slide a little. The Zombie just didn't show up to fight. He got that title shot because of how he fought and he looked like a completely different fighter.
The rest of the card was good. We got to see a surprise KO by Perosh, a perfectly set-up triangle by Moraes, great footwork by Uncle Creepy, the Lineker fight was good, Thales Leites had a great comeback, and the ladies put on another great fight with Nunes showing her skill set.
If those stupid judges would have been watching the Machida vs Davis fight instead of looking at the hotties in row five, I would have rated it a bit higher. Something needs to be done about these judges.
MMATorch Forum User cegawn: Main event was disappointing, but understandable on Aldo's part with the broken foot. Jung just didn't fight the way most expected him too. Machida - Davis was OK. I wasn't too fussed with the decision. I thought the first two rounds were close enough to give them to Davis over Machida. I was surprised by how small Davis looked. He always seemed to be one of the larger LHWs, but Machida seemed the same size, and he could make MW.
Undercard was enjoyable too, including the prelims. There were some competitive fights, and some cool finishes. The Brazilian crowd just seems to bring out the warrior in everybody. Biggest surprise was Perosh's quick KO of Magalhaes. Only a quick KO from Jake Shields would've surprised me more than Perosh getting one. Must be a huge relief from him after his similar loss to Jimmo.
Blake W. (via Facebook): If you judge a fight heavily based on the top two or three fights, you probably rated it about a two. Phil Davis didn't have much to offer Lyoto Machida, and did the only thing he could to win. Avoid getting knocked out and try to steal rounds with a takedowns with less than a minute left in the round. Not enough time to do anything significant, and not enough time for Machida to get up. With that said, I still thought the Dragon should've won. The main event was slow through the first couple of rounds, but was really starting to heat up when the Zombie injured his shoulder. It was really a shame because I think the Zombie was gonna try to really pressure Aldo in the Championship rounds.
Now if you can look past those two fights there was some good action! The McCall vs Santos fight was an entertaining match showcasing Uncle Creepy's improved footwork, while showing he wasn't afraid to brawl a bit too. Sergio Moraes' triangle setup, elbows, and finish were a thing of beauty. 40 year old, Anthony Perosh, overcame the odds with a 14 second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes. Thales Leites' technique against Tom Watson's toughness made for a sloppy, but fun fight.
With a little more "star power," and the main event ending any other way besides injury, this card could have been really good. But it didn't so I give it a 5.5... okay I'll round it up to a 6 because I like Sheila Gaff's eyes.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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