Before UFC 163: "Aldo vs. Korean Zombie" main card kicked off on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., Aug. 3, 2013) from HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an entire seven-bout "Prelims" under card was broadcast on Facebook and FX, respectively.
The headlining bout on the FX broadcast featured two excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners, as Anthony Perosh shocked the world with a knockout over Vinny Magalhaes when the Brazilian walked right into a big "Hippo" right hand. Coming in as a heavy underdog, the 40-year-old veteran dropped the hometown favorite and followed up with some devastating punches to cap off a very entertaining night of "Prelims" fights.
Not much else can be said since it only took Perosh 14 seconds to knockout his opponent -- with the odds stacked against him in his opponent's home. Perosh is now even (4-4) in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) competition, while Magalhaes -- who was very honest and critical about his future -- faces a possible exit from the promotion with only one win in four bouts.
The lone women's Bantamweight fight on the card featured "The German Tank" against "Lioness," as Amanda Nunes won her UFC debut by pummeling Sheila Gaff on the ground with some vicious elbows. Nunes -- a Strikeforce and Invicta veteran -- was much stronger than Gaff, having her way with her by taking her down and using dominant positioning before throwing down some brutalized blows to the German. Nunes is known for her impressive striking, but showcased other talents tonight, looking poised to make a big statement in the women's 135-pound division. Nunes was not so kind to her opponent, refusing to touch gloves in the opening round and criticized her in her post-fight interview telling the crowd she thought her opponent should not have fought her in her home country of Brazil.
Gaff is now winless (0-2) in the UFC with an uncertain future, being stopped in both fights.
Sergio Moraes needed only one round to submit Neil Magny, using a spectacular transition from an arm-triangle to turning Magny's whole body underneath him, earning his second victory with the promotion. The bout opened up with a nice display of technical striking for both fighters before Moraes took full mount and punished Magny by securing a triangle and delivered some vicious elbows from the bottom while trying to submit his opponent. "Serginho" looked incredibly impressive in a short amount of time and looks destined to get a step up in competition. Magny's loss should not be too costly for him, as he is 1-1 in his UFC career.
A back and forth Flyweight battle opened up the FX "Prelims" broadcast, with one of the best 125-pound bouts yet in the Octagon. Ian McCall and Iliarde Santos engaged in a slugfest where both men experienced bright moments but only one man could come out on top. McCall got the nod from the judges in a win he desperately needed to secure his UFC job -- his first with the promotion. In a fight that was true to the expression "stand and bang" (except for a few seconds of ground work in the second round) McCall displayed exceptional footwork and tried to take down Santos twice in the third round, but was unsuccessful. Santos did a good job engaging "Uncle Creepy" into a brawl and tagged his jaw on multiple occasions. Santos showed promise in his new weight class and should do well at 125 pounds in the near future. It was a tough fight to score as both men could have taken home the win, in an early frontrunner for "Fight of the Night" honors.
Rani Yahya put on a jiu-jitsu clinic against Josh Clopton, clearly outmatching his opponent by working his bread and butter through the course of three rounds in the Facebook headliner. The World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) veteran caught "The Gentleman" in a heel hook before letting it go early in the first round, but mercilessly continued to work until the horn sounded. It was much of the same story in the second round; however, Clopton looked decent in the striking department when he had few chances to showcase his hands. It did not do much damage, as Yahya's takedowns proved the difference and frustrated Clopton, who has now dropped two straight in the UFC. Clopton showed some improvement in the third round and transitioned nicely on the ground but getting the better of Yahya in his guard is no easy task. Nevertheless, Yahya looked outstanding in full mount in this fight by wearing down his opponent with strikes and keeping busy with transitions to earn his fourth victory inside the Octagon.
Francimar Barroso stepped up on a week's notice and got the victory over Ednaldo Oliveira, earning his first UFC win in his Octagon debut. The passionate Rio crowd was not patient with both fighters, raining down boos little more than one minute into the fight as Barroso tried to utilize some flashy headkicks but to no avail. Oliveira was taunting his opponent early on to bring the fight to him -- doing his best Diaz brother impression -- in a fight that was not extremely boring but definitely unexciting. Barroso tagged Oliveira three times toward the end of the second round, wobbling his counterpart on a few occasions before taking him down to the mat and eventually in the clinch against the cage. Oliveira stormed out in the third round sloppily, finding himself in a guillotine attempt before Barroso smothered him against the cage on the ground and up against the fence for the majority of the round. Barroso has now won 13 out of his last 14 fights.
The Facebook broadcast kicked off with a bang, featuring a Welterweight scrap between two former contestants on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Bristol Marunde and UFC debutant Viscardi Andrade. The Brazilian opened up with a few good strikes that the crowd completely ate up and ended up dropping Marunde with a good left and right hand combination. He set up a choke, but Marunde fought through it, getting back on his feet before being dropped once more and was swarmed with punches, giving Mario Yamasaki no alternative but to step in. Marunde nearly took down the referee in the process, unaware of the fight's stoppage. Andrade gets his first UFC win and is currently riding a seven-fight win streak. Marunde has now lost all of his three bouts in the UFC and his future with the company does not look good.
Here are the complete results from UFC 163 "Prelims" card:
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh -- Perosh wins by knockout (strikes) at 0:14 of round one.
Amanda Nunes vs. Sheila Gaff -- Nunes wins by TKO (elbows) at 2:08 of round one.
Sergio Moraes vs. Neil Magny -- Moraes wins by submission (arm-triangle) at 3:13 of round one.
Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos -- McCall wins by unanimous decision (30-27x2, 29-28)
Rani Yahya vs. Josh Clopton -- Yahya wins by unanimous decision (29-28x3)
Francimar Barroso vs. Ednaldo Oliveira -- Barroso wins by unanimous decision (30-27x2, 29-28)
Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde -- Andrade wins by TKO (strikes) at 1:36 of round one.
That's it for the "Prelims" portion of UFC 163 fight card.
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