Aldo keeps belt, Davis nips Machida as big underdog

Published on 8/4/13, at 5:04 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

Jose Aldo Jr. defended his UFC bantamweight title for the fifth straight time Saturday in Rio by capturing a fourth-round TKO victory over Chan Sung Jung. Aldo hooked up his backers as a favorite in the -600 range.

The main event played out in an odd way from the start. Aldo sustained a broken foot when he threw his first and last leg kick of the night.

Without the ability to throw his vicious leg kicks, Aldo turned to grappling and takedown attempts. He attempted five takedowns compared to six total in his four previous Octagon appearances.

Most MMA experts who were tweeting their scores felt Aldo won the first three rounds, although there was a small contingent that felt ‘The Korean Zombie’ won Round 3.

Whatever the case, when TKZ sustained a dislocated shoulder in the fourth round, the scores went out the window. With TKZ clearly in pain, Aldo pounced on him and finished the fight.

Both fighters are going to be on the shelf for a bit, although reports on Sunday indicated that Sung Jung won’t need shoulder surgery. Whether or not Aldo wants to move up to 155 or not remains to be seen.

In the co-main event, Phil ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Davis captured a unanimous-decision (29-28 three times) victory over Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida. Davis hooked up his backers with a sweet payout in the +260 range (risk $100 to win $260).

Many, including the raucous crowd in Brazil, disagreed with the decision. Machida was extremely unhappy and requested a rematch.

My first thought was, “this is why you NEVER turn down title shots.” Remember, Machida was offered the chance to face Jon Jones for the 205-pound strap when Dan Henderson had to withdraw last summer.

After last night loss (fair or unfair), it’s clear Machida isn’t getting another shot at Jones anytime soon.

Anthony Perosh won KO of the Night honors when he stunned Vinny Magalhaes with a first-round KO in just 14 seconds. Perosh was the biggest underdog on the card, hooking up his backers with an incredible +450ish payout.

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