Aldo says Jung ‘deserves’ UFC 163 bout
By BOB EMANUEL JR. | Scripps Howard News Service
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Jose Aldo was not pleased with the choice of his initial opponent in UFC 163.
Aldo, who has won 15 consecutive fights, was slated to face former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at Saturday’s event in what would have been Pettis’ debut at the weight class. Aldo believed Pettis should have had to prove himself as a featherweight before fighting for the championship.
An injury to Pettis, however, altered the plans, and Aldo is now slated to defend his title against Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie,” in Saturday night’s main event at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro.
“I was already in the groove of training for Pettis, but unfortunately, he got hurt, so we did have to adjust a few things,” Aldo said. “They have different styles. But I was already training, and I was already prepared, so just adjusting those final details.”
Jung won all three of his fights in the UFC against Leonard Garcia, Mark Hominick and Dustin Poirier to bump his record to 13-3. He was rewarded with a bonus in all three fights — Submission of the Night against Garcia, Knockout of the Night against Hominick and both Submission and Fight of the Night against Poirier.
“I think this fight is a very good fight,” Aldo said. “He deserves to be there, and he’s shown that he deserves to be the contender. Everyone wants to fight for the title, but right now he deserves it.”
Despite his credentials, Jung’s status as a contender was in doubt. He had not fought since the victory over Poirier in May 2012, a span of more than 14 months.
“They gave me a lot of time to prepare mentally and physically, to get my injuries all healed up,” Jung said. “And so I think the time off actually helped benefit me.”
While the co-main event typically would offer some degree of talk about title contention, the Lyoto Machida-Phil Davis light heavyweight showdown was minimized by heavyweight Daniel Cormier’s recent statement that he intended to drop in weight if he defeats Roy Nelson later this year. Cormier would likely receive an immediate bout against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“I believe there’s a ranking, and it should be followed,” said Machida, the top-ranked contender. “I mean, there’re a lot of guys in line right now in this weight class to fight for a title. I’ve been waiting in line. There’s Glover Teixeira. There’s Phil Davis. So there’s a lot of guys in there in the mix.
“And if he’s going to move down to 205, he’s going to need to put a couple of fights in there, at least have a significant win in a big fight. And I don’t think it’s right for him to just come in and cut the line, so I think he’s going to have to show that he deserves that title shot.”
Davis was more diplomatic.
“You know what? I don’t really mind if he cuts the line or not,” said Davis, the eighth-ranked contender. “Really what it comes down to is if he’s being able to sell the fight and being able to perform good. And after this fight (against Machida), I think the fans are going to be begging for me to fight for title. And that’s as simple as it gets.”
