UFC 163: By the numbers

Jose Aldo makes the fifth defense of his UFC featherweight title Saturday in Brazil at UFC 163 when he faces Chan Sung Jung, who is ranked sixth in ESPN.com’s featherweight rankings. In the co-main event, former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida takes on Phil Davis.

Here are the numbers you need to know for the fights:

92: The percentage of takedowns Aldo has defended in his WEC and UFC career. In 12 career fights spanning the two organizations, opponents are 5-for-66 in takedown attempts against the featherweight champion. Aldo defended nine of 11 takedown attempts in his last fight against Frankie Edgar. In three UFC fights, Jung is 5-for-6 in takedown attempts (83 percent).

1: Both fighters have finished a UFC fight with one second remaining in a round. Aldo ended his UFC 142 fight with Chad Mendes in the final second of Round 1, one of just 10 times that has happened in UFC history. Jung submitted Leonard Garcia with arguably the most unusual hold in UFC history, the twister, at 4:59 of the second round at UFC Fight Night 24. It was the only ending at exactly 9 minutes, 59 seconds of a UFC fight until last Saturday when Jorge Masvidal accomplished the same feat with a D’arce choke against Michael Chiesa at UFC on FOX 8.

8: Jung has eight submission victories in his career, including five by choke. The twister victory against Garcia won multiple awards for submission of the year in 2011. Jung also won his last fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel TV 3 by D’arce choke, which was a candidate for 2012 submission of the year. Aldo has never faced a submission attempt in 12 WEC/UFC fights.

7: Aldo is one of seven undisputed titleholders from Brazil in UFC history along with Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, Junior dos Santos, Machida, Mauricio Rua and Anderson Silva. Aldo is the only Brazilian to currently hold undisputed gold after Silva’s loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 (Renan Barao holds the UFC interim bantamweight title).

4.6: Significant strikes landed per minute by Jung. “The Korean Zombie” landed 89 significant strikes in his WEC debut against Garcia, a fight nominated for 2010 Fight of the Year. That total is just above the 74 he landed in four rounds against Poirier. Jung is known to get hit as well, absorbing 3.8 significant strikes per minute, including a head-kick loss to George Roop in 2010. Aldo lands 3.5 significant strikes per minute.

7: Seconds needed for Jung to knock out Mark Hominick at UFC 140, tied for the fastest official knockout in UFC history. Jung needed just six strikes to finish Hominick. Aldo’s fastest win is eight seconds, a knockout against Cub Swanson at WEC 41 in 2009.

3: Consecutive wins for Jung in the UFC after two losses in the WEC. Ironically, those losses were both on WEC cards where Aldo was defending his featherweight title. Aldo has won 15 consecutive fights, with his lone defeat coming in 2005. Four of Aldo’s wins since becoming WEC/UFC champion have been by decision. In 16 fights before winning the WEC/UFC title, Aldo had three decision wins.

6: Jung is the sixth fighter from Asia to fight for a UFC title belt. The previous fighters (Yuki Kondo, Yushin Okami, Hayato Sakurai, Caol Uno and Kenichi Yamamoto) went 0-5-1. Yamamoto (UFC 23) and Kazushi Sakuraba (UFC Ultimate Japan) are the only fighters from Asia to win a UFC tournament championship. Jung is the first Korean fighter to challenge for a UFC title.

11: Knockdowns landed for Machida in his UFC career, tied for fourth most all-time. In the light heavyweight division, Machida is second to UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, who has 14. Davis has not been knocked down in nine UFC fights.

74: Davis’ significant strike defense percentage, fourth highest in UFC history. “Mr. Wonderful” is one of the most difficult fighters to hit, absorbing just 53 significant strikes in his seven UFC wins. In his loss against Rashad Evans, Davis was hit with just 38 percent of significant strikes. Machida is one of the best strikers in UFC history, landing 57 percent of his significant strikes, which is seventh best all-time. (Source)

UFC champ Jon Jones delays heavyweight move, says Teixeira bout is ‘interesting’

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones will move to heavyweight, but he might not do it as soon as expected.

“Oh, eventually,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Tuesday. “I’m getting older, I’m growing, and I’m getting stronger. Why not? Yeah, for sure.”

Jones was responding to a question of whether his plans had changed given his previous statements about a move upward. His dominance of the light heavyweight division has prompted questions about a move up to heavyweight, and the 26-year-old and his camp have spoken several times about the possibility.

In January, he said it could happen as soon as 2014.

“I think heavyweight is going to come along around 2014 – maybe even late this year,” Jones (18-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) said. “Who knows. It’ll definitely be a fight for the fans.”

Three months later, he said he planned to target superfights and heavyweight fights after breaking UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz’s record of five successful UFC light-heavyweight title defenses.

Jones, however, was a lot more tentative at a pair of press conferences this week in Los Angeles and New York as part of the UFC’s current “World Tour” promoting its fall and winter pay-per-view schedule.

“Look at this guy next to me?” he said, turning to UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, who was hyping his upcoming rubber match with ex-champ Junior dos Santos at UFC 166. “Would you guys fight him? I don’t know, guys. I don’t know.”

But really, he just didn’t want to come off like a jerk.

“I just said that because Cain’s next to me,” Jones said with a smile. “I didn’t want it to be awkward.”

Jones is next scheduled to defend his title against Alexander Gustafsson (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at UFC 165, which takes place Sept. 21 in Toronto.

If Jones is able to break Ortiz’s record at the pay-per-view event, it would appear to be a perfect segue into the big-man division. UFC President Dana White said challenges remain before the fighter can be considered to have cleared out the division. But he said he would like to see Jones eventually take on a new challenge.

“If he gets to the point in his career when he wants to move up to heavyweight, I mean, what he accomplished in the first year and a half as a light heavyweight was incredibly impressive,” he said. “The fact that he can move up – I’ve been waiting for Anderson Silva to move up to 205, but he never wanted to do it. I’d like to see it.”

Whether he’s just being nice or seriously considering the idea of lingering longer at light heavyweight, Jones did express interest in one hot prospect in the division: Glover Teixeira (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who’s won four straight to put himself in the conversation for a title shot.

“He’s a guy on my radar, and that’s a fight that I want,” Jones said.

So there might be more work to do, after all. (Source)

UFC 165 Adds Costantinos Philippou vs. Francis Carmont to Sept. 21 Fight Card

Francis Carmont puts his 10-fight winning streak on the line against top-ten ranked Costa Philippou at UFC 165 in Toronto.

Carmont(21-7) has been impressive since his arrival in the UFC, winning five fights in a row.  Training out of the Tristar Gym alongside welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre, Carmont will be looking to log his first win over a top-ten-ranked opponent.

Philippou (12-2, 1 no contest) is riding a five-fight winning streak, including a technical knockout of Tim Boetsch in his last outing at UFC 155 in December.  His lone UFC loss came in his promotional debut against Nick Catone at UFC 128.

It will be Philippou’s first fight in 2013.  He was expected to face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in May, but an injury forced him out of the bout.

UFC 165 takes place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and features two title bouts.  The main event will showcase the UFC light heavyweight title bout between champion Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson.  Interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao puts his title on the line against Eddie Wineland in the co-main event. (Source)

Buffalo Boxing Association names 2013 Hall of Fame Inductees

Ring 44 announced the 2013 class that will be inducted into the Buffalo Boxing Hall of Fame on August 2^nd to be held at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. Ross “The Boss” Thompson. Ray Casal and Tony Sisti will take their place with the legends of Western New York.

Thompson was a multiple national amateur champion from 1984 to 1992 while training at the Austin St. PAL. He won four national PAL titles in four different weight classes from 1984-1991. He also traveled with the U.S. national team around the world. In 1992 Ross turned professional in Las Vegas and was undefeated in his first 14 fights in the welterweight and junior middleweight divisions. In 2000 Thompson was awarded for his 24-3-1 record with world title shot against IBF light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas on HBO. Ross would fight for 11 more years and finished with a 27-16-3 record.

Ramon Casal Jr. is the Owner/Operator/Coach and Trainer of Casal’s School of Fighting Arts, located at 1767 Maryland Street in Niagara Falls, NY. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ray learned the fundamentals of boxing from his father, who boxed in the army and respected trainer Gene Tortorice. In 1996, Ray opened his own gym, then located on the second floor on Hyde Park Boulevard. Since that time he has run, partnered with prominent businessman “Smokin” Joe Anderson, numerous quality amateur events at the old Wintergarden and at his new, professional class gym. Since dedicating to the “Sweet Science” of boxing, Ray was appointed team coach in 2002 for the National Junior Olympic Team/New York and was awarded USA Boxing “Most Outstanding Coach” in 2003 at the Fran Jones Under 19 Championships. He also was a team coach for the 2004 Golden Gloves Nationals held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ray’s Gym has produced the following Champions: 72 Male Golden Gloves, 6 Female Golden Gloves, 28 Silver Gloves, 22 National Champs and 4 P.A.L. National Champs. He has worked the corners or participated in the training of professionals and top amateurs such as: Meldrick Taylor, Tony Tubbs, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Bill Wallace, Billy Hackmer, Otis Grant, Kevin Rosier and, of course, Nick Casal. Ray has been in the corner and acted as cutman for many high profile shows, including: Gary Shaw Productions, Shelly Finkle Management, Showtime Boxing, HBO Boxing and ESPN.

Tony Sisti was best known for his oil paintings, drawings, and murals. From 1926-1931 Sisti studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy. When he ran out of money, Sisti arranged a boxing match in Rome winning enough money to finance his return to Buffalo. Later, he used the winnings from another fight to underwrite the cost a personal art show in New York City. Sisti joined the Art Institute of Buffalo as a member of the faculty in 1932. He taught painting and anatomy at the institute until 1938 before opening his own gallery in Buffalo on Franklin Street. Over the years, he painted portraits of many important political and business leaders as President Franklin Roosevelt among others. In 1981, the City of Buffalo named a park in his honor at the corner of North and Linwood. Sisti’s works have been exhibited in major museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of fine Arts, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in Buffalo. The Burchfield-Penney Art Center also displays a number of Sisti’s paintings in its permanent collection. Sisti was an amateur bantamweight boxer before turning professional in 1919 and ended with a 6-3-3 record. His love for art and boxing had him painting murals of Primo Carnera, Joe Muscato, Lou Scozza, Jersey Joe Walcott and others. His portrait of heavy weight contender Phil Muscato, titled The Boxer, won the Gold Medal at the 1953 Buffalo Society of Artists exhibition. (Source)

Tello, Giambi, Cruz put hopes on the line in boxing card

The summer seemed to be going great for Milby High senior Omar “Pinky” Tello. At 17, Tello scored a first-round knockout in his pro debut on June 20 and was scheduled to fight again six weeks later.

But tragedy struck three days after his 18^th birthday. Tello’s cousin, Demazo Tello, also Milby High alumni, was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Gulf Freeway at age 23. Emotionally devastated, Tello nevertheless opted to go ahead with his upcoming bout in honor of his late mentor and role model.

“I was his best friend so it was hard,” Tello said.

“My cousin, Demazo Tello, was the one who got me into this sport at age 9, so I’m dedicating this to my cousin.”

Tello’s fight will be one of six at the Bayou City Events Center, 9401 Knight Road, on Aug. 1. The card will be staged by Savarese Boxing Promotions.

Tello’s fondest memory of his cousin was of them turning the living room into a boxing ring as children.

“We used to wear pads and just play around at the house,” Tello said.

Demazo Tello had over 70 amateur bouts under his belt and was the 2010 Houston Open Ring Nationals middleweight champion. He was on the verge of turning pro. Omar Tello, who held an amateur record of 65-15, said much of his fighting style was modeled after Demazo’s.

“He had a killer left hook to the body,” Tello said, “the same left hook that I like to use.

“I fight from the outside but if somebody wants to come in and brawl with me, I’ll brawl. I like to mix it up sometimes.”

Tello will be one of four undefeated prospects featured on the card.

Middleweight Gianni Giambi (2-0, 2 KOs), a converted taekwondo exponent, will fight his third bout since beginning his prizefighting career in November. A fourth-degree black belt, Giambi began training in the sweet science under Bobby Benton after his martial arts career was derailed by a knee injury last year.

Giambi’s main challenge has been to make boxing second nature to him after years of practicing a form of combat that deploys predominantly kicks. Split-second defensive and counter-punching reflexes, after all, cannot be developed overnight.

“I think my instincts can always be improved,” Giambi said. “There’s always progress to be made in technique, defense and footwork. The competition is going to get harder and harder and all those things will add up.”

Although he no longer competes in taekwondo, Giambi, 26, remains the owner and instructor at the Houston Center for Taekwondo.

“I have to admit that fighting is a passion of mine,” Giambi said. “I’m as good at teaching it as doing it myself.”

Featherweight Pablo Cruz (3-0, 2 KOs) will be fighting his second consecutive bout under the Savarese banner. Cruz, 26, turned pro last year after failing to qualify for the London Olympics.

Even as an amateur, Cruz had a reputation of being a face-first brawler who held his gloves low and swung from the hip. But he has gained a measure of finesse, he said, since working with veteran trainer Aaron Navarro.

“Aaron’s kind of working on my head movement and being slick in getting our punches in,” Cruz said, “not just going out there and throwing like crazy. Now we’re actually trying to protect ourselves and make the punches count.”

A graduate of Hastings High School, Cruz is a personal trainer at LA Fitness and an instructor at the Title Boxing Club. He is a father of three boys, ages 8, 6 and 2.

“Every boxer wants to become a champion,” Cruz said. “Right now I want to get as many fights as I can and just try and stay focused.”

Rounding up the undefeated roster is welterweight Felipe Reyes (4-0, 3 KOs). Reyes, 26, has fought all his bouts under Savarese Promotions since turning pro last year. (Source)