UFC 163: Jose Aldo Retains Featherweight Title Despite Foot Injury


UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo retained his featherweight title Saturday night with a fourth-round TKO over “the Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung, despite a foot injury early on in the fight.

During the UFC 163 post-fight press conference, the 145-pound champion said he injured his right foot, and an X-ray confirmed that the foot was broken. Because of the injury, Aldo isn’t expected to fight again this year.

Aldo’s head coach, Andre Pederneiras, said, “He broke his foot two minutes into the fight. The first kick he threw landed on (Jung’s) knee.”

Doctors didn’t say when Aldo would be able to return to the Octagon, but it isn’t expected to be any time soon.

“We are talking to the UFC doctor, Marcio Tannure, but he’ll probably take a medical suspension for the next two or three months,” Pederneiras said. “It’s up to the doctors now.”

Aldo’s opponent also suffered an injury during the fight, dislocating his shoulder in the fourth round. Chan Sung Jung threw a right punch, hitting Aldo on his back. The shoulder popped out of the socket, but as the Zombie tried to push it back in, Aldo took advantage of the injury.

“Yes, I did see that he had separated his shoulder,” Aldo said. “So I kicked him and I tried to put him down on the ground to get some ground and pound.”

Aldo won the match after referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 2:00 in the fourth, and successfully defended his title for the sixth time. Aldo (23-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has gone undefeated since May 20, 2006; his only loss was at Jungle Fight 5 on November 26, 2005, when he lost to Luciano Azevedo in a lightweight bout. He has now beaten four of the top 10 featherweights in the UFC.

The Zombie was able to have his shoulder looked at by ringside physicians, but it will not require surgery. He previously had rotator cuff surgery after his submission victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier on May 15, 2012.

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