Zombie to trouble Aldo, but punch defence to be his downfall

Jose Aldo is currently undefeated in the UFC, including four successful defences of his featherweight belt and although Chan Sung Jung’s in-your-face style will cause him problems, it should not result in the title changing hands.

The fight is the headline attraction of UFC 163, with Aldo a short 1/8 favourite to defend his title and the Korean Zombie the 5/1 underdog.

Two areas are most likely to determine the outcome of the bout, with the first being how successful Aldo will be with his trademark leg kicks and the second being how long Jung will walk through the champion’s attack.

No fighter has ever registered more KOs in the featherweight division than Aldo and he is equally as devastating in landing the big shots with his hands, feet and even knees.

His leg kicks are particularly legendary, but these may not be as effective in this particular defence given Jung’s style of continually moving forward on the front foot.

With Aldo potentially spending more time stepping back, he may struggle to get the same power in his kicks.

Instead, Aldo may be better served sticking to using his hands, but he does have a reach disadvantage and a preference for fighting on the outside.

The challenger would prefer to fight closer on the inside, but he is liable to get tagged as his defence is not the best, particularly against a jab.

This would appear Aldo’s best strategy as it would be dangerous for him if the fight went to the ground, with Jung somewhat a specialist when it comes to inventive submissions.

Jung’s best approach would be to continue walking forward and hope that he can withstand the power of the champion, although this is unlikely to be enough.

On the plus side for the Korean is that he could have a stamina edge and so may have a big chance if surviving to the fifth and final round.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.