If something seemed amiss to you during featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr.'s title defense against Chan Sung Jung at UFC 163 on Saturday night, it turns out you were right.
Missing from Aldo's tango with "The Korean Zombie" at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena were the brutal leg kicks which have marked his longstanding run as 145-pound kingpin.
Aldo finally won the fight in the fourth round when he pounced after Jung injured his shoulder and promptly finished him.
After the bout, Aldo was able to reveal the truth: He injured his right foot on the first kick of the fight.
"When the fight started the first thing I did, I kicked him, and he put his knees out the first time I kicked him," Aldo said through an interpreter at the post-fight press conference. "I don't know if I broke my foot I know it's very swollen."
Aldo later added "He knew I was going to be giving him low kicks, so the combination I think he led his knee there. I kicked straight in his knee."
The injury caused the fight to transpire in a different manner than we've become accustomed to seeing Aldo compete. Forced to improvise, Aldo displayed his rarely seen wrestling and jiu-jitsu games in racking up the first three rounds.
"I'm a complete fighter, I always try to practice everything," Aldo said. "Whenever the fight goes I always try to use all my weapons. I don't have one weapon, I have a whole arsenal of weapons for whoever's out there.
"I had to change my strategy, I had to totally change up," the longtime champ added. "I tried to counterattack him. I knew I won three rounds, so I tried to do a little of everything, boxing, wrestling, and some jiu-jitsu."
Aldo, however, bristled at the suggestion that he tires in the late rounds due to the weight cut down to 145 pounds.
"I always try to fight in an impressive manner," said Aldo, who once again stated he'd be open to fighting at lightweight. "But I am the champ, so I have a lot more to lose than my opponent. He wants something which is mine. ... When people see on TV I'm in control, they think I'm tired because I have to cut weight, but that's not a fact. It's my intelligence. If I play things in a different way he can punch me and I can get [knocked out]."