At UFC 142, featherweight champion Jose Aldo, looks to defend his belt against the tough challenger, Chad “Money” Mendes.
The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 133 but injuries prevented it from occurring. Instead of waiting it out, Mendes chose to fight, defeating highly touted Rani Yahya by unanimous decision.
Aldo defended his title against Kenny Florian at UFC 136.
For many fight fans, Aldo hasn’t looked himself since joining the UFC ranks. In the WEC, Aldo ran through a who’s-who of fighters and made it look easy. In his first bout with the UFC, however, he struggled to put away Mark Hominick and couldn’t get into a rhythm against Florian.
Mendes has failed to impress fans as well. He has some of the best wrestling at 145 pounds but has been labeled another user of “lay and pray” to earn a victory.
I’m not sure what the cause is for Aldo’s lack of tenacity in his two fights in the UFC, but I’m willing to guess the weight cut is starting to really affect him. If you haven’t seen the videos of Aldo’s struggles with cutting weight (20 pounds in one day? C’mon, man), I suggest you seek out a clip.
With Aldo being more cautious, Mendes will use his wrestling ability to wear the champion down.
Mendes landed five takedowns against Yahya and four against Michihiro Omigawa in their matchup. If Mendes can land at least one takedown per round, we will see a unanimous decision for the challenger.
However, Aldo is a fighter and will likely make it back to his feet on more than one occasion. But each time he works his way up, his gas tank will get closer and closer to empty. Aldo could resemble the Dan Henderson we saw in the final rounds in his recent bout.
Along with Mendes’ strong wrestling credentials, he has the advantage of training with someone who’s already faced Aldo before.
Although Urijah Faber struggled against Aldo in their matchup, Team Alpha Male has no doubt learned from its mistakes and will form a better game plan for Mendes. Mendes will look to get the fight to the ground every chance he gets, and as every second ticks by, Aldo’s fatigue will make it easier for Mendes to steal round after round.
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