Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes are set for a Saturday night rematch for the featherweight title at UFC 179. It will be the main event of a card welcoming back the UFC with a bang.
The premier MMA organization has been on somewhat of a hiatus with no events since the Oct. 4 Fight Night in Sweden, but five strong main card bouts will get things started once again. It’s highlighted, of course, by a rematch of a 2012 fight in which Aldo knocked out Mendes in the first round.
But Mendes has gone a perfect 5-0 since that—the only defeat of his career—and he’ll have his shot at avenging that defeat Saturday.
The main event is inching nearer and nearer, so let’s make some early predictions as to how Aldo-Mendes II will go down.
Don’t Expect Another One-Round Affair
Aldo took care of Mendes with a brutal knee before the final buzzer for Round 1 sounded, but it seemed like a fight that could go the distance before that ending.
The then-undefeated Mendes—primarily renowned for his wrestling and takedown dominance—was holding his own for the majority of the round and nearly pulled off a couple of takedowns. Aldo’s winning knee didn’t come until 4:59 (the last second) of Round 1.
Aldo possesses such a strong takedown defense that it’s hard to see even Mendes‘ best frustrating him too much. But as Mendes has shown throughout his last five fights, he has improved considerably and can even grind out long fights like his three-round wins over Nik Lentz and Clay Guida.
Mendes has been on a mission to get back to this moment, and he won’t let those efforts be derailed in the first five minutes.
Mendes Will Push Aldo Like Never Before
Ever since a 2005 defeat (the only one of his career), Aldo has been unstoppable. But Saturday could prove to be his toughest fight since then.
Aldo is the only featherweight champion the UFC has ever seen, winning the inaugural title after dominating the now-defunct WEC. He hasn’t been seriously tested since topping Mendes, but his opponent has made huge strides since their 2012 meeting.
But despite his own improvements, Mendes doesn’t see too many on Aldo’s side of things, per MMAJunkie.com’s Steven Marrocco.
He seems to be a guy that’s in his comfort zone, because it’s been working. But I think it takes a guy like me with my style to get in there and push a guy like Jose out of his comfort zone, to really test his skill level. Those type of fights always make it entertaining for the fans. I’m going to go out there and test his will, and I’m going to put a hurting on him.
Confident words only mean so much, but in this case, they could really hold some weight. Mendes has knockouts in four of his five matches since facing Aldo, while his opponent only has one in three fights.
It took spectacular defense from Aldo to keep from going to the ground early in their 2012 fight, and he won’t be able to keep from hitting the canvas a few times early in Saturday’s rematch. Although he’ll eventually bounce back, Aldo will be on the ropes early.
Aldo Will Defend Title with Late KO
Mendes may be a much better striker than he was when these two faced off in 2012, but it will take more than that to top a fighter of Aldo’s caliber.
When it comes down to it, there’s no fighter in this weight class that can punish an opponent standing and striking quite like Aldo. Few can boast his takedown defense, which will be beyond key in thwarting Mendes‘ efforts.
He’ll be taken off-guard early, but Aldo will make the adjustments after a few rounds just like the greats do. From then on, he’ll make sure to stay on his feet and wear down Mendes for a late knockout.
Mendes has the skill set to frustrate Aldo, but the talent gap between these two fighters is simply too large.
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