At UFC 142, Jose Aldo will defend his belt in his home country of Brazil against Chad “Money” Mendes, an undefeated contender and the best pure wrestler in the division.
Mendes is a legitimate threat to Aldo, and many people see Mendes using his great takedown ability and control to pull off the upset.
However, if Aldo beats Mendes, there is some concern that there aren’t enough viable challenges at featherweight left for Aldo.
He beat Urijah Faber, a great submission fighter, and Kenny Florian and Mark Hominick, two very good strikers.
If he beats Mendes, a great wrestler, there is some concern over whether he’ll have anyone left to test his skills.
It’s easy to be pessimistic, but the truth is that featherweight has plenty of talent, and even if Aldo can roll through Mendes he’s far from safe.
Most immediately, Hatsu Hioki is a threat to Aldo’s reign. He is one of the best known and highly-ranked featherweight fighters in the world, and is arguably a better grappler than Faber.
While he may have had a lackluster performance against George Roop, he will have a chance to redeem himself against Bart Palazewki.
If Hioki can win persuasively and remind fans why he’s the No. 3 featherweight in the world, he could end up fighting Aldo for his belt before too long.
A little further down the line are fighters like Eric Koch and Dustin Poirer.
The two will fight at UFC 143, and a win for either fighter is huge. Both fighters are dangerous, well-rounded and can threaten Aldo.
Jim Hettes is another addition to the list of exciting featherweight prospects.
The fighter is 10-0 with nine submission finishes, and his last fight against Nam Phan is easily one of the most one-sided non-title fights that went the distance in UFC history.
His excellent submission game and violent ground and pound make anyone he gets on top of face serious danger.
There is plenty of talent and diversity at featherweight, and regardless of the outcome tonight, no champion will have an easy time maintaining his reign in this division.
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