This is the UFC 179 live blog for Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes, a featherweight bout at Saturday night’s UFC event at the Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro.
Aldo, who has won 17 straight fights, will face Mendes, who has won five straight fights, in the main event.
Check out the UFC 179 live blog below.
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Round 1: Marc Goddard is the referee. Both fighters are orthodox. Mendes is coming right at him and Aldo is getting out of the way. Several leg kicks land for Mendes. Aldo drills Mendes with a body shot, but Mendes drops Aldo with a left hook, albeit only for a split second. Outside leg kick for the champion lands. Mendes land a leg kick, but Aldo follows up with a kick to the body. One-two from Aldo pops Mendes’ head back and the two exchange leg kicks. Mendes lands a one-two of his own. Aldo with another leg kick and the bout is temporarily halted with an inadvertent eye poke. The bout resumes and Aldo is on fire. He drops Mendes and tries to finish him. He moves to mount and Mendes stands. The round is stopped on time, but Aldo lands two punches after the bell.
MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Aldo
Round 2: Mendes is on a shot, but can’t get it. A groin strike on Aldo temporarily halts the action. The bout resumes. Body kick for Aldo scores and Mendes nearly catches it, but can’t. The fighters exchange outside leg kicks. Outside leg kick and left hook combo finds the mark for Aldo. Mendes with his own two-punch combo finds the mark. Mendes whiffs on another takedown attempt, but lands a leg kick. Aldo is also jabbing Mendes consistently. Mendes ends the round with a nice left.
MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Aldo
Round 3: The two start swinging immediately, but nothing lands substantively. Another eye poke temporarily halts the action on Aldo. The bout resumes with a referee warning. Aldo seems angry and drills a hard body shot. Right hand from Mendes clips Aldo. Good left hook from Aldo plus a few more as Mendes backs away. Hard jab now from the champion. Crushing uppercut from Mendes hurts Aldo, but Aldo drops Mendes and tries to finish him. Mendes stands and is dropped again. Aldo stands and Mendes tries to take him down, but can’t quite get it. Good left hook from Mendes at the end of the round.
MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Aldo
Round 4: The two trade shots in the early going, neither landing much. Mendes has center cage, but Aldo is moving into negative space. Left hook to the body by Mendes. Decent jab from Mendes now. Good right straight from the champion pops Mendes’ head back. Good one-two from Mendes now and a right hand. Mendes is stalking hard with Aldo back tracking the entire time.
MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Mendes
Round 5: Mendes is pressing early and lands a left hand. And again. Mendes drives a blast double. Aldo sprawls, but he keeps driving and gets it. Aldo’s back is along the fence. The Brazilian is trying to stand and finally does. They separate. One-two combo lands for Aldo. Mendes catches a kick from Aldo, but is knocked to the ground with hard shots. They stand and separate. Good body shot for Aldo, plus a right hand. Mendes with a left of his own. Mendes tries a double, it’s stuffed and Aldo shoves the American across the cage. Body shot for Aldo. Both fighters throwing strikes, but not hitting much. Both fighters blitz each other at the end of the round. Incredible fight.
MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Aldo and the fight 49-46 Aldo
Official result: Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)