Tag: Jose Aldo

Ladies and Gentlemen (Specifically Ladies), Prepare Yourselves for Pink Fight MMA


(Sorry Cyborg, you can’t come.) 

Many of you are likely familiar with a Brazilian based promotion called Jungle Fight; through it we have witnessed Jose Aldo’s only professional loss, Machida vs. Bonnar, and the humble beginnings of such fighters as Paulo Thiago, Thales Leites, and Ronaldo Souza. Created and currently run by former fighter Wallid Ismail, Jungle Fight has grown to become a regular feature of ESPN Deportes, and will be looking to branch out into the world of women’s mixed martial arts when it debuts an all woman promotion, audaciously labeled Pink Fight MMA, on January 29th.

That’s right. Pink Fight MMA.

The card will feature six fights and is headlined by a 125 pound clash between 4-2 Shooto veteran Maria Elisabete “Beth” Tavares and 2-3-1 muay Thai striker Kalindra Carvalho Faria. The affair will transpire at the Descobrimento Cultural Event Center in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil. Ismail released a statement on the promotion’s big debut, declaring that, “I’m sure that Pink Fight will reveal new talents and encourage other women to become professional fighters.” Truly a man of his word, Pink Fight’s official website has already begun accepting applications, so if you have a little sister in need of a disciplinary lesson that simply cannot be taught in the household, sign them up today.


(Sorry Cyborg, you can’t come.) 

Many of you are likely familiar with a Brazilian based promotion called Jungle Fight; through it we have witnessed Jose Aldo’s only professional loss, Machida vs. Bonnar, and the humble beginnings of such fighters as Paulo Thiago, Thales Leites, and Ronaldo Souza. Created and currently run by former fighter Wallid Ismail, Jungle Fight has grown to become a regular feature of ESPN Deportes, and will be looking to branch out into the world of women’s mixed martial arts when it debuts an all woman promotion, audaciously labeled Pink Fight MMA, on January 29th.

That’s right. Pink Fight MMA.

The card will feature six fights and is headlined by a 125 pound clash between 4-2 Shooto veteran Maria Elisabete “Beth” Tavares and 2-3-1 muay Thai striker Kalindra Carvalho Faria. The affair will transpire at the Descobrimento Cultural Event Center in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil. Ismail released a statement on the promotion’s big debut, declaring that, “I’m sure that Pink Fight will reveal new talents and encourage other women to become professional fighters.” Truly a man of his word, Pink Fight’s official website has already begun accepting applications, so if you have a little sister in need of a disciplinary lesson that simply cannot be taught in the household, sign them up today.

The upstart promotion has already found its fair share of advocates, starting with long time MMA supporter and Brazilian Senator Magno Matla, who has publicly come out in favor of an all woman MMA league, stating the following:

Such a big nation with the potential to create champions deserved a female promotion. We have a lot of examples to follow, [like] world No. 1 Cris ‘Cyborg’ [Santos] and our president, who is also a woman. Brazil has a lot of female representatives who make us proud and now it’s time to create MMA idols, too.

While Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff is undoubtedly an inspiration for women worldwide, you might want to reserve judgement on Cyborg, Mr. Malta. Don’t get us wrong, the woman is being made an example of, but that’s not exactly the same thing.

What say you, Potato Nation? Is Pink Fight destined to become the Mecca of women’s MMA, or will it fall face down in the mud, nay, the YAMMA pit? Let’s hope it’s the former.

-Danga 

UFC’s Top Current Fighters: Brazil

“The birthplace of MMA.”Those were the words uttered by Mike Goldberg during the UFC 142 broadcast. Although the sport of MMA isn’t a Brazilian creation, the most synonymous name with MMA is Gracie.Other than the plain old pound-for-pound rankings, you…

“The birthplace of MMA.”

Those were the words uttered by Mike Goldberg during the UFC 142 broadcast. Although the sport of MMA isn’t a Brazilian creation, the most synonymous name with MMA is Gracie.

Other than the plain old pound-for-pound rankings, you can’t find too many ranking systems out there. This system follows the same guidelines but groups the fighters based on their nationality.

I plan on doing multiple pieces on multiple nations and what better way to start off than with country with the richest history in MMA and the UFC.

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MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Any Challenges Left for Jose Aldo?

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Bellator, Rankings, FeatherweightsThe No. 1 featherweight in mixed martial arts returned to the cage at UFC 142 and needed less than one round to dispatch an opponent who entered the fight undefeated and widely regarded as the …

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Jose AldoThe No. 1 featherweight in mixed martial arts returned to the cage at UFC 142 and needed less than one round to dispatch an opponent who entered the fight undefeated and widely regarded as the No. 2 featherweight in MMA. So where does Jose Aldo go now after defeating Chad Mendes?

Aldo’s camp has indicated he doesn’t intend to move up to 155 pounds unless it’s to fight for the UFC lightweight title. So that’s probably not in the offing. And that raises the question: Are there any challengers left for Aldo at 145 pounds?

For the identity of some potential opponents for Aldo going forward, check out the latest list of the top 10 featherweights in mixed martial arts below.

Top 10 Featherweights in Mixed Martial Arts
(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)

1. Jose Aldo (1): What’s been so impressive about Aldo is how none of his fights are even close. Since signing with Zuffa in 2008 Aldo is 11-0, with four wins by first-round knockout or TKO, three wins by second-round knockout or TKO, one win by third-round TKO, and three wins by unanimous decision. He didn’t lose more than one round in any of the three decisions, all of which were five-round fights.

2. Hatsu Hioki (3): Hioki has a great resume, with wins over Marlon Sandro, Takeshi Inoue, Ronnie Mann and Mark Hominick twice. But he looked just so-so in winning a split decision over George Roop in his UFC debut. He’ll have to look better when he faces Bart Palaszewski back home in Japan at UFC 144 if he wants to prove he belongs in the Octagon with Aldo.

3. Chad Mendes (2): The best hope Mendes had of beating Aldo was getting him down and getting on top of him, and Aldo’s takedown defense proved to be too good. (Aldo did benefit from grabbing the fence at one point.) Mendes is a good enough wrestler to threaten almost anyone at 145 pounds, but Aldo is leaps and bounds better than him as a striker.

4. Pat Curran (4): Curran looked outstanding in defeating Marlon Sandro in the Bellator featherweight tournament final, and Bellator has a great featherweight title fight lined up for March 9, with Curran taking on Joe Warren.

5. Erik Koch (5): Koch was supposed to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 143 in what could have given the UFC its next No. 1 contender at featherweight. Unfortunately Koch is injured and had to drop out of the fight, and a return date for Koch has not been announced.

6. Bart Palaszewski (NR): Palaszewski’s impressive win over Tyson Griffin establishes him as a potential future contender to the featherweight belt. Moving down to featherweight was a great move for him, but he’ll have a tough test on his hands against Hioki at UFC 144.

7. Tatsuya Kawajiri (9): After dropping down to featherweight last year, Kawajiri submitted both Joachim Hansen and Kazuyuki Miyata. A fight with Dream featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya would be great.

8. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier will take on Max Holloway at UFC 143, and if he puts on a good show he might find himself getting Aldo next.

9. Chan Sung Jung (NR): After Aldo, the Korean Zombie might be the hottest featherweight in the sport right now. He was recognized as having the Fight of the Year in 2010 with Leonard Garcia and the Submission of the Year in 2011 for finishing Garcia with a twister in their rematch, and then he needed just seven seconds to knock out Mark Hominick. Jung is on such a roll right now that there’s some talk he could be next in line for Aldo, although that would be an extremely tall order: Jung is a lot of fun to watch, but Aldo is on another level as a striker.

10. Mark Hominick (6): Hominick is now on a two-fight losing streak after falling to Aldo and Jung, but he’ll hold onto his spot in the Top 10 for now. He’s a skilled striker who’s still only 29 years old and has a good future in the featherweight division, but he should get a step down in quality of competition, which is just what he will get when he takes on Eddie Yagin at UFC 145 in Atlanta.

 

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Andre Pederneiras: Jose Aldo Will Only Move to Lightweight for Title Shot

UFC 142 answered many questions surrounding Jose Aldo’s pound-for-pound status, but his thoughts on moving up another weight class have yet to be revealed.Since entering the UFC last year, Aldo has reigned among the featherweight division and domina…

UFC 142 answered many questions surrounding Jose Aldo’s pound-for-pound status, but his thoughts on moving up another weight class have yet to be revealed.

Since entering the UFC last year, Aldo has reigned among the featherweight division and dominated every opponent in front of him. Like most world-class champions, Aldo’s talent is evidently superior to the rest of his opposition, and perhaps a change of scenery would be more beneficial to the 25-year-old Brazilian.

However, Aldo’s coach and head trainer of Nova Uniao, Andre Pederneiras, doesn’t believe the time is right for the UFC featherweight champion to step up to 155 pounds.

“It won’t happen for now, unless he goes straight for a title shot,” Pederneiras told Sherdog.com. 

During the UFC 142 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White appeared to be open to the idea of seeing Aldo challenge for the UFC lightweight title in the future. However, White said he will let Aldo and his camp make the final decision.

“I would have no problem with him staying at his weight now and defending his title there or moving to 155 pounds, whatever he feels like he wants to do,” White said.

Aldo’s stunning knockout of Chad Mendes left the NCAA Division 1 wrestler crumpled on the canvas, and it also left the state of the division in limbo, as some critics felt Mendes was one of the few fighters who could potentially present problems to Aldo with his speed and wrestling ability. 

But his victory was not to be outdone, as Aldo sprinted into the crowd to celebrate with those in attendance at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Pederneiras said it was something he expected out of the champion.

“I expected him to do something stupid, especially here,” he joked. “He did [the same thing] in San Diego and he had to hear a lot from the commission staff. But here, with all that crowd, I knew.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Forward Roll: UFC 142 Edition

Filed under: UFCIf I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the UFC 142 card, it would be Edson Barboza. While I’m not ready to call him a surefire lightweight contender just yet, he certainly has flashed a skill set that…

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If I could look into my crystal ball into the future of one rising star on the UFC 142 card, it would be Edson Barboza. While I’m not ready to call him a surefire lightweight contender just yet, he certainly has flashed a skill set that’s worthy of cracking the division’s top 5. Now he has to continue delivering.

So far throughout his UFC career, Barboza has used his skills the same way Chuck Liddell used to; his defensive wrestling keeping him upright where he has the advantage against nearly anyone he faces.

But there are still questions about Barboza. For one, will his wrestling hold up against the division’s best? Remember, this is a weight class heavy on former collegiate wrestling studs. From champ Frankie Edgar to No. 1 contender Ben Henderson to Gray Maynard and beyond, Barboza will have to prove himself able to handle a top level guy before we can anoint him the next great lightweight. That said, it’s been exciting to watch his educated limbs deliver violence in new ways.

The comparison has been made between Barboza and featherweight champ Jose Aldo, and in terms of style, it’s not all that far off. But lightweight is a much deeper division than featherweight, so Barboza has a long climb ahead.

On to the matchups…

Jose Aldo
It was nice to see Aldo flash the finishing instinct that made him a star in his early days under the Zuffa banner. While he’s been accused of playing it safe his last few fights, his perfectly timed knee to the face that led to the finish is a strictly offensive move. If he missed it, he would have been off-balance to defend the takedown that was coming as Mendes went low. Instead, Aldo landed it flush and closed out the show. While many would like to see him move up a weight class, he’s still just 25 years old and I’d like to see him cement a legacy at one division before moving up to another. Anderson Silva‘s become a huge star because he runs his weight class with an iron fist. Fans love dominance, and Aldo’s slowly but surely building himself that kind of aura.
Prediction: Aldo fights the winner of February’s Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski bout.

Chad Mendes
The bad news for Mendes is that he lost, but the good news is that he’s not going to fall very far in the featherweight pecking order. While he struggled to take Aldo down — he was 0-for-7 by FightMetric’s count — at least we know Mendes still has room to grow his offensive arsenal. That’s because he’s only been in the sport for about four years. While he’ll still be in the upper tier of the division, he needs to work on his striking to be better equipped to deal with Aldo next time around. If there is a “next time.”
Prediction: He fights Diego Nunes

Vitor Belfort
We already know Belfort’s next assignment. He’ll be the head coach of the first Brazilian edition of The Ultimate Fighter, alongside Wanderlei Silva, and after the conclusion of the show, the two will face off in a rematch of their 1998 match, a bout which Belfort won by knockout in just 44 seconds.

Anthony Johnson
What a nightmare of a middleweight debut for Johnson, who pulled off a triple dose of fail by missing weight, losing by submission and getting cut. Despite the disastrous evening, Johnson is just 27 years old and has reached a level of popularity that will make him a sought-after commodity in other organizations. But Johnson also has to take a good hard look at himself, realize that he’s blown a couple of opportunities, and find a way to fix it, or otherwise risk never reaching the heights many expected him to.
Prediction: Johnson signs with Bellator

Rousimar Palhares
It’s getting harder and harder to ignore Palhares as a contender after a third straight win. Amazingly, it was his fourth heel hook submission win in his last six UFC bouts. Most of the UFC’s 10 best has their date book filled, so Palhares might have to play the waiting game for a bit until something opens up. Two available fighters right now though are Chris Weidman and Alan Belcher.
Prediction: Belcher gets the call to face Palhares

Erick Silva
It seems like every time we turn around, there’s another Silva advancing into the upper echelons of the MMA world. The latest is the 27-year-old welterweight who lost by disqualification due to punches that were ruled to be illegal. He’ll appeal the ruling, and regardless of the outcome, Silva will be treated as the winner when it comes to booking his next fight. Since he is still early in his UFC career, don’t expect Silva to be rushed into fights with major names just yet.
Prediction: He faces Seth Baczynski

Edson Barboza
After four straight wins, the undefeated Barboza (10-0) looks just about ready to step into the shark tank against the lightweight division’s big guns. He looks to have the complement of skills that make him a scary proposition for anyone, particularly with killer standup and great defensive wrestling. The only potential issue I see from Barboza is that he sometimes tends to step off the gas pedal. I’d match him up against a fighter known for forward aggression and wrestling and see how he does.
Prediction: He faces Danny Castillo

Gabriel Gonzaga
Kudos to Gonzaga, who returned to the UFC with a first-round submission win. Just as impressive was the fact that prior to the fight, he said he wanted to stop engaging in striking wars and return to his jiu-jitsu roots. He did just that. According to FightMetric, he wasn’t hit a single time by opponent Ednaldo Oliveira in the 3-minute, 22-second fight. That’s about as clean a win as you can hope for. It was a performance that was not only great for career longevity but also came with a finish, something that always makes fans and management happy.
Prediction: He faces the winner of UFC on Fox 2’s Mike Russow vs. Jon Olav Einemo

 

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5 Potential Fights for Jose Aldo at Lightweight

Shortly after Jose Aldo crushed Chad Mendes’ title hopes, (and face) at UFC 142 last weekend, fans started wondering whom the UFC could possibly put in front of its featherweight champion. Aldo has taken out everyone that Zuffa has asked him to, …

Shortly after Jose Aldo crushed Chad Mendes’ title hopes, (and face) at UFC 142 last weekend, fans started wondering whom the UFC could possibly put in front of its featherweight champion.

Aldo has taken out everyone that Zuffa has asked him to, and now there is a huge gap in talent between the champion and the challengers.

With guys like Dustin Poirier, Erik Koch, Hatsu Hioki and Chan Sung Jung all a win or two away from a shot at the title, many fans have started calling for Aldo to move up in weight and challenge a top contender at lightweight in a potential superfight.

The fighters on this list would all pose some interesting challenges for Aldo, as most would have a significant size advantage and a few might even be able to test Aldo’s ridiculous takedown defense.

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