Jose Aldo’s mentality has undergone a dramatic change since becoming UFC champion.The Brazilian knockout artist understands the importance of putting on exciting fights, but he also knows that winning is the only thing ensuring his championship reig…
Jose Aldo‘s mentality has undergone a dramatic change since becoming UFC champion.
The Brazilian knockout artist understands the importance of putting on exciting fights, but he also knows that winning is the only thing ensuring his championship reign and future financial security.
“When it all started in the WEC, I had no responsibility. I had a dream, fighting for my house, and the guys [in my way were roadblocks] holding up my dream,” Aldo said in an interview with SporTV, via Google translation. “Nobody knew who Aldo was. I could throw knees and everything.”
“Today, everybody wants to be champion. They all watch my tapes to see what I do. They study me a lot more now that I’m the target. I have to study twice as hard because I know they will come up with something new too.”
Aldo’s story truly is a fascinating one.
The Manaus native had a tough life growing up. He had very little money, and there were times he would show up at the gym having gone a day without eating. In an interview with UFC.com, Aldo reminisced about his life prior to becoming an MMA star.
The reason why I searched for MMA was because I needed the money. I was competing in all the Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, and there were no cash prizes. We were living in the gym, and it was hard. Then Dede Perdeneiras started an MMA team, and from there, I started training MMA with the guys, had one, two fights.
Dede, since the beginning would say: “You are going to be rich, one day. MMA is getting big. You will be rich.” I would play around: “Imagine, my brother. You are crazy bro.” And thank God, today, that idea Dede had back in the day is now becoming a reality.
Aldo is currently riding a 13-fight win streak. Since winning the featherweight title in November 2009, he has successfully defended his throne four consecutive times. Most publications have him listed alongside UFC champions Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Still, Aldo has undergone criticism for his lack of finishes. In his past four bouts, three of those fights have gone the distance. At UFC 129, Aldo surprised fans by relying on his wrestling instead of striking to ride out top position and take a unanimous decision over Mark Hominick.
As a fighter, it’s tough to find a balance between winning and being exciting. The MMA world wants exciting fights, but if fighters aren’t winning on a consistent basis, they’re either unemployed or not making main event money.
Aldo loves putting on a show for fans, but it is also his hope to work to provide a better future for himself and his family. The top fighters in the world aren’t determined by their level of excitement. They are determined by whether they are winning or losing.
“[I’m the champion because I’m winning. I can’t leave myself open],” said Aldo. “In a million years, nobody will know whether or not [it was a finish] or the fight went five rounds. All that will matter is who was champion.”
“Georges St-Pierre always goes five rounds. He’s still the champion and considered as number one in almost all categories. I do not see any problem in this. The important thing is winning the fight.”
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 …
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.
Filed under: UFCThe last time the UFC went to Rio de Janeiro, it was a learning experience for everyone — particularly those of us in the media who needed a solid hour to find our way into the arena.
Among the other lessons we learned that night was…
The last time the UFC went to Rio de Janeiro, it was a learning experience for everyone — particularly those of us in the media who needed a solid hour to find our way into the arena.
Among the other lessons we learned that night was: bet against a Brazilian in Brazil, and you’d better be prepared never to see that money again.
Of the eight foreigners who faced Brazilians at UFC 134, only one — Stanislav Nedkov — left Rio a winner. Granted, it’s a small sample size from which to form broad conclusions, but it does give us something to think about heading into UFC 142 on Saturday night. All four foreigners on the main card come in as underdogs to one degree or another. Surely there must be at least one Stanislav Nedkov in the bunch, but who’s it going to be?
The tough part about analyzing two fighters who have 32 fights and only one loss between them is that there’s not much of a blueprint for defeat on either man. Mendes has about half as many fights, but he’s never been beaten. Aldo’s lost once, but I think we can all agree that he’s come a long way since “Jungle Fight 5,” which was more than six years ago. While it’s possible that Mendes could be knocked out or Aldo could be totally outwrestled, we haven’t seen either scenario play out in the cage before. So why do oddsmakers favor Aldo so heavily?
For starters, Aldo’s been tested. He’s beaten the likes of Kenny Florian, Mark Hominick, and Urijah Faber, which, let’s be honest, is far more impressive than Mendes’ list of victims. Aldo’s win over Faber alone — who seems like a more experienced and well-rounded version of Mendes — is probably enough to justify the line all by itself. You factor in the home country advantage, which could really make a difference in the very likely event that the fight goes the distance, and suddenly the numbers start to make a lot of sense. It’s not at all far-fetched to think that Mendes could wear Aldo out over the course of five rounds. After all, we saw how Aldo faded in the Hominick fight. But if Aldo is of sound mind and body here, it seems more likely that he’ll purée Mendes’ legs with kicks the same way he did to Faber’s. My pick: Aldo. I’ll admit that I had to talk myself down from the underdog pick, and I still think Mendes might be worth small action if the line creeps past +250. But it’s hard for me to go against the champ in his own backyard.
This one is basically a pick-em that oddsmakers have cleverly skewed in their favor, and why not? It’s the kind of fight that derelict sports gamblers love, because you can talk yourself into believing almost anything about it. Belfort fans will convince themselves that this is another blitzkrieg knockout in the making, while “Rumble” supporters can be certain that their man will be an unstoppable juggernaut in his new weight class. So who’s right? I’d put my money on the Johnson camp, but not by much. Belfort is always a danger in the first few minutes of any fight, but the threat-level diminishes significantly as soon as he hears the words ’round two.’ Johnson’s never been knocked out in his MMA career, and you have to think he’ll only be better at tiring out and breaking down opponents now that he’s gone up a weight class. Both these guys hit hard enough to reduce any reasoned analysis to an unpredictable game of drunken rock-paper-scissors in the end, but Johnson has more ways to win and fewer ways to lose. My pick: Johnson. Who knows if he’ll make it out of the arena in one piece if he beats a Brazilian MMA icon like Belfort, but I like his chances to take this into the later rounds and win a decision or a late stoppage.
On skill alone, sure, Palhares deserves to be this big of a favorite. But as we’ve seen in the past, when Palhares fights it’s not always that simple. To put it gently, the guy’s a bit of a head case. Remember when he decided to try and call a mid-fight timeout against Nate Marquardt? How about when he leapt on top of the cage in celebration of a victory that he hadn’t yet achieved in his fight with Dan Miller? Then there’s the other end of the spectrum, like when he refused to release Tomasz Drwal from a heel hook even after the fight was clearly over. One bizarre incident might be a fluke, but Palhares has established a habit of weirdo happenings. Is it worth the risk that one such mental mishap could hand a victory to the major underdog Massenzio? If Massenzio were just a little better, and maybe not so dependent on his wrestling, I might say yes. Against Palhares, however, I fear he has the exact wrong style to take advantage of a guy whose brain isn’t always operating in perfect harmony with his body. My pick: Palhares. But you know what? He’s so mercurial I don’t even want him in my parlay. There’s just too great a chance that he’ll screw everything up by deciding to quit in the middle of the fight and go work a concession stand instead.
We still haven’t seen enough of Erick Silva to have a great handle on what he’s capable of, but what we have seen has been pretty impressive. He starched Luis Ramos in his Octagon debut the last time the UFC was in Rio. This time he’ll get a tougher opponent, but not necessarily an overwhelming one. Prater’s a replacement for Siyar Bahadurzada, who would have likely been a much stiffer test for the young Brazilian. Not that Prater’s an easy mark, mind you. He’s been around, has fought some recognizable names, but doesn’t have much to show for it. His willingness to step up here will earn him a UFC roster spot for the first time in a nearly ten-year career, but I don’t even like his odds to hang on to that for very long, much less pull out a win on relatively short notice. My pick: Silva. I still think he’s overvalued at almost 5-1, but I’m willing to take the bait and put it in my parlay out of a lack of better ideas.
Can we cut the crap and be real with each other for a minute, fellow derelicts? Don’t tell anyone, but I’m starting to suspect that Barboza might be just the tiniest bit overrated. I know, I know: he looked great in his UFC debut against Mike Lullo. And he also looked sharp against Anthony Njokuani. And then he did just enough to get a decision over Ross Pearson. But have you noticed that as the competition gets better, he seems to stay more or less the same? It makes me wonder if he’s like one of those pitchers who strikes out everyone when he first gets called up to the majors, but gets steadily shelled as hitters start to figure him out. Granted, Barboza’s still undefeated, so it’s not like he’s giving up grand slams (to stick with this already troublesome mixed sports metaphor), but I can’t help but feel like this line is a reflection of his hype more than his skills. Etim is better than many people realize, and this style match-up is right in his wheelhouse. I understand why he’s the underdog, but he could surprise some people. I just wouldn’t want to go to the judges in this fight if I were him. My pick: Etim. Is this another instance of me talking myself into an underdog pick just to avoid looking like a jerk who takes all the favorites? Maybe. But still…
Quick picks:
– Michihiro Omigawa (+110) over Yuri Alcantara (-140). I’m not sold on Alcantara, and Omigawa is better than his record in the UFC reflects.
– Ednaldo Oliveira (+120) over Gabriel Gonzaga (-150). Most have never heard his name, but word is that Oliveira has acquitted himself well as Junior dos Santos’ sparring partner. Meanwhile, Gonzaga hasn’t had a truly significant win since 2007.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Aldo + Johnson + Silva + Omigawa.
It’s cliche at this point as any opponent that a champion faces next should be his toughest opponent to date, but truly Mendes poses the biggest threat Aldo has faced yet. Toughest opponent in terms of winning, not in damage. See Mendes is a wrestler who likes to the control the fight and kill clock from the top side. He has won 80% of the time via decision and always by decision against top competition. Conditioning has never been a problem in any fight I’ve seen. He likes to control the pace tiring out his opponents in typical wrestler fashion.
Aldo will have problems that he didn’t have against Faber. While Aldo was able to keep a takedown-timid Faber away with leg kicks, Mendes is much more risk taking and will walk through some strikes to get his take down. Its everything to Mendes.
Aldo will be on his back, the question will be for how long. The likelihood of Mendes controlling all 5 rounds against one of the best fighters in all of MMA is going to be tough, but I think Mendes can squeak out 3 of them.
Aldo has closed 12 out of 20 fights before the 3rd round. He is a great striker and great jiujitsu player too. His wrestling has gotten better for sure. One thing though is that he has taken his last few fights the distance, but won the decision in all. He was recently injured too, maybe this is part of it.
Mendes here at roughly +200 is decent value.
Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs Anthony Johnson
Will the length be the problem for Belfort? Johnson makes a huge weight cut to make every fight. Belfort needs to get back on the winning side. Both fighters are excellent strikers and have ended fights in the 1st round on more than 5 occasions.
Odds have this as a pickem. If you can find Johnson in the underdog at your favorite bookmaker take it. Johnson is bigger and lengthier.
Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs Mike Massenzio
Rousimar Palhares. The style matchup favors Palhares. Fight is going to be on the ground and that is where Palhares lives.
Welterweight bout: Erick Silva vs Carlo Prater
No pick, but odds are crazy skewed for Silva. Prater is too risky to place anything on as he is up and down.
Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim
Barboza despite Etim’s rising star. Etim hasn’t been tested by a Barboza like fighter.
Preliminary card (FX)
Lightweight bout: Thiago Tavares vs Sam Stout
Should be a great matchup.
Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs Ednaldo Oliveira
I don’t know enough or seen Ednaldo to make a call. At a cursory look, he’s 6’7″ and a shitload of tko’s on his record. Gonzaga is always good for taking a big beating or dishing one out of his own. Oliveira looks dangerous though. Passing.
Featherweight bout: Yuri Alcantara vs Michihiro Omigawa
This fight is going Yuri’s way.
Welterweight bout: Ricardo Funch vs Mike Pyle
Pyle. Aside from Rory MacDonald loss, Pyle has shown a much better skillset and has improved his weak points.
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Featherweight bout: Felipe Arantes vs Antonio Carvalho
Filed under: UFCWill Jose Aldo continue to run roughshod over the featherweight division? Or will Chad Mendes pull off a huge upset in Aldo’s homeland? Will Anthony Johnson look even more powerful now that he’s not killing himself to cut down to welter…
Will Jose Aldo continue to run roughshod over the featherweight division? Or will Chad Mendes pull off a huge upset in Aldo’s homeland? Will Anthony Johnson look even more powerful now that he’s not killing himself to cut down to welterweight? Or will Vitor Belfort‘s patented power punches put Johnson to sleep? Will any of the favored Brazilians lose in front of the fans in Rio?
I’ll attempt to answer those questions and more as I predict the winners at UFC 142 below.
What: UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes
When: Saturday, the FX preliminary card begins at 8 p.m. ET and the main card begins on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.
Where: HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
José Aldo vs. Chad Mendes The undefeated Mendes has talked in recent weeks about how he’s sure he has the right game plan for Aldo, and about how he has the best wrestling credentials of anyone Aldo has ever fought, and he’s coming into this fight with a lot of confidence. And if you look at the fight from a certain point of view, you can see where that confidence comes from: Mendes has, after all, used that superior wrestling to take decisions from some pretty good opponents, and even though this will be Mendes’ first five-round fight, he may have a cardio edge over Aldo.
But that’s my analysis when I’m trying to look for a reason to think Mendes could win. The hard truth for Mendes is that while he’s a better wrestler than anyone Aldo has ever fought before, Aldo is a much, much, much better striker than anyone Mendes has ever fought before. Aldo has become more cautious and tentative in recent fights, and so I’m not expecting to see the kind of devastating knockout that the Aldo of 2008-2009 could be counted on to provide. But I am expecting Aldo to employ leg kicks to keep Mendes at distance, perhaps some knees when Mendes shoots for takedowns, and enough punches to bloody Mendes’s face. This fight should be another good opportunity for Aldo to show that he’s hands down the best featherweight in MMA. Pick: Aldo
Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson Johnson’s decision to move up to middleweight is long overdue — while fighting at welterweight he twice came in more than five pounds over. So will he look better now that he’s fighting in a division where he can actually make weight comfortably? I think he will, but I’m not sure how much of a difference that makes because I see this fight as being more about Belfort’s power than Johnson’s.
Belfort has had five fights since moving down to middleweight in 2008, and in four of them he knocked his opponent cold with punches. In the fifth, he got knocked cold himself by Anderson Silva‘s front kick. Johnson certainly has the ability to land a head kick and knock Belfort out with it, but I see Belfort catching Johnson with his hands down and knocking him out. Pick: Belfort
Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio Massenzio is a good wrestler and a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, and he’s coming off a solid win over Steve Cantwell at UFC 136. But he’s not even close to Palhares’ level on the ground, and I’ll be surprised if this fight doesn’t end with Palhares cranking on Massenzio’s leg, and Massenzio tapping. Pick: Palhares
Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater Silva made his UFC debut at the last Rio show and needed just 40 seconds to knock out Luis Ramos. Prater, who’s finally making his UFC debut 40 fights into his MMA career, has a good chin and won’t be knocked out as quickly as Ramos was. But Prater took this fight on short notice and really isn’t on the same level as Silva, and it would be shocking if Silva doesn’t win this fight handily. Pick: Silva
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim Barboza has built up a 9-0 record without ever really being tested on the ground, and Etim has a very dangerous submission game (he’s won the Submission of the Night bonus in each of his last three wins). So if he can get this fight to the ground, Etim may just be the first person to beat Barboza. But Barboza is such a lethal striker that I expect him to hurt Etim badly standing up. Pick: Barboza
Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes: Since transitioning from the WEC to the UFC Jose Aldo has defended his UFC featherweight title twice, winning both fights by unanimous decision. Prior to those two fights Aldo had not had two fights go the distance…
Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes: Since transitioning from the WEC to the UFC Jose Aldo has defended his UFC featherweight title twice, winning both fights by unanimous decision. Prior to those two fights Aldo had not had two fights go the distance since stringing three wins together between May 2006 and July 2007. Overall, Aldo will bring a record of 20-1 into this fight.
Aldo is the better striker of the two, he has unmatched speed with both his punches and kicks, but his kicks are especially devastating. The problem he has going into this fight is that he is facing a skilled wrestler in the 10-0 Mendes, who would like nothing more than to catch one of those kicks and put Aldo to the ground, where he can impose his will.
I look for Aldo to be evasive in this fight, using more arm strikes than kicks and doing everything he can to keep the fight standing, his speed should allow him to do that. Aldo by unanimous decision.
Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson: Two dangerous strikers will face off in the evening’s co-main event. Belfort, an MMA veteran will be looking to make a statement in this fight, in the hopes that it launches him toward another shot at the UFC middleweight title. His opponent, Johnson, will be making the leap up to middleweight from welterweight for this scrap, but that doesn’t give Belfort a size advantage. Johnson was a huge welterweight and he’ll still be a big middleweight and will have a height and reach advantage over Belfort. Belfort is the more experienced of the two and has faced stiffer competition. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if Johnson goes the same route he went in the Dan Hardy bout, taking his opponent to the mat and grinding out the decision. I want to say that this will be an exciting rock ‘em sock ‘em stand up war, but I’m not confident that it will be. I see Johnson fighting the smart, but unexciting fight and taking the decision.
Jose Aldo‘s mentality has undergone a dramatic change since becoming UFC champion.
At 
The last time the UFC went to Rio de Janeiro, it was a learning experience for everyone — particularly those of us in the media who needed 
Will