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The Ultimate Fighter: Fantasy Coach Pairs by Division

Over the years, one of the most exciting things about each new season of The Ultimate Fighter is who the coaches for the season are. Many times the coaches’ fight is used to determine who the number one contender is, other times the fight is for a titl…

The UFC has announced a deal with FOX, which will change the format of The Ultimate Fighter to now include live fights and follow the coaches as they prepare for their fight at the end of the season.

After UFC 137, Diego Sanchez called out BJ Penn in hopes of coaching against him on the next season of TUF. Sanchez has been wanting to coach on the show that pushed him into the spotlight years ago when he won on the original season, something many fans would like to see.

So with that in mind, I made this list of dream coaching matchups by weight class. This isn’t done in reality as matches that could happen any time soon, but matchups that fans would like to see.

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UFC 142 : Sam Stout to Face Thiago Tavares in Brazil

The UFC has announced via Twitter this morning that a lightweight battle between Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Thiago Tavares has been added to the card for UFC 142 in Brazil. The announcement has also been confirmed by MMAweekly.com. The ev…

The event is set to take place on January 14th and will mark the second time the UFC has held an event in Brazil in less than a year. A featherweight title match between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes will headline the event.

Tavares will be fighting for the second consecutive time in his home country after beating Spencer Fisher via TKO at UFC 134. Stout will be making his return to the octagon after knocking out Yves Edwards in June at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

Stout was originally scheduled to face Denis Siver at UFC 137 in Las Vegas on October 29th but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to the sudden death of his coach Shawn Tompkins in August.

Stout is 17-6-1 in his career and 4-1 in his last five fights in the UFC. He has been inching his way towards the lightweight top ten and his no-holds-barred striking style and granite chin has made him a fan favorite and fight bonus magnet.

Tavares is 16-4 and 3-1-1 in his last five fights and he will be looking to keep pace with Stout and others rising in the ranks of the lightweight division.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

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UFC 142 Fight Card: Will Chad Mendes Plummet Where Urijah Faber Faltered?

If you remember nothing else about WEC 48’s Jose Aldo-Urijah Faber main event besides the leg kicks and the loss Faber sustained, you’ll remember it as something of the catalyst for the Aldo we see right now.Aldo attempted his share of takedowns and si…

Aldo attempted his share of takedowns and significantly out-struck Faber, including the left kicks that encouraged Faber’s camp to help him stick around for the post-fight press conference with Joe Rogan, but Aldo’s UFC 142 foe Chad “Money” Mendes seems convinced that Aldo will not go 2-0 against Team Alpha Male fighters.

“For me I can figure out what I can and can’t do [best] when I’m in the cage competing,” he told MMA Junkie. “I definitely gained a lot of confidence in that fight (with Yahya). And I learned a lot by watching Aldo’s fight, too.”

Never fault a Team Alpha Male fighter for being confident; however, he must remember the one thing he never talked about from Aldo’s fight with Faber:

The leg kicks Aldo landed, despite what Faber might say, paid their dividends to Faber’s decision to go to Bantamweight, and if he could do that to Faber, what makes Mendes think that his wrestling game will be enough?

If anything, Mendes’ explosive shots could be the opening that Aldo needs to re-introduce MMA fans to himself and flat-line Mendes’ title hopes with either an uppercut, a hook, a sprawl followed by Aldo’s choice of choke-hold, or an old favorite in the form of Aldo’s infamous flying knees.

Mendes believe that he will succeed where Adlo falters, but is that hype or is that a heavily budding truth?

Until Mendes takes action against Aldo, it might be safer to assume that where Faber fell, Mendes might plummet—but if Mendes wants to prove that theory wrong, he can bring twenty-five minutes worth of beat-down to Brazil on January 14th and see how lucky he feels when he’s across the cage from Aldo.

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UFC 142: Anthony Johnson and 7 UFC Fighters Who Should Move Up a Weight Class

Perhaps the insane weight-cutting has finally gotten to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. We learned today that the world’s largest welterweight will be taking a step that few fighters do in today’s MMA by actually moving up in weight t…

Johnson, who recently knocked out Charlie Brenneman on Oct. 1, is well-known for making one of the most dramatic weight-cuts in the sport as he starts as high as 225-pounds, leaving him with a 55-pound drop down to the 170-pound welterweight division.

Some have questioned the health aspects of making this kind of dramatic weight-cut prior to competing in such an intense sport, something which he and his camp have addressed in the past.

Now it appears that they have made the decision that their fighter would be better suited to compete at 185, where he will still be one of the largest athletes in the division.

There are quite a few other fighters who have moved down in weight classes in the past in order to take advantage of their larger physiques, but Johnson is going in the opposite direction. He shouldn’t be alone, either. In fact, there are quite a few MMA fighters right now who should seriously consider a move up in weight classes.

In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at seven current fighters who should join Anthony Johnson in moving up a weight class.

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Aldo to Defend Featherweight Strap Against Mendes at UFC 142 in January in Brazil

(Aldo will make his third UFC title defense at home in Brazil.)

Jose Aldo will be in for a stiff test when he puts his UFC featherweight crown on the line against undefeated 11-0 wrestling standout Chad Mendes on January 14 at UFC 142 in a yet-to-be-announced locale in Brazil.

“Pound-for-pound superstar Jose Aldo will return home to fight in Brazil for the first time since 2007 when he defends his UFC featherweight title against unbeaten powerhouse Chad Mendes,” UFC president Dana White revealed to FoxSports.com this morning. “Aldo hasn’t lost in over five years, but Mendes has yet to lose in MMA, and after clearing out all the contenders put in his way, he believes he has what it takes to beat the champion.”

Mendes has been patiently waiting for his shot at the champion since perennial contender Kenny Florian jumped the line to challenge Aldo last month, but the UFC has seemed reluctant to match the pair up, perhaps since the clash of styles could add up to an inevitably boring bout.

“Scarface, who is undefeated under the Zuffa Banner went to decision for the third time in his past four fights against Florian at UFC 136 as he did in his UFC 129 bout with durable Canadian Mark Hominick and his WEC 48 tilt with former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber. Six of Mendes’ past seven fights have gone to the judges’ scorecards. According to our uncannily accurate Magic 8-ball we consulted when Gina Carano said she’d be back this year, “signs point to yes,” when we asked it if this fight will go the distance.

Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes Square Off for Featherweight Gold at UFC 142

Filed under: UFC, NewsLess than a month after successfully defending his UFC featherweight belt, champion Jose Aldo has his next assignment.

The Brazilian will return home and attempt to extend his current run of dominance over the division in a stern…

Filed under: UFC, News

Less than a month after successfully defending his UFC featherweight belt, champion Jose Aldo has his next assignment.

The Brazilian will return home and attempt to extend his current run of dominance over the division in a stern test against undefeated American Chad Mendes. The bout will take place at UFC 142 in Brazil, though an exact venue has yet to be officially announced.

UFC president Dana White broke the news to FoxSports.com on Monday night.

The matchup comes as no surprise. Shortly after Aldo defended the belt in a win over Kenny Florian at UFC 136 on October 8, White said that Mendes was his likely next challenger.

Aldo (20-1) has not lost a fight in six years, and has won 13 in a row. Since winning the WEC championship in Nov. 2009, Aldo has defeated all four of his challengers, even as the promotion was absorbed by the UFC and the belt was re-christened as the UFC championship.

Mendes is a perfect 11-0 in his career. He debuted under the Zuffa banner in March 2010 and has won all six of his fights. His most recent bout came against Rani Yahya at UFC 133, a fight which he won by unanimous decision.

Some have speculated that Mendes, a former two-time collegiate wrestling All-American, could give Aldo trouble by employing his grinding style. Thus far in his career, though, Aldo has been up to the challenge. According to FightMetric, he’s only been taken down twice in his last 10 fights, and has successfully defended 94 percent of the takedown attempts against him.

The Aldo vs. Mendes fight is the first one officially announced by the UFC for the January 14 event.

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