If the Jose Aldo/Chad Mendes fight is a dud, this fight is a dark horse candidate for fight of the night. Terry Etim is coming off a 17-second welcome-home submission victory over Edward Faaloloto that signaled to the UFC that he was back and…
If the Jose Aldo/Chad Mendes fight is a dud, this fight is a dark horse candidate for fight of the night.
Terry Etim is coming off a 17-second welcome-home submission victory over Edward Faaloloto that signaled to the UFC that he was back and ready for a challenge. The UFC responded by giving him the undefeated phenom, Edson Barboza, in his backyard.
Edson Barboza hasn’t shown the enormous promise that has come with his entrance into the UFC, but he hasn’t lost and that stands for something. Perhaps the fact that he isn’t steamrolling his competition is better for him in the long run and will teach him how to stick to a game plan and overcome adversity.
In order for Terry Etim to win, he has to stay way from Barboza’s leg kicks. He has some of the most destructive leg kicks in the business, and it would be detrimental to Etim’s walking ability to stand there and take those kicks.
Etim also has to get the fight to the ground where he may have a submission advantage.
On the other hand, Barboza simply has to show his physical and athletic dominance and keep the fight standing. He has fantastic takedown defense, so Etim will have a hard time getting the fight into his comfort zone.
With that said, it looks like a great fight on paper, but it also looks like Barboza will get the nod.
This weekend, the UFC will be returning to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where featherweight champion Jose Aldo will be taking on top contender Chad Mendes in the main event of the evening.In the co-headliner former champion Vitor Belfort w…
This weekend, the UFC will be returning to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where featherweight champion Jose Aldo will be taking on top contender Chad Mendes in the main event of the evening.
In the co-headliner former champion Vitor Belfort will be taking on the juggernaut heavy-hitter Anthony Johnson in his middleweight debut.
While a bevy of bouts will be eclipsing most others come fight time, there is one bout in particular that is poised to take over the show as a lightweight affair between contenders Terry Etim and Edson Barboza will kick off the pay-per-view’s main card.
Etim recently returned to the win column when he defeated the unheralded Edward Faaloloto last November in just 17 seconds via guillotine choke. The victory earned him Submission of the Night honors for the impressive finish while also helping ease the pain of a near 18-month layoff which was incurred thanks to a nagging rib injury.
Though he’s a talented striker as well, the Brit has shown that his strongest skills lie on the ground where he has garnered four Fight Night awards for victories over Matt Grice, Justin Buccholz, Shannon Gugerty and the aforementioned Faaloloto, respectively.
Barboza has been doing a bit of damage control of his own, as the surging star has kept his undefeated record intact since debuting in the UFC in November of 2010.
In his first bout under the Zuffa banner, Barboza sent Mike Lullo down in a heap after the lightweight endured the crippling leg kicks of Barboza for three rounds, before the Brazilian was declared the winner by TKO.
Next, the Florida transplant clinched Fight of the Night honors for his performances against fellow striking aces Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson, besting both men by his wide array of Muay Thai skills.
Though, with a victory, either Barboza or Etim will find themselves on the short list of contenders to the 155-pound title, this is a bout that promises fireworks from start to finish and as both men’s records would indicate, they will both likely walk away with a little something extra in their pocket after it is all said and done.
This Saturday night, Edson Barboza will head to his native country of Brazil to take on English submission specialist Terry Etim at UFC 142 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Quickly emerging as one of the lightweight division’s brightest young prospects, Barboza will look to extend his current undefeated streak to 10-0, with hopes of solidifying his place in the UFC’s stacked 155-pound title mix.
A product of The Armory Training Center in Florida, Barboza made his professional debut in 2009, reeling off six consecutive victories and capturing the Ring of Combat lightweight title before signing with the UFC in 2010. Utilizing crippling leg-kicks and precision striking, the Brazilian dispatched of Mike Lullo via TKO in his Octagon debut, which he followed up with back-to-back “Fight of the Night” performances against Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson to improve his UFC mark to 3-0.
Now just days ahead of what will be his second homecoming in less than six-months, LowKick.com had an opportunity to speak with Barboza about this weekend’s match-up. Here’s what he had to say about his training at The Armory, his title aspirations, and how his striking stacks up against other UFC lightweights.
This Saturday night, Edson Barboza will head to his native country of Brazil to take on English submission specialist Terry Etim at UFC 142 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Quickly emerging as one of the lightweight division’s brightest young prospects, Barboza will look to extend his current undefeated streak to 10-0, with hopes of solidifying his place in the UFC’s stacked 155-pound title mix.
A product of The Armory Training Center in Florida, Barboza made his professional debut in 2009, reeling off six consecutive victories and capturing the Ring of Combat lightweight title before signing with the UFC in 2010. Utilizing crippling leg-kicks and precision striking, the Brazilian dispatched of Mike Lullo via TKO in his Octagon debut, which he followed up with back-to-back “Fight of the Night” performances against Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson to improve his UFC mark to 3-0.
Now just days ahead of what will be his second homecoming in less than six-months, LowKick.com had an opportunity to speak with Barboza about this weekend’s match-up. Here’s what he had to say about his training at The Armory, his title aspirations, and how his striking stacks up against other UFC lightweights.
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.
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
Barboza has gone 3-0 in his UFC career, notching wins over TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson and WEC KO artist Anthony Njokuani. Etim, on the other hand, had rattled off four victories in his last five fights before being sidelined by a rib injury for over a year. Having fought six of his nine UFC contests on his home soil, it will be interesting to see how Etim reacts to the foreign crowd, especially one that has shown the capacity to commit bloodshed before.
(Don’t be fooled by its innocent exterior, the Stout will knock you out quicker than you can say “10.6 percent.”)
Barboza has gone 3-0 in his UFC career, notching wins over TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson and WEC KO artist Anthony Njokuani. Etim, on the other hand, had rattled off four victories in his last five fights before being sidelined by a rib injury for over a year. Having fought six of his nine UFC contests on his home soil, it will be interesting to see how Etim reacts to the foreign crowd, especially one that has shown the capacity to commit bloodshed before.
If the Jose Aldo/Chad Mendes fight is a dud, this fight is a dark horse candidate for fight of the night. 
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 