The UFC is back!
After a plethora of fight cards throughout 2014 the UFC gave everyone a few weeks break from action. Now an 11-fight slate brings back MMA action. UFC 179 takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The main event is a rematch between Chad …
The UFC is back!
After a plethora of fight cards throughout 2014 the UFC gave everyone a few weeks break from action. Now an 11-fight slate brings back MMA action. UFC 179 takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The main event is a rematch between Chad “Money” Mendes and Jose Aldo. The two originally battled in Brazil at UFC 142 in 2012. More than two years later Mendes has earned another crack at the championship. Mendes’ first bid ended in the first round after Aldo broke free and turned to unleash a brutal knee to Mendes’ face.
Outside of the main event there are plenty of quality fights that should satisfy the fan’s desire for finishes.
This is your complete guide to UFC 179. We will take a look at each and every fight on the card, tell you where you can watch it, and even throw in some predictions for you as well. Without further delay, let’s walk through the UFC 179 fight card.
The date was Jan. 15, 2012.
At that point, Junior dos Santos was the best heavyweight on the planet, Anderson Silva was more worried about Chael Sonnen than he was about Chris Weidman, Georges St-Pierre was rehabbing his torn ACL, Frankie Edgar h…
The date was Jan. 15, 2012.
At that point, Junior dos Santos was the best heavyweight on the planet, Anderson Silva was more worried about ChaelSonnen than he was about Chris Weidman, Georges St-Pierre was rehabbing his torn ACL, Frankie Edgar had finally rid himself of Gray Maynard with the belt around his waist, Dominick Cruz was only three months removed from his most recent Octagon appearance and Ronda Rousey’s name was only ever uttered by MMA‘s most avid fans.
Yeah, a lot’s changed since then.
Jose Aldo and his dominance over the UFC’s featherweight division are one of the few constants since that date. Aldo was a mere one day removed from proving himself the victor after a first-round knockout over Team Alpha Male title contender Chad Mendes.
Aldo was obviously the better fighter that night. He would be the better fighter against all future title challengers every other night for the next two years. He was the best then, he is the best now.
Yet, here we are, just nine days away from Aldo’s seventh UFC title defense and Mendes‘ second opportunity to stake his claim for the featherweight throne. Sure, Aldo’s gloves will still be taped in red while Mendes‘ in blue. And just like last time, Aldo vs. Mendes takes place in Rio deJaneiro.
But this one feels different—different for a lot of reasons.
Aldo comes in with three title defenses since his first bout with Mendes took place. He had his hand raised in a close fight with the former UFC lightweight champion, authored a TKO over a wounded Chan Sung Jung and played it relatively safe against Ricardo Lamas. All three bouts were all but a reminder that Aldo was no longer the same guy who stringed together six-straight (T)KO finishes under the WEC banner.
Call it an adjustment to stiffer competition, but one thing was certain: He was different.
Then there’s Mendes, who needed five straight victories and four (T)KO finishes against much-lesser opponents before the UFC would even consider him for another shot at the champ.
Call it an adjustment to weaker competition, but one thing was certain here: Mendes was a much, much better striker than he was when he first stepped into that Octagon inside of the HSBC Arena in Rio at UFC 142. And that was 10 months ago.
He may not be on Aldo’s level of striking just yet, but who knows how much further Mendes‘ standup has come along since then—especially with Duane Ludwig there to put the finishing touches to the skill set he brought to all of Team Alpha Male at the end of 2012.
Rest assured that no matter how highly we all regard Aldo’s striking, he’ll likely walk into that matchup with the same mentality his teammate T.J. Dillashaw had when he fought against Aldo’s teammate RenanBarao.
Aldo’s Nova Uniao may hold the overall record against Team Alpha Male, but Mendes‘ team certainly holds the most recent dominant performance. This might motivate the Brazilian to exact revenge against his Sacramento-based counterpart, but who’s to say this sort of added motivation is a good thing? Aldo could very well walk into the Maracanazinho Gymnasium thirsting for the same sort of knockout finish Dillashaw exacted upon his teammate earlier this year, potentially spelling disaster for either man, really.
And who’s to say Mendes won’t believe in himself even more than he did prior to Dillashaw‘s crowning moment? His teammate broke the seal, it’s Mendes‘ job to open up the floodgate.
Lest we forget how the first fight ended, either.
If not for a very controversial, but very real grab of the fence, Aldo would have had his back against the canvas in that first fight. Who knows how long Mendes would’ve kept him down because, quite frankly, nobody else has done a very good job in doing that. Still, if Aldo doesn’t grab the fence, Mendes ends up on top—likely moving the fight away from the fence where Aldo found the knockout.
Keep your fingers crossed that both fighters keep it clean and fair.
No need to cross your fingers in hopes of an entertaining bout—if the circulating animosity tells us anything, these two have the “entertainment” part covered.
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
In recent weeks the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been quick to announce No.1 contenders for their stable of champions. Rory MacDonald is poised to face the winner of the bout between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 (via ESPN), w…
In recent weeks the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been quick to announce No.1 contenders for their stable of champions. Rory MacDonald is poised to face the winner of the bout between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 (via ESPN), while ConorMcGregor seems to be the next in line for a shot at the featherweight title against the man carrying the belt after UFC 179 (via MMA Fighting). This should excite John Lineker as he prepares to face Ian McCall in a few weeks. Another big win and “Hands of Stone” may find himself tapped as the No. 1 contender to the UFC flyweight title.
Demetrious Johnson is reigning like a true king over the 125-pound division. His win over Chris Cariaso at UFC 178 gave him his fifth title defense in less than two years. While “Mighty Mouse” seems to be improving each time he steps into the Octagon, he has shown a weakness against men who can catch him with a hard shot. John Dodson was able to drop the champion in their title bout at UFC on Fox 6. Since then, Johnson has been a dynamo when he steps into the cage.
Enter John Lineker. The Brazilian native has shown an ability to land with power at any moment. At 24 years of age he’s a very experienced fighter with 12 of his 24 wins coming via knockout. His last victory against AlptekinOzkilic was perhaps his most impressive when he finished his opponent with nine seconds left in the fight.
Back in 2013 UFC President Dana White even went on record to say that Lineker was in line for a title shot if he could get his weight issues in order.
“He’s so good that if he had made weight on the three times he’s missed, he’d probably have a title shot right now,” White said in a piece by Matthew Roth of MMA Mania.
With his recent win it seems that he has grabbed control of that struggle. His reward is a fight that has been dubbed a title eliminator against McCall (via MMA Mania). “Uncle Creepy” has already faced Johnson twice so a victory for Lineker would give the organization a chance to promote a new challenger for a dominant champion.
As mentioned, Lineker has shown the ability to present a question to Johnson that he’s struggled with in the past. If John has learned how to better pace himself in a fight and lands a big shot, the UFC may end the night with a new flyweight champion. When Dodson had the champion hurt, he was unable to capitalize and struggled to keep the pace through the remaining rounds. Johnson will have the advantage when it comes to five-round experience but, that will not keep him completely safe from Lineker‘s power.
The weight issues that threatened John Lineker‘s run at flyweight seem to be behind him. When he steps into the cage opposite of Ian McCall at UFC Fight Night: Rua versus Manuwa on November 8, he will be fighting for an opportunity to face Demetrious Johnson for his title. A position that seemed so far out of his reach just a year ago is now within the grasps of the fighter known as “Hands of Stone.”
Undefeated Brazilian lightweight Alan Patrick has withdrawn from his UFC 179 matchup with Beneil Dariush due to a fractured jaw suffered in training. Patrick sustained the injury last Thursday while sparring at X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro. As he told Sherdog:
“I was training and was hit by a knee. I was using a mouthguard, but it hit the bottom of my mouth. I have never been hit by such a knee before. It went right into my chin. Now, I will have to put a titanium plate on my chin. If I wasn’t going to be hit anymore, I wouldn’t have to do it, but as a fighter, I have to be cautious…In about a month, I’ll be able to resume doing cardio, and after another month, I’ll resume with the soft-contact training. I expect to fight in December.”
We have placed a photo of Patrick’s injury after the jump, because honestly, it’s too gross to leave on the homepage. Brace yourself…
(The “before” picture, via Getty)
Undefeated Brazilian lightweight Alan Patrick has withdrawn from his UFC 179 matchup with Beneil Dariush due to a fractured jaw suffered in training. Patrick sustained the injury last Thursday while sparring at X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro. As he told Sherdog:
“I was training and was hit by a knee. I was using a mouthguard, but it hit the bottom of my mouth. I have never been hit by such a knee before. It went right into my chin. Now, I will have to put a titanium plate on my chin. If I wasn’t going to be hit anymore, I wouldn’t have to do it, but as a fighter, I have to be cautious…In about a month, I’ll be able to resume doing cardio, and after another month, I’ll resume with the soft-contact training. I expect to fight in December.”
We have placed a photo of Patrick’s injury after the jump, because honestly, it’s too gross to leave on the homepage. Brace yourself…
(Photo via Josuel Distak. Click for larger version.)
Yep, that’s horrible. According to Patrick’s dentist, Dr. Mariana Barros:
“It was an incomplete fracture of the jaw, which means only the inside bone, which holds the teeth, has broken,” Barros said. “Immediately, we were able to put it back and contain it, but the next step is to undergo surgery so we can put in a plate and make his bone stronger, so he won’t have any future problems.”
EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN, ALRIGHT!! Jose Aldo‘s UFC 179 rematch with Chad Mendes is not — I repeat, is not — in danger of being cancelled. UFC 179 WILL NOT be a repeat of UFC 176 a.k.a “The event that Jose Aldo’s cervical spine injury murdered.” And just because Aldo has said he was fine when he was injured in the past, only to later pull out of a fight because he *wasn’t* actually fine, doesn’t mean he’ll do it again. So just CALM. DOWN.
But yes, several of the UFC’s totally reliable sources have confirmed that Jose Aldo did spend a day laid up in the hospital due to a kidney stone, which he expelled within the day and was released. As Aldo’s coach and manager Andre Pederneiras told Combate:
Aldo has this renal calculi issue since he was 16 years old. After his fight against ‘Korean Zombie,’ he also expelled a stone. Same thing last week. It started with a little pain, he was then hospitalized, took some serum and anti-inflammatory, and then he expelled the stone.
For all you dum-dums out there, “renal calculi” is just doctor speak for a kidney stone. But again, EVERYTHING IS FINE…
OK, NOW WE CAN PANIC!!!!
(Because fuck it, this video is just *adorable*.)
EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN, ALRIGHT!! Jose Aldo‘s UFC 179 rematch with Chad Mendes is not — I repeat, is not – in danger of being cancelled. UFC 179 WILL NOT be a repeat of UFC 176 a.k.a “The event that Jose Aldo’s cervical spine injury murdered.” And just because Aldo has said he was fine when he was injured in the past, only to later pull out of a fight because he *wasn’t* actually fine, doesn’t mean he’ll do it again. So just CALM. DOWN.
But yes, several of the UFC’s totally reliable sources have confirmed that Jose Aldo did spend a day laid up in the hospital due to a kidney stone, which he expelled within the day and was released. As Aldo’s coach and manager Andre Pederneiras told Combate:
Aldo has this renal calculi issue since he was 16 years old. After his fight against ‘Korean Zombie,’ he also expelled a stone. Same thing last week. It started with a little pain, he was then hospitalized, took some serum and anti-inflammatory, and then he expelled the stone.
For all you dum-dums out there, “renal calculi” is just doctor speak for a kidney stone. But again, EVERYTHING IS FINE…
OK, NOW WE CAN PANIC!!!!
Although the information is uquestionable at best and the evidence unsubstantiated, rumors are circlulating that Conor McGregor might have hurt his hand while training a few weeks ago in Ireland. The injury was first reported by Dave Meltzer, and started gaining credence after McGregor was shown donning a bandaged hand in the first episode of UFC 178 Embedded.
Of course there are *also* rumors going around that McGregor could have faked the injury to get in Dustin Poirier‘s head, because he’s just that much of a gamer. That Conor was not wearing the bandage during his media day appearance also seems to indicate that even if his hand was injured, it was likely something minor that has since been dealt with. I know, my insightful journalism skillz are blowing your minds right now.
We will keep you updated if any information breaks regarding either Aldo or McGregor.
(“Okay, forget the shoving thing, I’ve got a better way to promote us. Have you ever seen the music videos of this man Weird Al?” / Photo by Leandro Lima)
In a regrettable instance of an MMA fighter breaking kayfabe, UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo went on record yesterday saying that his unsolicited shove of Chad Mendes earlier this week was only done to hype their fight. I know, I know…ShockedJohnCena.gif.
Here’s what Aldo said to local media (via MMAFighting), following a faceoff with Mendes in Sao Paulo on Wednesday that did not result in shoving:
“We were talking to Andre (Pederneiras) in a meeting about how we could improve our fight promotions. It’s part of the show. But I told Andre after (the staredown) that it’s not my style,” Aldo said. “It was not staged, we were talking (trash) to each other and it happened. … We (Aldo and Pederneiras) tried to spice things up, but that’s it…
“I’ve never pushed anyone during a staredown before,” he said. “I should behave better. I’m not saying I regret it. We did it, it was good. There was a good thing about it that people are now talking about it, but it’s not who I am. It won’t happen again.”
(“Okay, forget the shoving thing, I’ve got a better way to promote us. Have you ever seen the music videos of this man Weird Al?” / Photo by Leandro Lima)
In a regrettable instance of an MMA fighter breaking kayfabe, UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo went on record yesterday saying that his unsolicited shove of Chad Mendes earlier this week was only done to hype their fight. I know, I know…ShockedJohnCena.gif.
Here’s what Aldo said to local media (via MMAFighting), following a faceoff with Mendes in Sao Paulo on Wednesday that did not result in shoving:
“We were talking to Andre (Pederneiras) in a meeting about how we could improve our fight promotions. It’s part of the show. But I told Andre after (the staredown) that it’s not my style,” Aldo said. “It was not staged, we were talking (trash) to each other and it happened. … We (Aldo and Pederneiras) tried to spice things up, but that’s it…
“I’ve never pushed anyone during a staredown before,” he said. “I should behave better. I’m not saying I regret it. We did it, it was good. There was a good thing about it that people are now talking about it, but it’s not who I am. It won’t happen again.”
Oh, people are talking about it, all right. Mainly, they’re talking about how clearly pre-meditated the shove was — and how rivalries only generate fan-interest if they appear genuine. But obvious fakery aside, it’s still a poor promotional strategy for Aldo to tell everybody that his shove was all part of the show, before the show even happened. Because whatever small amount of heat that Aldo created when he put his hands on Chad Mendes has now been exterminated like the proverbial hemorrhoid pad on a matchstick.
Bottom line: If you’re going to pretend to hate your opponent, at least commit to the role for more than a day. Otherwise, you have nothing to look forward to but more disappointing buyrates.
The date was Jan. 15, 2012. 
