UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes

[INDYjon22]

[YOUTUBE]Y1Eg91wQysE[/YOUTUBE]​

Main Card

• Featherweight Championship Bout: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
• Middleweight Bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
• Middleweight Bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
• Welterweight Bout: Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater
• Lightweight Bout: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

Preliminary Card (FX)

• Lightweight Bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
• Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
• Featherweight Bout: Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
• Welterweight Bout: Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
• Featherweight Bout: Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho

The UFC returns to Brazil for the second time in around 6 months. And, while this show is not nearly as stacked as the first show back in Brazil, it is still a very solid show that should produce some very good fights to kick off the new year.

Jose Aldo is one of the most promising fighters and champions in the UFC and in all of MMA. He has been virtually unbeatable, and damn near untouchable since he became champion in WEC. He made guys like Urijah Faber, Mark Hominick, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan and Kenny Florian look like jokes. He is without a doubt one of the best fighters in the world today. However, he has yet to be tested by a true wrestler and we will soon know the answer to if he can hang with a wrestler. Chad Mendes is a very good wrestler, the likes of which Aldo has not seen yet. As good as Aldo is it will be interesting to see if he can avoid the takedowns of Mendes and not lose a decision. That said, I do have faith in Aldo and his stand up is ridiculously good, not to mention he is no slouch on the ground. I think he will be able to pick up the decision victory here.

Rumble vs. Vitor is sure to be a slugfest, at least that's what I really hope happens. We all know that both guys love to throw some heavy leather, but Johnson has found his wrestling side recently and his best bet at winning this fight would be to wrestle Vitor and break his will, ala Randy Couture. However, if this stays standing I think Belfort will be too fast for Rumble and will pick up the TKO win at some point. Vitor cannot sleep on Rumble's striking though, because it only takes one good shot from Rumble to put Vitor to sleep. Should be a good one.

WZF's favorite fighter returns to the cage to fight Mike Massenzio. Palhares is a very deadly leg lock specialist, and not to mention a very entertaining (on purpose or not) attraction. I fully expect him to overpower Massenzio and to pick up another leg lock in a fight that has been setup to build Palhares back into a contender.

I vaguely remember Erick Silva's debut back at Rio and remember him looking very good. He is definitely a prospect that the UFC is watching closely. Prater on the other hand has been around for awhile and is making his UFC debut. I really think that the UFC has set this fight up as a way to continue building Silva, but no one should sleep on Prater. He definitely could pull off the upset.

Edson Barboza is another guy the UFC is looking fondly on and he will face a very nice test in the very well rounded Terry Etim. Both guys are very solid strikers, though I think I would give Etim the advantage on the ground. However, I do not believe this fight will ever hit the mat and that Barboza will be able to out point Etim in route to a decision.

The undercard will also showcase some interesting fights. Stout vs. Tavares should move the winner into a fight with a top 10 guy. Both usually come to fight and I expect a solid one here. Omigawa will try to make it two wins in a row against Alcantara, but Yuri is very solid. This should be a decision but I have no idea who will come out the winner. I want to back Omigawa though, so I will. Gonzaga returns to the UFC against newcomer Oliveira who is undefeated. This should just be a build up fight for Oliveira, but if Gonzaga comes to fight no one should sleep on him. Remember, he was once a top 10, arguably top 5 Heavyweight. And, I hope that Ricardo Funch beats Mike Pyle, but I don't really see it happening. Pyle has good hands, and knows how to win fights he shouldn't, not to mention Funch is 0-2 in the UFC.

Overall I am excited for this card to go down. The Brazil crowd is so intense and will make this six times as exciting.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Aside from what I expect to be a lackluster main event, UFC 142 is going to be a very exciting card with alot of young talent ready to give us a show.

Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
I don't really care about this fight at all and I'm not expecting much from it, but I see Arantes picking up the win here. Arantes via Unanimous Decision

Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
Here we'll have Pyle looking for redemption after having his win streak snapped by Rory Macdonald, in order to pick up that win he'll have to take out "Golden Boy" Ricardo Funch. Funch is a decent fighter but Mike's veteran edge will give him the win here, and we've seen Funch subbed by less talented fighters so this shouldnt be a problem for someone with Pyle's ability. Pyle via Submission(Triangle Choke)

Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
This should be a good one, Alcantara is a promising young addition to the UFC roster but he'll have a rough first fight against a seasoned Omigawa. Omigawa via Unanimous Decision

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
So glad that one of my favorite heavyweights of all time Gabriel Gonzaga is back and ready to kick some ass, but he isn't getting any slack in his return because Oliveira is a scary prospect sporting an record of 13-0-1 with most finished in the first round and wins over Geronimo Dos Santos and Joaquim Ferreira. It's hard to call this one because Gonzaga hasn't beaten a top name since Cro Cop and Oliveira hasn't fought a top level name yet but I'm going to say that Ednaldo comes in strong and scores a major win in his debut. Oliveira via TKO

Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
I love Sam Stout but he is very much screwed in this one, Tavares has been on a roll and after his dominant win over Spencer Fisher I'll convinced that if he can do that to him that he can to Stout. Sam has good take down defense and the ability to get up even when he's held down by a talented fighter but I think Tavares is the exception and he'll be too heavy for Stout, however if Thiago cant get it to the ground then he could end up on the wrong end of a knock out like he did with Shane Roller and Matt Wiman. Tavares by Split Decision

Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim
This fight will win a bonus, I am guaranteeing that right now. These are two of the most exciting fighters in not only the division but the entire roster. If you want proof just check out each of their last fights and you'll see what I mean, it's going to be an all out war and I cant even begin to call a winner, I would say that Barboza has a slight edge on the feet, Etim on the ground and tied in the clinch. I am guessing that this one goes 3 rounds and is an all out bloodbath but Barboza will walk away with a close win. Barboza via Split Decision

Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater
This should be another interesting one, the young standup fighter vs the vet ground specialist. Not many people know Prater but he's got wins over Spencer Fisher, Melvin Guillard and even Carlos Condit so he should not be underestimated at all. At the same time Silva had a hell of a debut at UFC 134 the last time the UFC was in Brazil, knocking out his opponent in impressive fashion. I havent seen enough of Silva in later rounds to make good judgement but if Prater cant get him down quick he's gonna be in for a world of hurt. Silva via KO

Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
Rousimar Palhares is the dumbest motherfucker I have ever seen in my life and should not be in a sport where you need good judgement, however he is also one of the most wildly entertaining fighters we've ever seen. He has great BJJ training and is built like a truck, but somehow he has a shit weak chin. Massenzio is an average fighter who will be lucky to get out of this fight alive, literally because the guy he's fighting is like a gorilla with a GI only not as smart. Palhares is going to submit him, and whichever limb he cranks on will be hurt, bad. Palhares via Submission(ankle lock)

Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
The winner here takes knockout of the night, that's for damn sure. Two of the most explosive and entertaining knock out artists in the UFC will collide when The Phenom and Rumble meet in the co main event of UFC 142. Vitor is looking for a road back to the title after his embarassing loss to Anderson Silva, so far he's destroyed Yoshihiro Akiyama and now he will look to do the same to Johnson. Anthony has been busy himself, since a Rear Naked Choke loss to Josh Koscheck he has come back with a Unanimous Decision win over former welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy and a KO win of Charlie Brenneman. This will be Johnson's first try at middleweight and he's gonna have a hell of a start against former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort. I think that Anthony will be slower than usual and it's going to throw him off, Vitor will capitolize and rock Rumble's world. Belfort via TKO

Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes
Don't care.
Aldo via KO

 

[jmt225]

I'm going to be honest.. I have very little interest in this card and I won't be watching any of it, especially since New England vs. Denver will be airing the same time as this. But, that can't keep me from giving my thoughts on some of the fights, so here they are...

Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes is going to go one of two ways: Mendes will lay on him for 5 Rounds and win a decision, or Aldo will knock Mendes out early on. I'm, of course, rooting for the latter. Nothing against Mendes as a person, but he's bringing that Fitch mentality to the 145 Division and I just cannot root for someone like him, ever. Aldo is a very skilled, well-rounded fighter though and I believe he will be able to stuff Mendes' takedowns early on, leaving him flustered and desperate, and then Aldo will put him away.

Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson should be a fun scrap that ends quickly and devastatingly. Who lands the shot to put the fight away? Your guess is as good as mine. Both have unbelievable knockout power, while Vitor doesn't have a good chin and Rumble doesn't have much heart. The fight can literally go either way, but it's pretty much a guarantee it'll end early. I actually thought beforehand maybe Rumble would employ the same gameplan he had against Dan Hardy, but after the weigh-ins today... that's definitely not going to happen. He's going to come out and swing for the fences. It's all just a matter of who lands first.

Nothing to say about the Paul Harris fight other than that I'm rooting for him and expect him to get an easy victory.

The rest of the fights on this card could all be awesome (and most likely will be), but I don't care anyone on it except Omigawa, so there's really nothing left to say other than War Omigawa.

 

[Fizzy]

Wow, I thought this card would be good, but I never expected it to be as amazing as it was. Every single fight had a "holy shit" moment and the PPV ended with one of the greatest moments in MMA history. An amazing night and quite possibly my favorite card ever.

Barboza vs Etim was a great fight with the best KO i've ever seen. Both guys are among the most technical strikers in MMA and it was a beautiful fight to watch. I had Barboza winning the fight comfortably and was really impressed, I thought he'd cruise to a decision win. Holy shit was I wrong. That kick was astounding, from the skill it took to perform, to the impact it hit Etim with. I was speechless, it really was amazing. I hope Barboza gets Nate Diaz next, damn that'd be a fun fight.

Silva vs Prater was a fantastic showing for Silva who knocked out Prater in less than a minute. Unfortunately, the ref made a mistake and DQed Silva for an illegal punch to the back of the head. Silva still got his win bonus and will likely petition to have the call overturned. Doesn't really matter though because like Jon Jones vs Matt Hammil, we saw who the better fighter was and learned that Silva has a bright future ahead of him.

Paul Harris showed that once again, he can catch any fighter outside the top 20 in a knee bar within the first twenty seconds. I still think he'd get dominated by a good striker with some TDD, but that remains to be seen. Give him Maia next, that'll be a treat for everybody.

I'm so fucking happy Vitor choked Johnson right out of the UFC. Johnson has absolutely no place in the UFC considering he cannot make weight even at a higher weight class. Add in the fact that he tried to lay n pray Vitor and it makes him even worse. Have Sonnen fight Munoz for an interim belt and have Vitor fight the winner of that fight. As for Johnson, i'll be glad to never hear his name again.

Now onto the main event. This wasn't even a contest, Mendes could not compete with Aldo and it wasn't even close. Once he realized he couldn't get him down, it was over from there. I really think Aldo bringing in Maynard made all the difference for this fight. Maynard and Mendes are the exact same type of wrestlers with the exception of Maynard being the larger of the two. Beautiful knee from Aldo to end the fight and the greatest post fight celebration i've ever seen. I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

 

[Qwake]

Posts a little late but just have to say Barboza's spinning wheel kick was sick! Aldo's fight was awesome too, crazy knee and what a time to get the win lol. Great show to kick off 2012 and the next card looks like it could be even better!

 

[Ryman]

Its to bad this card is probably gonna have like 250-300 000 ppvs because this type of card would be great to show people who have not seen mma before.

Barboza is awesome to watch, he is like the 155 José Aldo. Maybe its time to see him against a good wrestler to see if he can handle it. I want Barboza against the winner of Miller-Guillard or maybe Guida.
This will be koty.

I have watched the ending of Silva-Prater a lot and i still dont know if he should be dq or not. There was one that was on the back of the head and some that were on the side and its hard to tell if its legal or not. The UFC is probably give Silva a higher ranked guy anyway as it seems like they are upset about the call.

Palhares is scary, who wants to fight that guy? I would give him to Sonnen but Belcher seems more likely.

Not a Vitor fan but was so happy to see him take out Johnson, its really unprofessional to miss weight and even more for him as he went up 15 pounds. Not he got cut and that is good to show others that missing weight is not okey.

I loved the ending after Aldo knocked Mendes out, the passion Brazilian fans has whether its for mma or soccer is awesome. I dont see who can take out Aldo or who the next challenger is, maybe Korean Zombie or the winner of Hioki-Palaszewski.