UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes Main Card Breakdown
This Saturday, January 14, the UFC makes its triumphant re-return to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes. As was the case the last time the UFC was in Brazil (UFC 134), the Brazilians will take part in every fight and look to take advantage of the incredibly loud, supporting ”home team” crowd. At 134, the Brazilian fighters went 7-1 against non-Brazilian fighters, much to the enjoyment of their countrymen in the stands.
After having to rearrange the fight card due to injuries and visa issues, the night’s fights have been finalized and the Main Card will go down as follows:
To start the PPV broadcast, undefeated Edson “Junior” Barboza (9-0) will square off against England’s Terry Etim (15-3) in the Lightweight Division. In this Striker vs. Grappler, stereotypes will be broken as the Striker in this bout is the Brazilian and the Grappler is the Englishman. In any case, this should be a great fight; as both men typically put on a show. After being defeated by submission for the first time, Etim bounced right back and won his next fight by submission in seventeen seconds. In two of his three UFC fights, Barboza has won Fight of the Night, and is highly likely to walk away with another one in this bout with Terry Etim.
Up next, we have a battle of Countrymen as Erick “Indio” Silva (13-1-1) will make his sophomore appearance against UFC newcomer Carlo “Neo” Prater (29-10-1) in the Welterweight Division. In another potential Fight of the Night bout, these two men will bring the fight to each other for sure. With both men being BJJ Black Belts and Judo Brown belts, their grappling may cancel each other out and this fight may come down to a feisty striking battle. In both men’s last four bouts, they’ve been victorious by way of stoppage (Silva- 2 Submissions, 2 KO/TKO; Prater- 4 Submissions) so this fight could end at any given moment.
In the next bout, Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (13-3) and “The Master of Disaster” Mike Massenzio (13-5) will meet in a battle of BJJ Black Belts. It’s been well documented that when facing Rousimar Palhares, you do not want to allow him to get a hold of any of your extremities or the fight could be over in an instant. Massenzio, however, is also no stranger to the submission game, having six submission victories of his own. When these two clash, we may be treated to a high-level grappling match that makes its way to the judges’ score cards for a decision.
Anthony Johnson makes middleweight debut
In the Co-Main Event of the night, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (20-90) will welcome Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10-3) to the Middleweight Division. After years of being a large Welterweight and struggling with making the weight cut, Rumble has made the decision to move up a weight class, where his body is more suited. In facing Belfort, he has his work cut out for him in his Middleweight debut. With twenty-one knockout victories between the two of them, we all know what to expect from this fight. As soon as the bell rings, these two men are going to try to knock each other’s head off until the referee pulls one of them off the other. The winner of this fight may very well be the recipient of the Knockout of the Night bonus.
In the night’s Main Event, Featherweight Champion Jose “Junior” Aldo (20-1) looks to defend his belt for the fifth consecutive time against undefeated Chad “Money” Mendes (11-0). So far, Aldo has been pretty dominant in all his fights. The only real weakness that has been exploited is Aldo’s ability to work off his back. Fortunately for Mendes, his strongest skill is his ability to take an opponent down and keep him on his back. Aldo will need to use precise striking and leg kicks to weaken Mendes’ ability to take him down, similarly to his game plan against Urijah Faber. If Mendes can close the distance, he could very well keep Aldo on his back for five rounds and take his belt away from him. If anybody has the proper tools to defeat Aldo, it is Chad Mendes; and vice versa.
UFC 142 will mark the first event to air live prelims on FX leading up to the main card PPV. Also, Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (12-6) will make his return to the UFC after a short retirement.
Be sure to check MMA Valor for all your fight updates!
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Aspiring chef turned MMA writer after financial issues prevented me from pursuing my first dream. Ever since I started watching MMA, I've read up about it and talk about it all the time and with the encouragement of family and friends I finally decided to actively pursue a career in writing about it.Subscribe
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