UFC 142 Preview
UFC will make a return to the home of Jiu Jitsu as they will be going to Rio de Janeiro Brazil for the third time in their history and the second time under Dana White. The Brazilian fans are sure to see some great fights and some of the best Brazilians in the UFC. They will also see a unique sight as UFC 142 will see one of the lightest weight classes featured in the main event for the first time. The Lighter weight classes do not get a lot of respect by many and because they are not in very high demand the UFC rarely puts them on a main event. This can be disappointing for those who like the lighter classes and notice the skill and speed by these classes. They may not get knockouts every fight but they do provide a lot of entertainment. This weekend the lighter fighters will get their shot as the Featherweight division will be on display with some home flavor. The main event will feature the Featherweight title as Jose Aldo will defend his title in his home country against Chad Mendes. Jose Aldo will be fighting in front of his home crowd for the first time in his career as he will defend his title for the third time. Aldo has already shown that his reputation for being one of the best fighters in the world is well deserved. His first UFC fight saw Aldo take on Mark Hominick and completely dominated the fight until the last round. His second title defence saw Aldo take on and beat Kenny Florian and again take a dominant win. Aldo has shown that he truly could be the best pound for pound fighter in the world as he has shown little weakness. He will take on Chad Mendes who will be making his third appearance in the UFC and will look to extend his 11-0 record in MMA by winning the UFC Featherweight belt. Mendes is a member of one of the best light weight camps in the world in Team Alpha Male where he trains with people like Urijah Faber. Mendes will be looking to be the first to take the belt from Jose Aldo as he tries to become only the second Featherweight champion in UFC history. He will attempt to do this by taking advantage of the one crack in Aldo’s game. In Jose Aldo’s first UFC fight against Mark Hominick he dominated every round except the last one. In this last round Hominick was able to put Aldo on his back and take control of the fight. Hominick’s wrestling ability showed a small weakness in Aldo’s game but what we do not know is whether Aldo was hurt by the five round fight that saw him try to end the fight constantly or was it a true weakness. Mendes will test this out as he is a world-class wrestler and will be looking to get takedowns and keep Aldo on his back and struggling. It could be an issue though as Aldo is a great Jiu Jitsu Practitioner and might be able to reverse position to sink in a submission. On the ground the advantage may depend on who has the top position as Aldo is a Jiu Jitsu practitioner that will look for submissions from the top position while Mendes is a wrestler who has had great success in the ground and pound. On the feet there is no question that Aldo has the advantage with devastating kicks and enough power in both hands to earn a KO. Mendes is no slouch standing though as he has a powerful right hand that has been shown in his previous fights. Mendes could be the type of fighter that can beat Aldo as there is no question that he will try to takedown the champion and control the fight from the top position. The big question will be whether or not Mendes can control Aldo on the ground or will Aldo have worked on his ground defence and be able to take advantage of Mednes’ plan. Overall every fight start on the feet and with Aldo throwing devastating kicks Mendes might have his takedowns hampered. Jose Aldo is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and he will prove this once again against Mendes as he will win the fight in a unanimous decision and retain his belt in front of his home crowd.
Jose Aldo will be the focal point for the Brazilian fans but the UFC 142 card will feature many more Brazilian stars. With fighters like Rousimar Palhares, Erick Silva, Edson Barboza, Thiago Tavares, and many more the fans are sure to be cheering the entire time. There is one fighter that may push the volume up more than most though as Rio de Janeiro native Vitor Belfort will be fighting in the Co-Main Event. Belfort has been one of the biggest Brazilian stars for years after he began winning fight after fight in the UFC. He came seemingly out of nowhere in 1997 when he entered the octagon and won the heavyweight tournament. A combination of speed and power that had never been seen before gave Belfort the title The Phenom. After some time away from the UFC Belfort returned in 2009 and has shown that he is still the lightning fast KO artist winning two out of his three fights and both by KO. Belfort will have motivation in front of his home crowd as he takes on Anthony Johnson. Johnson has shown his own ability to light up the octagon with a 10-3 record and 5 KOs. Belfort and Johnson are both very similar in their fighting style as they are always looking for the KO in the fight and both have the ability to ear the KO in multiple ways. Both have their differences though as Belfort is much more wild with his punches with constant pressure and multiple punches while Johnson is more calculating waiting for good opportunities to unleash a big punch or head kick. With his hometown behind him Belfort will be looking to finish the fight at all costs and Johnson will be looking for the upset in what promises to be a very exciting fight in a very exciting card.
Fight Card:
Main Event:
Jose “Junior” Aldo vs. Chad “Money” Mendes [Featherweight Title] (PPV)
Main Card:
“The Phenom” Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (PPV)
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares vs. Mike “The Master of Disaster” Massenzio (PPV)
Erick Silva vs. Carlo “Neo” Prater (PPV)
Edson “Junior” Barboza vs. Terry Etim (PPV)
Undercard:
Thiago Tavares vs. Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (Sportsnet One)
Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo “Lula” Oliveira (Sportsnet One)
Yuri “Marajo” Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa (Sportsnet One)
Ricardo “Golden Bowl” Funch vs. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (Sportsnet One)
Fabio Maldonado vs. Caio “Hellboy” Magalhaes (Facebook)
Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes vs. Antonio “Pato” Carvalho (Facebook)
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