UFC179 brings us back to the UFC’s second home, Brazil, in a night of exciting fights with local talent matched against internationals.
The event is all topped off with an intriguing rematch between dominant featherweight champion Jose Aldo and American Chad Mendes.
When one thinks of Jose Aldo, on remembers his lengthy WEC and UFC reign of terror. There are a number of snapshots that come to mind, specifically an eight-second demolition of Cub Swanson, his brutal five round beating of Urijah Faber, the grotesquely swollen face of Mark Hominick and the first round KO of Chad Mendes – his opponent this weekend.
Simply put this is not a man who merely wins fights, he hurts his opponents as he does it. Whether on the ground or standing up if you are facing Aldo, be ready for war.
In Mendes we have a young, gutsy challenger who has won five on the bounce since his loss to Aldo, with only one fight going the distance.
Mendes has shown considerably improved striking in the last two years and has prominently displayed the results by KO’ing four of his last five opponents.
Aldo however is on a different level when it comes to striking and if the young Alpha Male product chooses to rely solely on his strikes, it could be a short night. His wrestling is more than a match for the Brazilian, so that must be his focus.
Aldo is on a 17-fight win streak for a reason. He will weather an early storm to set up a 2-3 round TKO of Mendes.
In the co-main event, two fighters square off who are both looking to rebuild their credentials as contenders to the 205lb title.
In Glover Teixeira we have a Brazilian fighter who came up short against Jon Jones in a recent Championship fight, a result which snapped a 20-fight win streak for the 34-year-old.
Phil Davies however is a decorated wrestler and looked to be shaping into a credible challenger before running into a bulked up Anthony Johnson at UFC172.
If Davies can get the takedown, if he can he may be able to dominate the fight on the floor. If however Teixeira can keep the contest upright it could be a long night for ‘Mr Wonderful’. Teixeira by decision.
In the next bout there are two fighters who are apparently heading in different directions. In Wilson Reis we have a former EliteXC bantamweight champion who has won six of his last seven fights.
His opponent, Scott Jorgensen, has lost five of the last seven and needs a win to remain relevant in an increasingly packed division.
Look for Reis to take the fight to the ground and grind out a second round submission.
Further down the card Carlos Ferrier fights Beneil Dariush and Christos Giagos squares off against prospect Gilbert Burns.
The event is the UFC’s latest foray into its arguably greatest market, Brazil. I will be covering the event on The Roar’s live blog, see you there!
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title…
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
Jason Moloney has survived an enthralling 12-round world title defence against Saul Sanchez in Canada, opening the door to a blockbuster unification fight in…
