UFC 176: ALDO VS. MENDES II Date: Aug. 2, 2014 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Venue: Staples Center Broadcast: PPV UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo (-210) The best featherweight MMA fighter the world has ever seen, UFC champion Jose Aldo (24-1) has no peer. His ferocious leg kicks, superlative takedown defense and incredible MMA skills translate into someone who was last defeated seven years ago and has matured into one of the most feared fighters on the planet. You could say Aldo has cleared out his entire division, sending Urijah Faber down to 135 pounds, retiring Kenny Florian, destroying the skull of Cub Swanson, and changing Mike Brown’s career forever after beating him for the WEC featherweight championship. The 27-year-old Brazilian defeated the former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, then beat up the Korean Zombie at UFC 163 despite a broken foot, and finally cleared out the division with a win over Ricardo Lamas at UFC 169. However, the UFC decided to do a rematch between Aldo and his victim at UFC 142, Chad Mendes, and the champ returns this summer to once again defend the UFC featherweight championship of the world. UFC Featherweight Contender Chad Mendes (+160) The most dominant featherweight wrestler in the UFC, Chad Mendes (16-1) bounced back from his first career loss to UFC champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142 with a dominant first-round knockout win over Cody McKenzie at UFC 148. He didn’t stop there, however, taking out Yaotzin Meza, Darren Elkins, Clay Guida and Nik Lentz after that to earn another crack at Aldo and the featherweight title. A powerful wrestler with improving knockout power on the feet, Mendes is a little sparkplug and with his increased confidence in the standup, he makes for a very interesting matchup against Aldo this second time around. Opening UFC 176 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Aldo a -210 favorite (bet $210 to win $100) while Mendes opened as a +160 underdog (bet $100 to win $160) at Several Bookmakers. The first time these two men fought, Mendes was knocked out cold by a knee from Aldo, but this time around it’s a different fight. The first time they met, Mendes barely had any standup skills to speak of. Now, though, he has vicious knockout power to back up his incredible wrestling chops and makes for a very intriguing opponent for Aldo despite the fact they have already fought before and the result was decisive. Still, Aldo is the best in the world for a reason and with his combination of incredible striking and underrated wrestling he makes for a bad matchup for anyone in the division, even a well-rounded stud like Mendes, and that’s why you see him open as the favorite here yet again. Profiles by Jason Nawara.
