UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes LowKick.com Staff Main Event Predictions
Posted on January 13, 2012, 04:57 PM by Anton GurevichUFC Featherweight Title: Jose Aldo (C) vs. Chad Mendes
Staff Picks: Aldo - 3, Mendes - 4
Community Top Pick: Aldo via TKO in Round 5
Joey Santosus: In terms of overall ability, there's no question who, between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, the more well-rounded fighter is. In 20 professional victories, over half of Aldo's opponents have met their demise at the end of one of his limbs, and though we've yet to see it utilized, the champ sports a BJJ black-belt. Mendes, on the other hand, has went the distance in all but four of his 11 bouts, and prior to joining Team Alpha Male, had no formal martial arts training. With that said, the more skilled fighter doesn't always win in MMA, and what "Money" does have is a mean double-leg that he's not afraid to use. Not only do I like Mendes to upset the Brazilian at home, but I'll boldly predict that Saturday will be Aldo's final outing at 145. Chad Mendes via Decision.
Anton Gurevich: I firmly believe Chad Mendes is the toughest test Jose Aldo ever faced in WEC/UFC. Finally, Aldo will test his skills against a strong wrestler with great striking skills. Mendes is a mismatch for the Brazilian, and has every required attribute to grind out a clean Unanimous Decision in this fight. Aldo cuts a lot of weight to make 145, which will cost him dearly when the fight goes to the Championship Rounds. Love it or hate it, but I put my bet on Chad Mendes. Money via Decision.
Trent Reinsmith: Aldo is clearly the better striker of the two, there is no way that Mendes has close to the power or velocity of Aldo’s strikes, especially his powerful leg kicks. The question is will Aldo be willing to deliver those kicks knowing full well that Mendes is going to look to catch one of them and take him to the ground? Just like Aldo has the striking advantage, Mendes has the clear wrestling advantage. I look for Aldo to use his speed to evade Mendes, moving in for quick strikes. Don’t be surprised if Aldo works strictly arm strikes for the first round or two in order to lure Mendes into a false sense of security before he winds up with some big kicks. In the end, I think the fear of Mendes’ wrestling keep this fight mostly at distance and Aldo will take the unanimous decision.
Mike Drahota: To me, this is one of the most unanticipated title bouts that the UFC has seen since, well, Aldo vs. Florian. I have the utmost respect for what Jose Aldo accomplished in the WEC, but since his move over to the UFC, he has looked drawn, tired, and even a little bit unmotivated. He is still the champ, but I think Chad Mendes is more motivated at this point in his career. His ground-and-pound should make the difference here. Of course, Aldo might come out of the gate screaming and pull off one of his signature finishes, but if his wrestling is the same as it was versus Mark Hominick, his night could end quickly. I like the Team Alpha Male product Mendes to utilize his wrestling pedigree here and get the upset, winning in the 3rd round with a TKO.
Daniel Cassidy: In the main event we have Pound for Pound stalwart Jose "Junior" Aldo facing off against his toughest challenge in Chad "Money" Mendes for the hotly coveted Featherweight strap. While Aldo is the betting favourite, it would be ignorant to discount the challenger. A Team Alpha Male fighter with some of the best wrestling credentials at Featherweight, Mendes has more than enough tools to take the belt from the champion. While "Money" has the wrestling to put Aldo on his back and wear him down, that's not how I see this fight going down. Aldo has the best striking at 145 pounds, without a doubt. I see him using leg kicks to take away the power from his opponents lead leg to nullify his takedowns. While I expect Mendes to be successful with the takedowns early, I think by round 3 or 4 Aldo's striking starts to take effect, with "Junior" securing a mid-fight stoppage. My prediction is Jose Aldo retains his belt following a Round 3 TKO.
Bryan Fontez: Jose Aldo is dealing with an elite wrestler here. This guy is no joke, and bringing in Gray Maynard for one camp doesn't convince me that Aldo can develop the skills to shut down the life-time of wrestling experience Mendes possess. You can claim that this isn't a wrestling match as much as you want, but we've all seen the legitimate success American wrestlers have had in MMA, and as a low kick member commented previously “It's hard to land leg kicks while on your back”. Mendes via Unanimous Decision
Comments
call me crazy but since i knew this fight would happen
i had a feeling Mendes may become Champion
for 2 reasons :
1-Chad is a very strong wrestler which is really bad for any striker even someone as great as Aldo, plus Mendes constant improvements make him a very dangerous fighter, his stand up has been coming along very well but the thing is he always goes for the takedown instead of keeping the stand up were he keeps getting better and better because of his wrestling mentality.
but still that could be a good thing for him in this fight since he could just LnP on Aldo to take the decision win.
2- Jose Aldo has not look good in his last 2 fights, he looks less sharper, slower and he seems to get tired in the late rounds if he doesn't get his stuff together he may very well lose his belt tomorrow night.
I'll call you crazy then.
Haha, nah it definitely could happen. I just think 5 rounds is too long to hold a guy like Jose down for.
Jose has 5 rounds to make his strikes count, chances are he'll do some damage in one of those.
Moreover I don't really see what Chad has that Florian and Hominick didn't. Jose's last 2 fights have been against guys in the same mould, and he hasn't performed well and he's still beaten them both easily.
Plus at the lower weight classes body weight to strength ratio is so narrow that it's rare you see a guy put their weight on someone and hold them there for ages. Escapes are much easier.
I've got Aldo by decision.
You don't wrestle huh? Even being small I know a lot of guys, including myself who know how to make ourselves feel really heavy when we are on top. Using good technique is more important than actual weight. That said, Aldo is going to hurt that boy.
I'm not saying it's impossible, it's just harder. That's why you see so many more sweeps and escapes at the lighter weights. Plus the guys have bigger gas tanks.
Hahahha Anton thinks the Brasilian figther will lose - thats new!
hahaha Brasil thinks every fighter from Brazil is going to win solely because they are from Brazil... Thats New!
And the US fans always chant USA, USA, USA when their fighters is going up against a foreigner.
Chanting USA is one thing. Telling the opposition they're going to die is another.
just wait and see aldo will make mendez look silly and tko him in the second
Maynard's involvement with Aldo's training camp could be the xfactor in this fight, di it pay off as well as it could have?
Not at all my friends...I am a fan of MMA, my favorite figther is the all time great Fedor and i try to call it as i see it - do you think I would bet against Jones or gsp - i tought cain would beat jds for one - my point is since i started following this site i ve noticed a pattern on Antons predictions - he even said okami would beat silva in Brasil - what a joke - just saing he is biased as fu**k and he is not in a position to do so - takes away credibility from the site - big nog is very close to Fedor in my ranks btw...
Sounds real credible coming from a guy who just said, "Big Nog is very close to Fedor in my ranks."
Stop accusing people of being racist just because they don't agree with your fight picks. It makes you look like an asshole.
Yeah....maybe that's why Junior dos Santos is one of my favorites. And I was one of the few to pick him against Cain. Mendes will defeat Aldo. Watch.
i watched it anton!!! nice pick!! lol
you were also one of the few that picked okami against anderson silva... and AS destroyed him injured. and also one of the few that picked florian against aldo
you cant keep picking every guy aldo fights... its going to make you look terrible
its time for you to admit that aldo is a monster fighter and that he is way better than your good friend dominick cruz
I think Mendes will be Aldo's toughest test, but I also think the predictions of Jose's demise is premature.
He did gas in round 5 against Hominick, but then Mendes has never gone 5 rounds. Chad maybe be a great wrestler, but is he that much a better wrestler than Urijah Faber?
That fight wasn't even close. Faber's double leg take down is also reputed to be top notch but it didn't stop Jose from leg kicking him into a stoppage.
This will be Aldo's 6th title match and 5th defense, so he won't suffer from a big adrenaline dump. Chad will have to deal with fighting in a UFC main event, and for a title for the first time AND doing it in front of the champ's hometown crowd.
We'll see soon enough...
And I forgot to mention Aldo's 4 inch reach advantage...
Mendes wil take this one ! Dont think Aldo can stop the takedowns !
@mmafan4life- my favorite figthers are not the ones that always win, they are the ones that represent martial arts well to the world,carry on in life like gentleman and leave everything in the octagon for the fans...they figth in the cage not outiside with their mouths...i bet you are a Sonnen lover...
For one, there is a reply button for a reason. Secondly, I'm not sure what anything you just said has to do with our original discussion. Lastly, I neither dislike or am a fan of Chael Sonnen.
Aldo will KO him in one round
so much for your predictions!
**** yeah! don't ever pick against aldo!