Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes II Official For UFC 176 On August 2
After a long-winded back-and-forth with rumored superfight opponent Anthony Pettis, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has decided to stay put at 145 pounds, and he’s found his next opponent.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Aldo will face off with No. 1 contender Chad “Money” Mendes at UFC 176 on August 2, 2014, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The bout is a rematch of their UFC 142 encounter, a fight that saw Aldo hand “Money” his only loss as a pro with an emphatic first round knockout.
At that fateful bout in early 2012, “Scarface” caught Mendes with a beautiful spinning knee before finishing the fight with some follow-up shots and rushing into the Rio de Janeiro crowd to celebrate with his countrymen.
Aldo was last seen defeating Ricardo Lamas via decision at UFC 169 in early February, his sixth straight title defense. Aldo has looked surgically precise with his lethal striking, but has lost a bi of the killer finishing ability he exhibited in his WEC days, prompting criticism from UFC President Dana White.
Mendes has looked like a man possessed since losing to the champion, winning five straight bouts with four knockout finishes. Mendes was most recently seen defeating Nik Lentz via decision at UFC on FOX 9 last December. Prior to that, he became the only man to finish the notoriously iron-chinned Clay Guida with strikes, taking out “The Carpenter” at UFC 164 in August 2013.
He’s benefitted greatly from the advanced striking tutelage of Team Alpha Male head coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, who will be leaving the team after T.J. Dillashaw’s bid at Renan Barao’s UFC bantamweight tile at UFC 173.
“Money” will need to get all the striking expertise he can muster. He’s no doubt a fighter on a mission, but can he change enough in his game to avoid suffering the same fate against the world’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter?
Photo: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports
