UFC 179 Results: Jose Aldo Retains Belt Over Chad Mendes In Five Round War
The UFC 179 pay-per-view (PPV) main card is about to go down from the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
LowKick MMA will be here live with round-by-round UFC 179 live results of each main card bout starting at 10 p.m. ET.
Check out the unfolding action below:
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Beneil Dariush:
Round 1:
Dariush comes out stalking but the fighters take a minute to feel each other out. A light exchange leads to a good knee from Ferreira. The Brazilian snapped a leg kick before absorbing both a body and head kick from Dariush. Ferreira landed a kick and a few punches, but Dariush fought back with a huge low kick. Ferreira continued with his body kicks and Dariush his leg kicks before a clinch saw Dariush reverse position. The fighters broke as Ferreira missed on a high kick and a sloppy combo. Ferreira finally found a home with a rush of punches. Dariush countered with a nice judo throw, and Ferreira went for a heel hook as the close first round came to a close.
Round 2:
Ferreira threw a wild spinning kick to start the second. Dariush countered with his grappling, dragging Ferreira down and looking to take his back. Landing some light knees, Dariush looked to make the fight ugly along the cage. Dariush land a close-range head kick and ate an uppercut, scoring with yet another low kick. Dariush went to the body with a snapping kick before securing a short-lived takedown. He persevered to land in top position, smothering Ferreira until he went for an unsuccessful omoplata. Dariush closed out a more decisive second round with some light ground and pound.
Round 3:
Ferreira threw some lazy kicks to start the sat round, but he turned it up with a rushing combo of shots. He landed some big uppercuts and clinched with Dariush, who threw Ferreira to the ground only to be reversed. Dariush got a takedown to smother him once again, shucking off Ferreira’s attempt to rise up off the canvas. Dariush wasn’t flashy with his grappling, but it was stifling. He took Ferreira’s back to land some punches and knees, riding out Ferreira until the bout’s end.
Result:
Beneil Dariush def. Carlos Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darren Elkins vs. Lucas Martins:
Round 1:
Martins came out with a sharp kick, but Elkins not surprisingly shot for a trip takedown. He went to work with some ground shots before Martins got back up. Elkins missed a takedown but hit Martins with a good right and the fight returned to the center of the octagon. Elkins snapped another right and a leg kick, keeping the pressure on Martins with another takedown attempt. Elkins followed with a combo capped of with a kick, continuing to mix up his game with effective striking and grappling. Elkins kneed Martins in the clinch, then broke to pepper Martins. He landed repeated body shots while changing levels, but Martins finally scored with a dent knee. Elkins rushed forward with a front kick, landing a right hand and clinching to close out a strong first round.
Round 2:
Martins landed a good left hook to start the second frame. Elkins clinched along the cage to land some light shots and the fighters broke. Elkins landed more punches as Martins looked a bit thrown off. Elkins shot for a brief takedown, clinching to land some knees once again. He landed a solid combo of hooks and went right back to grappling. Martins found a home for a sharp uppercut and a left hand before rushing forward with a huge head kick that wobbled Elkins. He looked for a takedown as he recovered, smothering Martins with more punches. Elkins smothered Martins with shots over the top to close out another winning round.
Round 3:
Elkins ate a massive knee when he shot for a takedown to start the third. He scored another one and defended Elkins’ clinch to heavy boos from the crowd. Martins snapped a knee before Elkins went back to his smothering grappling, scoring more light shots before the referee restarted the bout. Elkins immediately shot for the clinch with his wrestling to facilitate another restart. Elkins popped Martins with two right hands and clinched, leading to a good right hand from Martins. But it was far from enough as Elkins’ grinding pace secured the third straight round.
The result was an extremely puzzling split decision that saw one judge give Martins the nod 30-27, but Elkins still took home an obvious victory.
Result:
Darren Elkins def. Lucas Martins via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 30-27)
Fabio Maldonado vs. Hans Stringer:
Round 1:
Stringer immediately scored a trip takedown to go to work with elbows from half guard. Maldonado was smothered with repeated elbows as his Brazilian fans booed. Maldonado threw some light shots but couldn’t do much as Stringer continued to pressure him with his full weight. Maldonado rolled through but Stringer clinched to land on the mat in top position. The round ended with Stringer on top scoring with light ground and pound.
Round 2:
Stringer landed a brief combo to clinch once again as the second began. The fighters broke and Stringer landed two sharp rights. Maldonado worked his jab and avoided a takedown, goading Stringer into striking with him. But Stringer quickly went for another takedown to land in Maldonado’s guard. A scramble ensued, with Maldonado reversing nicely to land some shots of his own. The fans erupted as Maldonado rained down accurate and varied shots, keeping them working until the ref stopped the fight. Maldonado earned an incredible come-from-behind victory to celebrate atop the cage with legendary former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Result:
Fabio Maldonado def. Hans Stringer via R2 TKO (punches, 4:06)
Glover Teixeira vs. Phil Davis:
Round 1:
The bout kicked off with Teixeira aggressive. Davis shot for a takedown and was unsuccessful. Teixeira landed a decent right hand and the fighters traded shots. Davis unleashed a head kick before Teixeira rushed forward with a couple solid shots. Davis was active with his boxing, but not many were landing. Davis clinched briefly before landing a stiff left hand. Teixeira sprawled another takedown attempt, but Teixeira reversed it. A clinch resulted in Teixeria going for an ill-fated guillotine. Davis landed some good punches on the ground and dragged Teixeira into deep water. “Mr. Wonderful” continued to rain down shots as the first round came to a close.
Round 2:
Teixeira swung a lunging shot to start the second frame. Davis transitioned his strikes to a takedown feint with effectiveness, moving around well. Teixeira landed a good left hook but was immediately taken to the mat. Davis went to land more ground shots but was reversed as Teixeira returned to his feet. Teixeira missed with another failed guillotine to land on the bottom. Davis worked his mat shots and ground Teixeira out, but somehow the Brazilian fought through it. An eyepoke halted the action momentarily before Davis returned to using a high volume of movement and strikes. Davis snapped a switch kick and Teixeira rushed forward, only to be taken down again.
Round 3:
Teixeira knew he needed a knockout heading int the final frame. He came out strong with a few punches, but Davis neutralized him with another clinch. Davis ducked under a shot to secure a double leg, mounting Teixeira and kneeing his midsection. Davis’ relentless wrestling got the better of the Brazilian slugger as he landed more and more ground shots. Teixeira got a very brief of his own, but ‘Mr. Wonderful’ returned to his feet. Davis stuck to his wrestling and dominated Teixeira until the final bell, securing a very dominant and telling unanimous decision.
Result:
Phil Davis def. Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes – UFC featherweight championship:
Round 1:
Mendes came out with some sharp leg kicks of his own. Aldo unloaded a lightning-fast combo of punches, but Mendes kept the pressure on with a big left that dropped Aldo. Menes was aggressive with his strikes and octagon control, but Aldo worked the body and head with some sharp shots. Mendes threw a leg kick but ate a body kick, landing a counter right hand. Mendes landed a quick uppercut before Aldo clipped him. Mendes landed a could shots, and Aldo landed some solid shots and a knee. Aldo finally threw his big leg kicks. Aldo threw a hard shot, but Mendes countered well yet again. Another leg kick came from Aldo before an eye poke halted the action. The fighters went to war n a restart, with Aldo landing a big knee before Mendes took him down. Aldo got back up to land a huge left hook that dropped Mendes. Aldo mounted him to rain down shots, but Mendes somehow got back up. Aldo winged heavy shots, landing a left hand before the bell. But then Aldo hit Mendes with two shots, including a huge right hand that looked like it knocked him out way after the bell sounded.
Round 2:
Mendes still had bounce in his step to start the second. He was unsuccessful on a takedown, and an attempt at a knee resulted in an unintentional groin shot by Mendes. The fighters continued and Mendes landed a goof body kick. Aldo snapped a sharp body kick as Mendes moved around, missing on a high kick. Mendes checked a low kick and threw one of his own, with Aldo landing a body shot. Mendes lead with a left hook and ate a counter, but Aldo was settling into a counter-heavy game plan. His jab was working as he stalked Mendes down with punches as a close second round wore down.
 Round 3:
Another eye poke halted the action wary in the third round. The fighters were winging heavy shots, and Mendes tagged Aldo with a big left before the champion tagged “Money” with a big body shot. Aldo was aggressive with some huge shots, landing several accurate ones. Mendes fought back with a few punches of his own. Mendes snapped two jabs and landed a huge right uppercut, wobbling Aldo. The champ answered and rocked Mendes badly, sending him to the ground with big shots as he wobbled backwards. Aldo winged big shots and Mendes went for an ill-fated takedown. Mendes ate a huge left hook but went for a clinch to land some knees to Aldo’s thigh. He stomped the champion’s foot and blasted the champion with another hard left hook as the bell sounded on an insane frame.
Round 4:
Aldo looked tired and beat up to start the championship rounds. Mendes threw a front kick and danced around the octagon, throwing but missing with a huge right. Aldo’s pace slowed down as Mendes controlled the action. “Money” scored an uppercut and a left hand, snapping with a head kick. Mendes’ jab landed flush, followed by two uppercuts. Mendes threw another head kick, but Aldo finally came alive with some punches, eventually countering with a right hand. Mendes pushed forward with an uppercut/hook combo but ate a couple hard punches. Aldo barely missed with a huge flying knee as a winning round for the challenger came to a close.
Round 5:
The final round kicked off to loud applause. Mendes pushed forward with some shots., landing some good lefts. Aldo added one of his own and followed with a combo. Mendes snapped a body kick and got a textbook double leg takedown, grinding Aldo up against the cage. Aldo got back up and moved forward, landing some good hots and a knee. Aldo got Mendes’ back, but the challenger got up. They traded shots in the center as Mendes landed his uppercut again. Aldo rocked Mendes with a right, but “Money” recovered fast. Mendes landed a solid jab and went for a takedown, but Aldo shucked him off. Aldo went to the body with his jab. Mendes kicked the body and Aldo snapped a right hand, to which Mendes landed a hard right hand. The amazing fight ended with Aldo going for a leaping kick and climbing the cage to celebrate, but the outcome had not been read yet.
It was Aldo’s toughest test yet, but the champion persevered to take home a unanimous decision by a score of 49-46 on all three scorecards.
Result:
Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46. 49-46)
Photo Credit: Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports
