UFC 142: Jose Aldo Defends And Vitor Belfort Gets Retribution

Heading in to this evening, UFC 142 looked a little less than a PPV worthy card on paper. However, as Dana White likes to remind us, oftentimes these somewhat lackluster cards deliver in spades on action. And tonight he was proven to be correct.

The main card opened with a guaranteed action fight in Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim. My pre-fight speculation was that Etim could not compete with Barboza's dynamic striking and would lose a unanimous decision. In the opening minute, Etim showed that he thought the same as he tried for takedowns throughout the first round. Barboza spent the first two rounds picking Etim apart with blazing fast striking while simultaneously defending Etim's increasingly desperate takedown attempts. Round 3 seemed to be more of the same until Edson unleashed the beast in an incredible spinning heel kick KO. Considering the wrestler heavy top of the Lightweight division, I don't think Barboza will ever get the title, but he'll definitely continue to be a force. A matchup against Donald Cerrone, who's coming off a loss to Nick Diaz, would be guaranteed fireworks.

In the one dark spot on the card Carlo Prater faced off against Erick Silva. Prater got the rare opportunity to make his UFC debut on the main card, but it came at a hefty price in facing Silva who was coming off a 40 second knockout of Luis Ramos. In less than 30 seconds, it seemed that Silva would continue his streak of quick KO's when Mario Yamasaki pulled Erick Silva off his turtle'd opponent. However, Yamasaki awarded the fight to Prater as a disqualification for (questionable) illegal blows to the back of the head. Despite the loss on his record, I doubt Mario's call will effect Silva's progression in the division since Dana declared it a "BS call for Erick Silva" on Twitter in the moments following the fight. Mike Pyle would be the perfect opponent for him, to see if he can bring his destructiveness in to the higher levels of the division

I have no idea how the UFC gets fighters to sign a contract to fight Rousimar Palhares. The man has a diabolical hate for every ligament of his opponents lower extremities and Mike Massenzio found this out first-hand. Toquinho made it known very quickly that he wanted Massenzio on the ground. When Mike wouldn't oblige, he bullrushed in, pulled guard and grabbed Massenzio's leg mid-scramble. This is a move very few high level grapplers could manage, and Palhares pulled it off with seeming ease. It's is time for him to take a step up in competition and start making a run for the title. I would love to see him matched up against the winner of Maia vs. Bisping while we wait for Anderson Silva to defend the championship against the winner of Munoz vs. Sonnen.

In very rare form, "the old" Vitor Belfort has returned in back-to-back performances. From the opening bell, Anthony Johnson made it clear that he wanted to wear Belfort down. Dan Miragliotta was having none of that though and stood the fighters up both times Johnson got the fight to the ground. After tasting some of Vitor's unparalleled power, Rumble gave up his back and was submitted by Rear Naked Choke in the closing seconds of the first round. For Belfort, this win puts him right back in to title contention and fights at the top of the division. However, the future for Johnson is not so clear after weighing in at an embarrassing 11 pounds over on Friday, he could very well have just lost his contract with the UFC. Personally, I think he's a dynamic and competitive fighter that the Middleweight division needs, and would be disappointed if he was cut, but I wouldn't be surprised by the decision either.

I was really surprised how many people seemed to think Chad Mendes really had a chance against Jose Aldo. I don't mean to take any thing away from Mendes, but he never showed me anything to make me think he could upset Aldo in a title fight. That said, I was not prepared for what happened tonight. The fight began somewhat tentatively with Mendes trying to figure out how to get inside and take Aldo down. Following an exchange of leg kicks and a couple takedown attempts, Mendes was able to secure a back clinch. The champ struggled to stay on his feet (even grabbing the fence). Yet, eventually, he broke free turned quickly and landed one of the most brutal knees I've ever seen to secure a KO victory.

Jose Aldo followed up his highlight reel performance with pure epicness by jumping out of The Octagon and running in to the crowd where he was received with open arms. It was honestly one of the greatest follow ups to a victory in MMA history and there's no doubt that he gained fans as he fought off UFC security to connect with his fan base. Hatsu Hioki may get the next shot at the Featherweight title, but I don't see anyone upsetting Aldo any time soon. That man is built to brutalize his opponents and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

SBN coverage of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes

As a long time Sam Stout fan the final bout of the preliminary show was tough to watch when he fought against Thiago Tavares. He struggled throughout the bout trying to balance his striking and takedown defense. This led to him being unable to mount significant offense in the first round and losing the striking contest in the second. Despite being a Stout fan, I don't have any delusions of him being a future contender at this point. He will always be in fun matchups as a gatekeeper in the UFC Lightweight division. Tavares, on the other hand, is on a two fight win streak and is now ready to fight a top 25 fighter.

If there's any one reading this that is not a fan of Gabriel Gonzaga, we can no longer be friends. The man is awesome and it was great to see him return to his grappling roots tonight. Ednaldo Oliveira showed zero ability to deal with Napao's high level grappling and succumbed to the submission inside the first round; I'd be surprised to see him return to the UFC before returning to the regional circuit. With Gonzaga, I see know reason for the UFC to attempt to bring him up the ladder quickly, considering the end of his first run with the promotion.

Michihro Omigawa inspired another depressing sigh from the remnants of JMMA fans tonight. He had absolutely nothing to give against Yuri Alcantrara and lost the first two rounds in devastating fashion. His implacable durability may score him one more fight in the UFC, but I'm not even sure about that.

Mike Pyle recovered from his brutal loss to Rory Markham in impressive fashion. Quicksand TKO'd Ricardo Funch in less than 90 seconds. As I said above, I'd like to see Pyle work his gatekeeper status against Erick Silva to see who should move up the ranks in the division.

In the sole Facebook bout of the night, Felipe Arantes recovered from the loss in his UFC debut against Antonio Carvalho with a unanimous decision win. Despite difficulty on the ground in the 1st, Arantes outpointed Carvalho for the last two rounds. Overall, it was a good fight, and considering the general weakness of the Featherweight division both fighters should continue on in the UFC.