RIO DE JANIERO, BRAZIL, January 14, 2012 – It was a storybook ending for featherweight champion José Aldo at UFC 142. Fighting in his home city for the first time since he was a 9-1 pro back in 2007, “Junior” put the emphatic stamp on a spectacular event at the HSBC Arena with a first round knockout of previously undefeated challenger Chad Mendes to defend his title for the third time since entering the UFC in April of last year.
The challenger would go into the fight looking to take down the champion to no avail for the majority of the fight before Aldo broke away from one of his attempts and fired off a knee that put the Californian on his heels. Two punches later and the fight was over at 4:59 in the first round.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Aldo would immediately run straight into the crowd to be enveloped by his countrymen amidst raucous cheers.
Time will tell where he goes from here as Mendes represented the greatest challenge to Aldo’s belt. Widely considered a top-3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, the best of the rest in his weight class including Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch are likely too young / inexperienced to challenge for the belt at this point. Former Sengoku/Shooto champ Hatsu Hioki may be the most qualified to be the next sacrificial lamb but with only one fight on his UFC record, time will tell if he’s deemed deserving enough for even that. Perhaps the fight that makes the most sense at this point is at 155…
Vitor Belfort Overcomes 12 lbs. Disadvantage to Quiet Rumble; Undercard Results
Meanwhile in the co-main event, Vitor Belfort overcame his opponent’s weight advantage headed into this bout with a first round submission finish over Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Johnson would come out looking to outmuscle Belfort straight from the onset. Keeping his composure, Vitor would use his BJJ to withstand the initial onslaught and eventually take control with his own punches before taking Johnson’s back. As the first round winded down, Belfort would attack the rear naked choke and finish things at 4:49 of round one.
A stint coaching opposite old foe Wanderlei Silva is up next for “The Phenom” on TUF Brasil. The two will fight on the conclusion of that season.
As for the rest of the UFC 142 PPV undercard, it was made up of three dominating performances but was not without a bit of controversy.
Rousimar Palhares continues to enhance his burgeoning legend as one of the most feared submission artists in the world with a first-round heel hook over Mike Massenzio while undefeated Edson Barboza scored perhaps the most spectacular knockout in UFC history with a spinning heel kick that separated Terry Etim from consciousness.
Both guys should be ramping up for top-five opponents at this point as they continue making their run towards titles in their respective divisions.
Rounding out the PPV was the questionable decision in which referee Mario Yamasaki disqualified Erick Silva due to blows to the back of Carlo Prater’s head. Silva started the fight with a knee and a flurry of strikes on the ground that saw the fight stopped. Many momentarily saw the stoppage as a TKO finish before the surprising DQ ending that saw Carlo Prater gain his first UFC victory.
Congratulations to Texas vet Prater on the win but at this point, perhaps a mulligan is in the cards for both fighter as the prevailing thought is that neither got the ending they deserved in this one.
UFC 142 – Full Results
Main Card (PPV)
– Jose Aldo over Chad Mendes by knockout (knee and punches) – Round 1, 4:59 – retains featherweight title
– Vitor Belfort over Anthony Johnson by submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:45
– Rousimar Palhares over Mike Massenzio by submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:03
– Carlo Prater over Erick Silva by disqualification (punches to the back of the head) – Round 1, 0:29
– Edson Barboza over Terry Etim by knockout (spinning heel kick) – Round 3, 2:02
Undercard (FX and Facebook)
– Thiago Tavares over Sam Stout by unanimous decision
– Gabriel Gonzaga over Ednaldo Oliveira by submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:22
– Yuri Alcantara over Michihiro Omigawa by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
– Mike Pyle over Ricardo Funch by TKO (knees and punches) – Round 1, 1:22
– Felipe Arantes over Antonio Carvalho by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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