UFC 142 Preview – Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes

Photo Credit - WEC

It blows my mind when I think Jose Aldo is just barely 25 years old. He’s still a young man in this sport, I have no idea if he’s already peaked or if his peak will be five or ten years from now. He’s already surpassed Alexandre Franca Nogueira and Urijah Faber to become the greatest featherweight in MMA history. He has beaten top ten level fighters like Nogueira, Brown, Faber, Gamburyan, Hominick and Florian within a three year time period. He’s also had some really serious spine issues, that really make me worried about his physical well being, not to mention the fact that he’s also struggling with the weight cut to featherweight.

He’s fighting Chad Mendes later tonight, a guy who possesses the best current wrestling credentials in the featherweight division. Mendes is actually a year older than Aldo, but in terms of experience and resume of wins, Aldo great surpasses Mendes. Mendes is a high level athelete, and he has beaten really good fighters like Koch, Vazquez, Omigawa, and Yahya. Yet it feels like he’s not developed enough to really deal with the Aldo’s entire arsenal. I am pretty sure Mendes will take him down at some point, but I can’t imagine him holding Aldo down long enough to win a decision. Honestly, if Aldo does get taken down, I think Aldo’s going to scramble back up to his feet seconds into being taken down. On the feet, it’s no question, Aldo’s legkicks and punches would murder Mendes if timed accurately.

This is a really intriguing fight, it’s actually the best fight I can see them doing at featherweight until Dustin Poirier and Erik Koch develop their games a bit more. But as good as this fight is, I think we will eventually see Aldo move up to lightweight and really get tested there by elite level guys that will give Aldo something to worry about. But for tonight, I think Aldo will run away with the victory and back flip off the cage for our enjoyment.