· UFC 142 Recap & Results
UFC returned to Brazil with a line up heavily laden with native sons. In the main event, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo took on Chad Mendes and other stars such Vitor Belfort, Edson Barboza and Gabriel Gonzaga took center stage of the in Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena in front of a capacity crowd. The action, and controversy, was heated throughout the evening, but one star's actions at the end of the evening provided a memorable moment for the Brazilian in attendance and all MMA fans watching around the world.
In front of a capacity hometown crowd, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo once again proved to the world that he is not only a pound-for-pound great, but a truly special mixed martial artist. After thoroughly dominating Chad Mendes throughout the first round. Aldo found himself in the first precarious position of the bout as Mendes was able to secure rear waist lock. Try as he may, the Alpha Male product simply could not put the champion down. As the Nova Uniao fighter finally managed to break the grip of his opponent keeping hold of his wrist, he managed to quickly spin around demolish Mendes with a brutal knee. As the American lay unconscious on the mat, Aldo hit him with two more punches, coffin nails on a fight that had no possibility of continuing. In the end, the champion retained his title with only one second left on the clock.
Making his violent masterpiece all the more poetic, Jose Aldo immediately ran through the cage door and into the enthralled Brazilian crowd. In what looked like a riot, countless bodies could be seen on the overhead camera, running toward the young superstar, hoping to, if only for a second, touch greatness. The visibly emotional Brazilian was then hoisted upon the shoulders of his countrymen as they erupted in cheers, attempting to parade him around the arena. Much like a lost child, the Manaus native seemed to kick and scream when he was finally separated from the crowd by security, he longed to be with them.
When Jose Aldo left the HSBC arena, he had not only delivered the world a virtuoso performance in the cage but arguably the most beautiful moment in MMA history outside of it.
After his well-documented weight cutting woes, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson came in to his catchweight bout with Vitor Belfort looking to finish early. After winging in on several punches and shooting for multiple takedowns, the Georgia native looked winded. Johnson was unable to inflict enough damage to keep the top position after the takedowns, being quickly stood and separated by the referee."The Phenom" managed to take his back off of a failed single-leg attempt, and end the Johnson’s night at 4:49 with a rear-naked choke, prompting his countrymen who packed the arena to explode with excitement.
When middleweights Rousimar Palhares and Mike Massenzio met in the cage, the outcome was one that has come to be expected by those acquainted with the Brazilian. After failing to secure a takedown, "Toquinho" pulled guard and took a leg, forcing the wrestler to tap to a deep heel hook in just sixty-three seconds.
Erick Silva once again came into the Octagon looking to prove that he is a force a force to reckoned with when he quickly disposed of Carlo Prater in the very first round. A stiff knee from Brazilian crumbled Prater, who continued to get blasted by Silva. Mario Yamasaki stepped in to make the save at 0:29. The celebration was short lived however. Yamasaki declared the bout a disqualification win for Prater, citing blows to the back of the head.
As the replay showed, commentator Joe Rogan directly questioned Yamasaki’s decision after the bout. Yamasaki seemed apologetic, saying, “I had to make the decision then and there,” to a chorus of boos from the now hostile Brazilian crowd.
While getting off to a slow start in a lightweight tilt, Edson Barboza seemed to find his groove late in the first round, as he began to chop down the legs of the returning Terry Etim. The story remained much the same through the second frame, although a bit more competitive. In the third round, the Brazilian came out looking to finish. As the Brit backed up, Barboza wound up and landed with a Badr Hari-esque wheel kick, felling Etim, and leaving him stiff on the mat. The official time of knockout was 2:02 of the third round.
Thiago Tavares outgrappled Sam Stout in the first round of their bout, even looked to be landing the cleaner punches in the striking department. Choosing to stand for the duration of the second round. The Brazilian continued to outland the Team Tompkins product until late in the third where he was badly hurt by Stout. In the end, it was too little, too late as Tavares took a unanimous decision victory in this lightweight battle.
Former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga returned to tfe UFC against countryman Edinaldo Oliveira after a 15-month retirement. While looking a bit slow on the feet at the opening, "Napao" was able to scoop his foe for a giant slam. Once the fight hit the mat, it was only a matter of time. The returning Gonzaga took the back of Oliveira and sunk in a rear-naked choke, forcing the tap at 3:22 of the opening period.
In a minor upset, Brazilian Yuri Alcantara dominated featherweight Michihiro Omigawa en route to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Omigawa was thoroughly outclassed for much of the bout. The Brazilian hurt the judoka several times on the feet and outgrappled him for the first two rounds, nearly submitting him twice. "Marajo" looked gassed in the third, allowing the Japanese fighter to score a takedown with some ground-and-pound. It proved futile as at the final bell, he found himself mounted by the Brazilian.
It was a short night for the veteran Mike Pyle, who managed to crush the returning Ricardo Funch at only 1:22 of the opening frame. After stunning the Brazilian with a stiff right hand, Pyle was able to crumble Funch with a hard knee from the clinch, finishing off the welterweight with strikes against the cage.
After a dominant opening period, Antonio Carvalho was unable to replicate his success against Felipe Arantes in the night’s opener. While Carvalho was able to thoroughly outgrapple the Brazilian in the opening stanza, he seemed content to strike in the later periods, where the Macaco protégé had a clear advantage. For much of the final round, Arantes worked from the top position, earning a unanimous decision.
UFC 142 results:
Jose Aldo defeated Chad Mendes via knockout (knee and punches) - Round 1, 4:59
Vitor Belfort defeated Anthony Johnson via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:45
Rousimar Palhares defeated Mike Massenzio via submission (heel hook) - Round 1, 1:03
Carlo Prater defeated Erick Silva via disqualification (illegal punches) - Round 1, 0:29
Edson Barboza defeated Terry Etim via knockout (spinning heel kick) - Round 3, 2:02
Thiago Tavares defeated Sam Stout via unanimous decision (no scores given)
Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Ednaldo Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:22
Yuri Alcantara defeated Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Mike Pyle defeated Ricardo Funch via TKO (knees and punches) - Round 1, 1:22
Felipe Arantes defeated Antonio Carvalho via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
