So much for the lack of finishes from Jose Aldo. The UFC's featherweight champ ended the "Rocky IV" dreams of Chad Mendes with a big knee and two brutal punches.
The champ beat the clock at the end of the first round by landing a vicious knee. Mendes went limp and fell before eating two more punches squarely on the face. Referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it at the 4:59 mark of the first round in the main event of UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro.
Aldo can be a boisterous sometimes when it comes to the post-fight celebration. Tonight, he went a little overboard. At the end of the fight, the second the Octagon door opened, he flew through running into the crowd. In what was a near riot-like scene, the fans went crazy on Aldo. He was eventually carried on their shoulders and got back into the cage after a few minutes.
Aldo (21-1, 3-0 UFC) runs his win streak to 14 straight. He hasn't lost a fight since 2005.
"Jose is a great champion. I wanted keep the pressure on and close the distance and get my hands on him," Mendes said. He's got great takedown defense and footwork. Watching a lot of his fights, I knew it would be tough to take him down. He was the better man."
Mendes, a former elite college wrestler, had to get the fight to the ground to give himself a shot. Aldo was simply too big and too athletic. The champ stuffed all five of Mendes' takedown attempts.
In between those tries, Mendes ate kick after kick on his lead leg. It took roughly three minutes for the challenger to switch stances to protect that leg.
With just under a minute left in the round, Mendes actually got into a favorable position. He had standing back control and delivered some solid knees to the back of Aldo's legs. Aldo freed himself with eight seconds left in the round. Mendes turned, ducked his head and tried to shoot forward for another takedown. Aldo's reaction time was ridiculous as he landed a quick left knee. Mendes fell to his back where he ate the next punches to force the stoppage.
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