UFC 129 Bleacher Report Roundtable: Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick

Nick CaronApr 27, 2011

The roundtable concept is back, with the UFC 129 group consisting of Bleacher Report Featured Columnists, Bryan Levick and Robert Gardner, along with myself, as we break down the top matchups for this highly anticipated event.

In this installment, we will be breaking down the inaugural UFC Featherweight Title matchup between champion Jose Aldo and challenger Mark Hominick.

If you enjoy this article, please check out our roundtable discussion on Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields from earlier this week and our upcoming discussion on Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida.

Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick Roundtable Discussion

Bryan:

The Canadian fans are in for a rude awakening if you ask me. Hominick is a nice fighter, but he is not the caliber of fighter that Aldo is by any stretch of the imagination. That’s not a knock at all against Hominick, as it’s more of a compliment to Aldo.

Both men pack a lot of power in their hands, but Aldo is faster and his leg kicks are absolutely brutal. I still have images on Barney the Dinosaur whenever I think of Urijah Faber’s legs after he had the unfortunate occurrence of facing Aldo last year! This fight won’t last all that long, but it will damn sure be fun.

Nick:

I agree, Bryan. I think Hominick is exactly the kind of fighter who Jose Aldo can make a highlight reel knockout against.

Hominick has gone out of his way to say that Aldo has “never faced a striker like him,” but while that may be true, Hominick has also never faced a caged beast like Jose Aldo before.

In all honesty, if it wasn’t for this being an event in Canada, I don’t think that the UFC would be even considering giving Hominick a fight with Aldo right now.

I expect a one-sided beatdown that ends in the first two rounds, with the referee pulling Aldo off of an unconscious Hominick.

Robert:

I have to agree with both of you guys on this one. Aldo is simply as beast. Hominick should not be underestimated because he is a tremendous fighter in his own right, but Aldo is on another level.

The one big question I do have going into this fight is how the long layoff will effect Aldo’s timing to start the fight. He has been out the cage for awhile and I think ring rust could be an issue early and that could open the door for Hominick to shock the world.

Bryan:

Wow, how many times do you think we would agree in unison if we discussed 100 fights? That just goes to show you how a fighter like Aldo can make an very talented fighter, such as Mark Hominick, look ordinary.

I am glad you brought up the ring rust factor with Aldo. I don’t care how good you are, how much you spar or the caliber of your training partners, you are going to have some ring rust. That’s the reason i believe this fight will make it to the second round, otherwise, it would’ve been over in less than five minutes.

Nick:

Haha, we have seen it pretty similarly so far... But I think that’s because we’ve been talking about arguably the top two fighters in the history of their respective divisions (Georges St-Pierre, Jose Aldo).

With Aldo’s all-around skills, Hominick’s best chance may actually be if this fight goes late. If he can show off his crazy cardio, he's got a chance.

Robert:

I have to disagree with you there Nick, I think the longer this fight goes, Aldo will shake off the ring rust and just become more dangerous. If Hominick is going to win, he will need to jump on Aldo early.

Cardio becomes less and less of a factor when your body has taken a tremendous amount of damage and that will be the case for Hominick if this fight goes late.

Bryan:

I don’t think the out come will be any different whether this fight goes one round or five rounds. If Hominick makes it out of the first two rounds, it just means Aldo is taking his time and punishing the Canadian in front of his countrymen.

Aldo will pick Hominick apart and he will decide when this fight is going to end. It’s that simple, Aldo is not going to want to make anything but a great first impression. The only question here is how long does this fight last and which way does Aldo choose to put “The Machine” away?

Jose Aldo via 2nd round TKO- Punches.

Nick:

I guess my assumption with the cardio is that if Hominick makes it out of the early rounds, it’s likely because he has done a great job of avoiding the heavy offense that Aldo will certainly look to display early.

That said, I don’t see this fight going very well for the Canadian. Aldo is just so dominant that I don’t see anyone being able to stop him unless they bring him to the ground and control him. Hominick isn’t going to look to do that, so it will probably be a quick fight one way or another.

Jose Aldo via 1st round TKO.

Robert:

No real surprise here either, I fully expect Aldo to brutalize Hominick and put on a great show for the Canadian fans.

Jose Aldo via 2nd round TKO.