UFC 142 Predictions: Why Chad Mendes Will Defeat Jose Aldo

Ah, the myths about Chad Mendes are beautiful.

Tonight, many fans will think Jose Aldo will retain the UFC featherweight belt because of Mendes' supposed lack of striking and a repeated offense of takedown attempts.

Well, if you believe that, then you must also believe that pigs get no adrenaline rush when they travel down a zip line. 

Mendes knows how to throw off any opponent with his striking and set his takedowns up, and that's all he really has to do to beat Aldo.

Mendes has worked too hard for too long and he has come too far only to let himself down when all the marbles were up for grabs.

Aldo is a great champion and it's been fun speculating about what could have been, but it's time for Aldo to pass the torch to someone who might very well be able to do more with it than people think.

Mendes is the man to lead the next generation of fighters at 145 on the basis of his dominating offensive style, and of course he's strong enough to lay someone out with his wrestling without the worries about laying-and-praying.

If Mendes did not prove it in any of his past outings, then tune into UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and try to show me any part of the bout, once the event ends, where Aldo was the least bit as dominant as everyone made him out to be.

Trust me, when you take the crowd out of the action, Aldo will have lost his only true edge over Mendes, and then you will see how Mendes will have defeated Aldo and shocked the world when nobody thought he could do it.

Mendes will easily take Aldo down at will, and if Aldo somehow survives the ground-and-pound, it will not matter in the long run, as Mendes will easily win the belt by dominating Aldo for all five rounds in such a manner that not even the ringside judges will have any argument for Aldo stealing one round.

Early congratulations to Mendes for a job that will have been well done by the end of the night, if he can get the job done, and if you still don't buy that, just watch the fight.

Of course, if you still believe that Aldo still wins tonight and you will not be swayed, you might have a solid argument, but what are the odds of it actually happening?