Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes 2: Latest Twitter Hype Before UFC 179

It has taken almost three years, but Chad Mendes will finally get his chance to rematch Jose Aldo. The two featherweights will main-event UFC 179, and Aldo's featherweight title will again be on the line. 

The fight will also take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is where the Manaus, Amazonas-born champion currently fights out of. Mendes is hoping that's where the similarities end.

In their first meeting, Aldo landed a knee to Mendes' head that knocked him out with just one second remaining in the first round. Aldo ran into the crowd of adoring fans and left Mendes in the cage to recover and rebuild.

After five straight wins, with four coming by stoppage, Mendes is ready to go back to war. He says he's a better fighter. 

We'll see on Saturday night. 

While there's a good amount of attention on the combatants, a certain featherweight contender with a humongous following has bogarted his way into the backstory of this bout.

The Notorious One Lurks

Having established himself as much more than a fighter with mic skills, Conor McGregor is perhaps the most must-see competitor in the UFC this side of Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey. The fact that he's established that type of popularity without having won a title is amazing.

His devastating punching power may only be surpassed in potency by his venomous tongue. Shortly after vanquishing Dustin Poirier in his last outing, McGregor took aim at both Mendes and Aldo.

"

Conor McGregor on the #UFC "I would maul Mendes, and Aldo The division seems to be full of rookies and has-beens" pic.twitter.com/dsE1zptfnM

— UFC Insiders (@UFCInsiders) September 30, 2014"

"

Because Aldo's body is weak and Mendes is 2foot nothing, they will not be ready to challenge me for the throne until mid next year.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 15, 2014"

McGregor is no dummy. He's thinking one and perhaps two steps ahead of the game with this strategy. He wants to set himself up to face the winner of Saturday's bout. It was recently confirmed that McGregor will face Denis Siver at UFC Fight Night in Boston in January.

That's a perfect tune-up and soon enough to set up McGregor to face the winner of Aldo vs. Mendes, should he beat Siver.

The Two Combatants

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

Aldo's counterstriking skills are excellent. His legs are probably the quickest in the sport. Perhaps Edson Barboza is the only man in the same ballpark in that category. Even though Aldo excels in countering, he's giving off signals that he plans to be the aggressor in his rematch with Mendes.

Oftentimes, champions tend to fight defensively because, after all, they are defending their titles. Aldo has seemingly taken this approach in his recent fights. He hasn't stopped an opponent with strikes since he beat Mendes.

The TKO win over Chan Sung Jung came when the challenger injured his shoulder.

If he's true to his word, he may press the action. That could make this fight a short one. Because both men have good power, it could be a tough night for either of them.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.