UFC 179 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Aldo vs. Mendes 2
UFC 179 served as a fulcrum for one of the brightest careers in MMA history.
Jose Aldo is probably the best featherweight ever. He's the division's reigning, first and only UFC champion. But despite a winning streak that dates back to the time when Australia broke away from Pangea, Aldo has faced questions lately.
Why isn't he a bigger star? Has he grown conservative, more concerned with eking out rounds and keeping the belt than he is with finishing opponents? Does he have the same fire he once did? Can he move up to the sport's Mount Rushmore, or is he merely in the Hall of Fame?
At age 28, he has plenty of years remaining, but this main event against All-American wrestler Chad Mendes represents a crossroad. That's especially true because an Aldo teammate who recently seemed impregnable, Renan Barao, is now the former bantamweight champ thanks to Mendes' teammate and current bantamweight champ, T.J. Dillashaw.
Would Aldo-Mendes follow suit, or will Aldo re-assert his claim to the throne? That was just one question up for an answer on Saturday's 11-fight slate.
As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 179. (Full results available at the end of the slideshow.)
Winner: Jose Aldo
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There are plenty of highlights from Jose Aldo's career. UFC 179 might be at the top of the reel.
The speed, the power and accuracy were there. So was the takedown defense. But something came back that had been missing in a few previous engagements: aggression. A much-improved Mendes, moving around the cage with speed to burn, would land a shot on Aldo, and Aldo would come back angry, firing wicked combinations. Knees and kicks—sometimes through the air—were on the menu in full force.
Aldo may have heard the talk about his recent tendency to coast. He seems to see the mega-blockbuster between himself and one Conor McGregor that looms on the horizon, maybe for next year. Both understandings were apparent in his approach Saturday night. A little chip on his shoulder, a little desire to hurt somebody.
After five close rounds, Aldo was named the winner, and told broadcaster Brian Stann in the cage that the featherweight division had a full royal court: himself as the king, "Chad's the prince, and now we have a joker." Great line, and one clearly referencing McGregor, who was sitting cageside and looking dapper on the UFC's dime.
If this fight was the fulcrum of Aldo's career, it tilted the momentum in his direction, and it might have set the stage for something truly special.
Winner: Chad Mendes
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The rematch went much better for Chad Mendes than the original. The first time back in 2012, he was knocked out at the very end of the first round. This time, he went all five and spent much of his time in the champ's face. He was quicker and landed his own jabs and power shots, which left the champ's face looking pretty marked up.
Mendes still lost the fight by decision, but not before he unequivocally earned the champ's respect—and that of anyone else paying attention.
Loser: Fans
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Main event aside, this was not a very action-packed or compelling fight card. But hey, not every card can be a winner; that's beyond anyone's ability to predict or control. Everyone understands that.
But when you take your pay-per-view and add Darren Elkins vs. Lucas Martins, Fabio Maldonado vs. someone named Hans Stringer and, in the co-main event, Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira, you're not exactly stacking the odds in your favor.
Beneil Dariush vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira is a worthy fight between two worthy young fighters. But as your pay-per-view opener? You're rolling the dice.
Plenty of folks have wondered whether the UFC's breakneck event schedule has diluted available talent, making the big events less compelling and less relevant. That may have been the case at UFC 179.
Were there good fights and fighters? There sure were. But increasingly, you have to hunt for them and you have to rely on luck to coax them into expression. It wasn't always that way.
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Winner: Phil Davis
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It wasn't aesthetically pleasing, but at the end of the night, no one remembered that Phil Davis was an underdog against Glover Teixeira.
That's a testament to Davis' wrestling, which is the best in the light heavyweight division. He didn't show much improvement in his striking, and that's still a need area. But as for Saturday night, he was able to demoralize his opponent without landing a blow of consequence, and it earned him an important win.
Loser: Darren Elkins
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In an instant anti-classic, Darren Elkins took a split-decision win over Lucas Martins and did so in as unattractive a fashion as humanly possible.
Striking exchanges resembled an attempt to loosen a rusty bolt from a leaking pipe. Luckily, those exchanges were few and far between, as Elkins spent most of the contest leaning against Martins on the fence. It was a strategy for which Martins had no discernible answer.
Perhaps the best part is that one judge actually scored the fight 30-27 for Martins, who did little more than loosen some of Elkins' scar tissue with a couple of wayward blows.
But that's about it. Whatever the opposite of "I tip my cap" is, that's what I'm doing right now for Elkins in victory and Martins in defeat.
Winner: Neil Magny
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Neil Magny is the biggest winner on this card.
No one predicted that in January, but it has happened nonetheless. Saturday night, the unheralded welterweight moved to 5-0 in 2014, which ties a UFC record for most wins in one year (Roger Huerta is the other man to accomplish this).
His third-round TKO of William Macario might be Magny's best performance of the five. He combined excellent takedown defense with his trademark jab and solid top game to come on late and overwhelm an exhausted Macario.
As strange as it might have seemed back when we were all watching the ball drop, Neil Magny might be your 2014 UFC Fighter of The Year.
Loser: Naoyuki Kotani
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Naoyuki Kotani rejoined the UFC in July. Right out of the chute, he faced Norman Parke, a Northern Irishman fighting on a card in Ireland. Parke won by second-round TKO.
Saturday night, Kotani fought Yan Cabral, a Brazilian fighting on a card in Brazil. Cabral won by second-round submission.
Tough breaks for the Japanese fighter. Although, at the same time, neither result was a surprise. In fact, Kotani was easily the biggest underdog on the entire UFC 179 card, according to oddsmakers.
The catch wrestler was such a big underdog that he probably raised a few eyebrows by surviving to the halfway point with Cabral. Given that fact, plus the fact that he has basically served as the red meat in his second home-cooking stew of 2014, he's our official Samsonite Journeyman of the Evening*.
*No real sponsorship represented. Call me, though, Samsonite. This seems viable.
Winner: Wilson Reis
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Wilson Reis is a load at 125 pounds.
Scott Jorgensen is a tough dude, but a body kick from Reis about halfway through the first round took that tough right out of him. The crack of Reis' foot banging Jorgensen's rib cage reverberated through the arena and the TV screen. Man, was that some nasty.
Reis followed up, chasing Jorgensen to the floor, raining punches and eventually locking up an arm-triangle choke from inside Jorgensen's half-guard. Tapout, ballgame.
The big flyweight is now 2-0 since dropping down to that division from bantamweight, and it looks like he has found his home. He has certainly found his groove. In four total UFC fights, he has never seen a main card. Think that changes next time? I do.
Full Card Results
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Main Card
Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes by unanimous decision
Phil Davis def. Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision
Fabio Maldonado def. Hans Stringer by TKO, 4:06, Rd. 2
Darren Elkins def. Lucas Martins by split decision
Beneil Dariush def. Carlos Diego Ferreira by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Neil Magny def. William Macario by TKO, 2:40, Rd. 3
Yan Cabral def. Naoyuki Kotani by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:06, Rd. 2
Wilson Reis def. Scott Jorgensen by submission (arm-triangle choke), 3:28, Rd. 1
Andre Fili def. Felipe Arantes by unanimous decision
Gilbert Burns def. Christos Giagos by submission (armbar), 4:57, Rd. 1
Tony Martin def. Fabricio Camoes by submission (kimura), 4:16, Rd. 1
Scott Harris likes MMA and writing about MMA. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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