UFC 179 Results: 3 Fights to Make for Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes gave Jose Aldo all that he could at UFC 179, but it just wasn't enough. Money landed enough to nearly swell the champ's eye shut, but Aldo's immaculate jab and near-perfect takedown defense were too much for the Californian, allowing the Brazilian to score a unanimous 49-46 decision win.
With that, yet another Alpha Male finds himself in the awkward "near the top of the rankings but lost to the current champion twice" position.
Unlike his teammates Joseph Benavidez and Urijah Faber, however, Mendes still has a plethora of compelling fights available to him. So who might we see him face in the coming months? Which fighters will keep him poised to capitalize on any major shake-ups with the belt?
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Find out right here!
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier is a very good fighter. He is one of the few fighters under 185 pounds with legitimate knockout power in both hands, and he is capable of embarrassing almost anybody on the mat. However, his lack of formidable wrestling made him easy pickings for the hyper-popular Conor McGregor, who knocked him out in the opening frame.
Still, Poirier is a clear top-10 fighter in the division and would be an interesting test for Mendes. Both men own a great deal of knockout power, and the ground exchanges between the two of them could make for a particularly entertaining affair.
The Diamond does not have anybody on his plate at the moment, and if both are capable of getting back into the cage in a timely manner, a matchup would make sense.
Loser of Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson
Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson could both reasonably slide into a title fight right now. Edgar dropped a razor-thin decision to Aldo in 2013 and has posted back-to-back wins since. Swanson, meanwhile, has posted an electrifying six-fight winning streak. While the winner of their bout at Fight Night 57 will be the on-paper top contender at 145 pounds, McGregor is poised to cut ahead of them in the title picture, which has forced them into a match against each other.
The loser, however, will find himself in need of a big-name opponent. So why not Mendes?
A fight with Edgar would be an interesting stylistic matchup between wrestlers-turned-mixed martial artists, while a fight with Swanson would be a standard striker vs. wrestler affair. Either way, sign me up.
Winner of Jeremy Stephens vs. Charles Oliveira
Edgar vs. Swanson may be the biggest upcoming featherweight fight, but Jeremy Stephens vs. Charles Oliveira is interesting in its own right. While the UFC generally subscribes to the notion of pairing fighters coming off losses against each other, Mendes' strong resume likely makes him an honorary winner in Sean Shelby's book. Additionally, Mendes sits high enough up the rankings that he has the ability to pull rank on almost anyone at 145 pounds.
Stephens' rise from middling lightweight to dark-horse contender at featherweight was one of the more surprising storylines of 2013, but Swanson stopped his run short in June. Oliveira won what should have been a trampoline fight when he forced Hatsu Hioki to tap this summer, but he followed that up by withdrawing from a fight with Nik Lentz just hours away from stepping into the cage.
Oliveira's steady improvement in recent years or Stephens' recently improved takedown defense coupled with his huge knockout power would combine with Mendes for an interesting fight.
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