Showdown on UFC: Thoughts on UFC 142

Posted January 15, 2012 11:54 am.

This article is more than 5 years old.

UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes is officially in the history books.

Having watched it from the luxury of my home office, I was able to garner a different perspective than my usual cage side seat in the media section.

Mind you, I would have much rather have been in the arena. Not much moves me more than an electrified crowd, especially a hometown one that has the ability to cheer some of it’s heroes.

Aldo wins, but was he lucky?

UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr. is one of the sport’s elite fighters and pound-for-pound best. His muay thai and takedown defence is incredible. His striking precision is astounding. His speed and awareness are stellar. His reaction time is world class.

But last night he pulled off something that may have saved his title, and it was bending — if not breaking — the rules.

When his opponent Chad Mendes, a stellar wrestler, finally was able to take him down to the mat, the champion held the fence, reversing the momentum of the body lock takedown.

49 seconds later, Aldo finished him off. Mendes’ key to victory was to grind Aldo out; standing and trading with him was MMA suicide. The one chance he may have been able to do so, was foiled.

Aldo is not a cheater. He likely grabbed the fence out of instinct and natural reaction, but he should have been penalized, either immediately or told that a point would be deducted at the end of the round. Referee Mario Yamasaki did neither, and the rest is history.

Mendes was likely the last of Aldo’s stiffest tests at 145 lbs. The champ has all but cleared the division and it will likely be a long time before anyone at featherweight will be able to challenge him. Perhaps the time has come for the champ to test the waters at 155 lbs.

Cue the broken record

Not a UFC or MMA event goes by that questionable officiating and judging doesn’t rear its ugly head.

The aforementioned Yamasaki unfortunately made another strange call in the middleweight bout between Erick Silva and Carlo Prater.

Silva dominated Prater, finishing him off in 29 seconds, but according to Yamasaki he did so illegally, disqualifying him for punches to the back of the head and ruining his undefeated record.

The replays showed otherwise. Thankfully the organization paid Silva his win bonus as well; he deserved it.

With no athletic commission to oversee the fight, the UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner will determine whether or not the bout result should be overturned, but this will set a dangerous precedent. Even if the final decision is fair and right, it’s unchartered waters.

The second officiating issue was Dan Mirgliotta’s speedy stand ups in the co-main event.

I understand standing up those who are stalling, and guys who are refusing to improve their position or work to finish the fight. But when guy’s just got into position and are not even given a chance to stabilize or make a move, something seems fishy. I did not like what I saw, and truth be told, looks terrible for everyone involved.

Rumble to find a new jungle

Anthony Johnson has officially been released by the UFC after failing to make weight for a third time in his UFC career.

Johnson’s issues apparently were at welterweight, where the 215-lbs (sometimes more) athlete often had a difficult time getting down to the 171-lbs limit. Cries from the UFC, the media and the fans often recycled themselves every time he fought, that “Rumble” should and must move up to the middleweight division. He finally did on Saturday.

Except that he still could not make the weight. Mind boggling to say the least, but his miscalculations cost him his job with the premier MMA organization in the sport today.

Rumour has it that Anthony apparently made it to about 188-lbs, but was severely dehydrated and began to fall ill. He could no longer continue the weight cutting process. UFC doctor(s) then believed he was too far away from the official weigh in time, and it was mandatory that he replenish his fluids. He concurred, and subsequently ballooned up to 197 lbs by the time he stepped onto the scale.

I’ve known Anthony for a very long time, and he truly deserves better, but first he must look at the man in the mirror. Once he realizes what the issues truly are, he will come back stronger than ever. Unfortunately for him, he will forever be painted with the “can’t make weight” brush.

Barboza does it again

Edson Barboza’s wheel-kick knockout of Terry Etim was a first in UFC history and finally has him on everyone’s radar. But it’s taken far too long.

Like I professed in the past about Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones before they became champions (and now with Rory MacDonald), I will keep things simple and stress it again; Barboza has the potential and dominating attributes to wear championship gold in the future.

Canadian MMA needs to step it up

It’s not really the fighter’s fault. It’s the damn system, or lack thereof.

Watching Antonio Carvalho and Sam Stout fall short in their bouts was disheartening.

Full disclosure: I’ve known Stout since he was a teenager, and Carvalho was one of my MMA instructors.

But I cannot help and watch how the studs from Brazil are monsters in the cage and get the full support from not just their fans (Canadian fans simply cannot compare to the epic crowds in Brazil and Europe), but from the MMA development system in the country.

Maybe it’s my long standing beef with the pathetic system and politics in the province I live in, but it’s so tiring that with so much passion and love for the sport Canadians are not allowed to develop like those around the world.

In my own MMA Top Ten Rankings (seven weight classes, seventy fighters), there are only two Canadians in there; Georges St-Pierre and Mark Hominick.

With Dana White calling Canada “The Mecca of MMA”, and Toronto, “The fight capital of the world for the UFC”, something (actually everything) is not adding up. And quite frankly, it’s pathetic.

I’ve already tried to explain this ad nauseam to fans, my peers, and my government, but until there are changes made within those who govern sport in this country, there may not be a more than three Canadians in my top ten rankings for a very long time.

I will have a full recap of UFC 142 when I return to Sportsnet’s “UFC Central” on Monday night, and Thursday night on “The Showdown” on Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590.

Full Results for UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes

Main Card

Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes via knockout Round 1, 4:59

Vitor Belfort def. Anthony Johnson via rear naked choke Round 1, 4:45

Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Massenzio via heel hook – Round 1, 1:03

Carlo Prater def. Erick Silva via disqualification (punches to the back of the head) Round 1, 0:29

Edson Barboza def. Terry Etim via wheel kick Round 3, 2:02

Preliminary bouts (Aired on Sportsnet One)

Thiago Tavares def. Sam Stout via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Ednaldo Oliveira via rear-naked choke, Round 1, 3:22

Yuri Alcantara def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Funch via TKO, Round 1, 1:22