LowKickMMA’s Fight Of The Year 2014 – Aldo vs Mendes 2
UFC 179 was the stage for Aldo vs Mendes 2, and it was epic…..
As we head towards the end of another year, LowKickMMA takes a trip down memory lane and reminisces about the night that Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes gave us the fight of the year 2014. Cast your minds back to October 25th, 2014; “Money” was slated for his second crack at the UFC featherweight title, and had some serious momentum on his side.
The backstory in this fight was that Mendes was hungry, more so than ever before, and there was an air that perhaps Aldo was slipping. The champion hadn’t lost in nine years, but had started to look somewhat flat in recent outings. Not only that, “Scarface” had engaged in a war of words with “Money”, and had portrayed himself like we’d never seen him before.
There was also the Team Alpha Male vs Nova Uniao backdrop to the fight, after TJ Dillashaw had upset Renan Barao during another fight of the year candidate. “The Viper” bashed “Baron” at UFC 173, snatching his bantamweight gold and Aldo wanted payback for it and the mockery that had followed.
Mendes had a head of steam going in to this bout, having gone five on the bounce with four finishes since his first pairing against “Junior”. The circumstances surrounding the main event at UFC 179 really had a lot of people believing than “Money” could do the unthinkable. As it turned out, the home advantage and skill gap were apparent.
Followingof months of hype, and talk about the controversial ending to the first fight at UFC 142, the two warriors stood across the octagon from each other for a second time. The result was all we could have hoped for and more. For five full rounds, Aldo and Mendes just emptied the tank, and it was obvious from the opening exchanges that this would be a special fight.
The first clean punch from “Money”, a left hook to the chin, drops the champion mid-combo. Brazil held it’s collective breath as the challenger went in for the kill, but the hometown champ was quick to regain composure. Later in the round Aldo returns the favor, and then lands a two piece on/after the buzzer that has Mendes’ eyes rolling.
From then on, it was just pure craziness. Both guys swung for the fences, Mendes came out for round two and blasted the champion again this time with an uppercut. As the rounds wore on, it was clear that neither man would be finished, and they simply continued to trade at full force with no erring on the side of caution.
By the time the final buzzer went off, Aldo was a clear winner, but it was an extremely competitive fight. The champion wore the fight heavily, bleeding hard and showing nasty swelling around the eyes. The challenger had made a point, but Aldo even more so. The streak continues, and we were treated to the greatest 145-pound title fight ever, and fight of the year 2014 too.
Check out these bad ass highlights of Aldo vs Mendes 2 compiled by Sport EAcao, and stay tuned to LowKickMMA!
