Chad Mendes Blasts “A–hole” Jose Aldo
Will Aldo vs Mendes 2 be anything like the first fight?
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes have been embroiled in a year-long beef ahead of their scheduled UFC 179 bout in Brazil. Having beaten “Money” once already in his home nation at UFC 142, “Scarface” has really stepped up the trash talk for his rematch with Mendes, and has even thrown in some media day shoving for good measure.
Not usually known for this amount of pre-fight drama, you could attribute Aldo’s anger to Mendes’ team mate TJ Dillashaw knocking out his stable mate Renan Barao and stealing his title back at UFC 173. For “Money” though, he feels that the champion’s true colors are shining through. Check out what he had to say to MMAJunkie.com:
“Either you’re a moron, or … you lost your cool, so it’s one of the two. Obviously, I would love to put a beating on this guy, but any time I can go out there and get a quick finish, especially against a guy like Jose Aldo in a title fight like this, I’d definitely be more than pleased with that.”
The shove came pretty soon after the infamous UFC 178 media day brawl between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, so maybe Aldo was just trying to do the gentlemanly thing and get some more buys for his PPV show? Either way, it didn’t turn out to be anywhere near as dramatic as the “Bones” vs “DC” scuffle. He continued:
“The guy’s an a–hole, that’s really what it comes down to. We’re there to sell a fight, and the guy pushes me, and then after he tries to say in interviews, ‘Oh, I just tried to sell the fight.’It doesn’t make sense to me to push a dude in the staredown (when) someone’s getting in your face, he said. “That’s what our job is — we’re supposed to stand there in front of each other and pose for the damn cameras and s–t. If you don’t like me being there, don’t do the damn staredown.”
A lot of talk surrounding the October 5th, 2014 rematch has been about how much “Money” has grown since the last fight. His recent performances against Clay Guida, Darren Elkins and Yaotzin Meza would indicate that Aldo vs Mendes 2 could be a totally different fight this time. Mendes continued:
“I don’t think he’s changed a lot,” Mendes said. “I’ve watched his past few fights, and he’s just really good at what he does, and he just uses it in every single fight. I haven’t seen any major improvements. (My first fight with Aldo) was the first time I fought outside of the country, obviously for a title. It was just a lot to take in really fast. But I’ve been there, and done that. I’ve fought in the UFC for a while, and there’s a lot less stress. And because I’ve gotten so much better, I’ve got a lot more confidence. My mindset is completely different.”
The Team Alpha Male standout also said he would like a rubber match to take place in his hometown of Sacramento, CA, as the first two title fights would have been in Aldo’s home of Brazil. How do you think UFC 179’s main event will transpire, will Aldo vs Mendes 2 be the last time they fight, or will “Money” pave way for the rubber match by upsetting the champ?
