UFC 142 Conference Call: Chad Mendes will "blast Jose Aldo off of his feet"
A Featherweight showdown betweeen division Champion Jose Aldo and top contender Chad Mendes will headline the stacked UFC:142 fight card, set to take place January 14th from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Former Middleweight title challenger Vitor Belfort welcomes Anthony Johnon to the division in the co-main event, while submission specialist Rousimar Palhares goes head to head with Mike Massenzio. Also featured wll be Team Nogueira’s Erick Silva, taking on promotional newcomer Carlo Prater, and Lightweight pospect Edson Barboza meets the U.K.’s Terry Etim.
Below are highlights from today’s UFC 142 Conference Call, which included headliners Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, as well as Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson:
• There’s more attention and it is a great pleasure to defend my title in my home country. It means everything for me to come back fighting in my country as a champion.
• This is where I started, just with dreams and hopes, and now I am back as a champion. It is a great feeling, but I will try to think about it after the fight. I still have to train hard and win this fight.
• I found a few things in his game I can exploit. I’ve trained very hard for this fight; I never underestimate any fighter and want to remain as champion.
Chad Mendes
• Going into the champion’s own backyard is exciting. There’s no doubt that he is the best fighter in this weight class. He has some things he is better at than others, but he’s got no ‘holes’ in his game. But I feel I am the same; I’ve sat down with Urijah Faber (coach and friend) and we have come up with a great plan.
• Other fighters have stood there and let him take them apart; I think I will get in there and get my hands on him. No one else he’s fought has my level of wrestling, to where I will get him down and keep him down.
• The Aldo camp saying I am not ready for a title shot? They don’t know how good I am. They’ve never fought me or trained with me. I am very, very ready for this title shot. He has great takedown defense but my type of shot is a ‘blast-you-off-your-feet’ type of shot.
Vitor Belfort
• I do believe UFC will surpass soccer as the No. 1 sport in Brazil. It has everything in place – the stars, the athletes – to become the biggest sport in the world. I think it will overtake every sport in the world. People deny that, but I think it is already happening. The Junior dos Santos fight in November had more Brazilian (TV viewers) than Brazil vs. Argentina (soccer match).
• I am so happy to be fighting on this card. I have the coaching with The Ultimate Fighter Brazil coming up (after this fight) but I am 100 percent focused on this fight with Anthony.
• I don’t look for God to help me with wins; I look for God in my daily life. I live my life for Jesus, I try to live by an example.”
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson
• It is an honor to fight in Brazil. I don’t mind fighting in anyone’s backyard, I am a fighter and the Octagon is the Octagon anywhere it is in the world.
• Fighting at this weight is a lot of fun for me. This is easy. I’m 215 pounds right now. I am looking forward to fighting as a middleweight and being a better athlete, a thousand times healthier than I was at 170 pounds.
• You are going to see a new, more dangerous “Rumble” at 185 pounds.”
Further Reading: UFC 142: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes Extended Preview
Photo: Heavy.com/MMA
