Thoughts From Across The Pond 01.20.12: Crazier Than A José Aldo Victory Celebration In Rio

Posted by Alex Watt on 01.20.2012

Thoughts on Jose Aldo and Vitor Belfort's impressive wins at UFC 142 and what is next for each man, a close study of tonight's UFC on FX 1 main event between Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard and who will emerge victorious and more!

Before we open the column I'd just like to say Happy 70th Birthday to Muhammed Ali; the greatest boxer of all time and one of the most significant and fascinating figures in the history of sport.



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José Aldo: Brazilian Hero

"Aldo looked fantastic tonight. He was in tremendous shape. He came in, and you could tell his head was in this fight, and he came out and performed against a real guy who was undefeated and came to take that belt away. . . . People have been asking me about José Aldo moving up to 155 pounds to take on Frankie Edgar or some of the top guys there. That's up to him. He's going to have to make that decision whether he wants to make that move or not. I would have no problem with him staying at his weight now and defending his title there or moving to 155 pounds – whatever he feels like he wants to do. . . . José Aldo looked fantastic. Whatever he wants to do – 145, 155 – I'm good." – Dana White

In the main event of the UFC's highly successful return to Brazil, José Aldo delivered one of the standout performances of his career. Taking on one of his toughest tests in American wrestler Chad Mendes, many expected Aldo to struggle with the takedown skills of the Team Alpha Male combatant. After all, many had noted that Aldo's Octagon performances prior to UFC 142 had been less than stellar and questioned whether "Scarface" was the same fighter who tore through the WEC featherweight division in 2009 and 2010. However in Rio de Janeiro, the city to which Aldo moved to pursue his dreams, the 145lbs champ silenced all of his critics with a stunning knockout victory as just one second remained in the opening round.

The pace of the fight started slowly as both fighters appeared cautious of committing to attacks and leaving themselves open to be countered. Mendes fired the first shots with leg kicks but when Aldo began to return fire it was clear whose leg kicks were the more effective.

Of course, it was with his takedowns that Mendes was expected to excel and although it initially looked like he may have delayed his double leg assault for too long, when he eventually shot for Aldo's legs at the midway point of the round, his attempts were powerful and explosive. There was just one problem; Aldo would not go down. Indeed, the Brazilian's takedown defence and balance was an impressive sight as he avoided almost every one of "Money"'s attempts to get the fight to the floor. On the one occasion that Mendes succeeded in throwing Aldo to the mat, Aldo immediately scrambled back to his feet.

And it was another takedown attempt which ultimately proved to be Mendes' downfall. As Mendes dropped for another double leg near the fence, likely to try and steal the round in the eyes of the Octagon-side judges, Aldo countered with a perfectly timed knee which landed flush on the American's jaw. Mendes fell to his back and Aldo, showing his incredible killer instinct, immediately capitalised with follow up punches which rendered Mendes unconscious. The official time of the stoppage; 4.59 of round 1.

After the win, which was Aldo's third defence of his UFC featherweight title (and fifth defence of the 145lbs belt overall), "Scarface" immediately sprinted out of the Octagon and leapt into the mass of Brazilian fans. It made for an incredible moment as the Brazilian fans swarmed around the champion to celebrate the moment with him, ultimately carrying Aldo on their shoulders as they erupted in cheers. It was an incredible way to close out the UFC's show in Brazil and Aldo celebrating with and amongst "his people" will go down as one of the all time great UFC moments and will live long in the memory.



This was, in many ways, a star making performance from José Aldo. Although he has been well known to the hardcore fans since his WEC days, his transition to the UFC has not been the smoothest. After going to two judges' decisions in his previous two Octagon appearances, many people who solely watch the UFC will not have been overly impressed or familiar with the Featherweight champ. That should change now.

In addition Aldo, despite being a Brazilian fighter, was one of the lesser known fighters to the Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts fans, falling far behind in the pecking order to the the likes of Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. With this incredible win, however, you would anticipate that Aldo's stock is going to rise significantly in his home country. As a young man who came from poverty and grew up in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, he has a remarkable story. The exclamation point on that was his celebration in the crowd on Saturday night; the 25 year old who is now a successful UFC champion will never forget his humble beginnings.

After his incredible performance in Rio, many are declaring that "José Aldo is back!" In truth, he never really went away. His pinpoint striking and slick takedown defence have been there for all to see in the Octagon. What seemed to be hindering him was an increase in muscle mass resulting in a more difficult weight cut and perhaps taking away some of his explosiveness. Aldo however looked slimmed down on Saturday night and as such we saw a much quicker and more explosive "Scarface" in the UFC this time around. It was a clever decision from Aldo (and his team) to drop that extra muscle mass. Aldo had no need for it.



With this dominant performance from Aldo, destroying a man who many believed was his toughest challenge to date, the question now is inevitably who is next for the champ? Arguably the UFC's 145lbs division now stands as the promotion's weakest and Aldo has already taken out most of the main threats to his crown. The main challenger left is, of course, Hatsu Hioki. The Japanese featherweight is generally ranked as the No. 2 145-pounder in the sport and so would make the most sense as the Brazilian's next challenger. However, Hioki didn't exactly set the world on fire in his Octagon debut (a close, split decision victory over George Roop) and so many fans would not be too enthused at the prospect of an Aldo-Hioki showdown. More likely, Hioki would need at least one more win over a tough opponent to prove to UFC fans that he is worthy of the shot.

Look down the list of potential challengers at featherweight though and you find similar problems. Dustin Poirier is on the cusp of a title shot but his next fight, against UFC newcomer Max Holloway, is not one which you would expect to adequately prepare him for a fight with Aldo. Chan Sung Jung aka "The Korean Zombie" is also in the mix following his 7 second blitz of former title challenger Mark Hominick. However, Jung is only two fights removed from a brutal knockout loss of his own. Nevertheless, he is a fan favourite so could see himself installed as Aldo's next challenger.

What is clear, is that the UFC needs to start bringing in new fighters for its featherweight division. The fourteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter was a good start in this process, and TUF Brazil will feature 145lbs contestants too. However, these shows bring in prospects for the future and not immediate challengers to José Aldo. With several top 145-pounders plying their trade in Bellator (Pat Curran, Joe Warren, Marlon Sandro, Patricio Freire), the UFC would be wise to keep an eye on their respective contract situations and make moves to sign any of them when the opportunity arises.

The other option for Aldo, of course, is a move to 155lbs. There would certainly be a lot more challenges awaiting the Brazilian there as the UFC's lightweight division is the most competitive in the entire sport right now. However, the consensus seems to be that Aldo would have to vacate his Featherweight title in order to ply his trade at 155lbs and that is something that he and trainer Andre Pederneiras say he is unwilling to do at present. The only thing which would tempt Aldo to move to lightweight is a shot at the champ in that division, Frankie Edgar. With "The Answer" awaiting the challenge of Ben Henderson in March, plus several more potential contenders at 155 awaiting their title shots, I wouldn't anticipate such a scenario playing itself out anytime soon.

I wonder then, while the UFC figures out who they can install as Aldo's next challenger at 145lbs, whether the Brazilian could be tempted to take a fight at lightweight as a one shot deal. Although Dana White has largely ruled out the possibility of these sorts of fights taking place, when UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva was struggling to find challengers to his belt at 185lbs, the UFC gave him a couple of non-title fights at light heavyweight. Both of these outings resulted in two of the most impressive performances of "The Spider"'s career (against James Irvin and Forrest Griffin) and cemented his place atop the pound for pound rankings. Such a move could do wonders for José Aldo and win him even more fans along the way.

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Vitor Belfort: Brazilian Hero

"This is his third time. Three strikes and you're gone. That was one of the most unprofessional things I've ever seen. The guy was at 170 pounds. He moved up to 185 pounds so this wouldn't happen anymore, and this is the worst weight-cutting disaster he's ever had. He almost ruined the co-main event here in Brazil. I don't know what else to say about that one. I'm not happy about it. I knew what the decision was when I talked to you on Friday. This is his third time. Listen, the guy was having problems making 170 pounds. He wanted to stay at 170 or whatever his deal was. You go to 185, and you blow it as bad as he blew it? That's bad, man." – Dana White

The big story heading into the co-main event of UFC 142 was not that the night would mark Vitor Belfort's first fight in Brazil since 1998. Instead, the contest had become the talk of the MMA community because Anthony Johnson had failed to make weight for the third time in his UFC career. Having missed the 170lbs limit on two occasions (for fights against Rich Clementi and Yoshiyuki Yoshida), "Rumble" had made the decision to go to middleweight. This seemed like a good move for Johnson as it would surely allow him to cut less weight prior to the fight and show up on weight and in good shape. Apparently though, we all spoke too soon as Johnson showed up at 197lbs for the UFC 142 weigh ins, an astonishing 12lbs above the middleweight upper limit.

The back story to this one made the situation even more fascinating. The word from behind the scenes was that Johnson had cut the weight to approximately 187lbs but found himself feeling ill and without sensation in his legs. As a result the doctors would not allow Johnson to cut any more weight and insisted he rehydrate. Whilst "Rumble" and his team have claimed that the illness was what prevented Johnson from making the weight for this fight, they are conveniently overlooking the fact that the illness was a direct result of Johnson trying to cut too much weight. Indeed, it seems as though Johnson either got complacent with his weight cut or had foolishly packed on even more muscle mass for this tilt at middleweight. Either way it was massively unprofessional behaviour from Johnson and his remorseless attitude following his failure to make weight did him no favours in the eyes of the fans or Dana White.

In fact, the UFC President made it clear that Johnson's job was on the line in this fight and, in all honesty, nobody would have been surprised if "Rumble" had been released even if he emerged victorious from Rio (a move Dana White confirmed he would have made in the post-fight press conference). Fortunately though, the UFC was spared from having to make that decision as hometown boy Belfort made relatively short work of the American.



"The Phenom", who as a result of making weight received 20 percent of Johnson's purse, is a star in Brazil and the crowd noise during the fight reflected that. The Brazilian fans were seriously into this fight and their enthusiastic soccer (aka football) chants for Belfort throughout were a treat to hear.

Johnson raced out of the blocks looking for a quick finish, likely realising that his gas tank would not hold out for long. He caught a Belfort kick early on and took the fight to the floor. On the ground "Rumble" was able to land a hard punch which swelled Belfort's eye almost completely closed, however Belfort was able to neutralise much of the American's offence which led referee Dan Miragliotta to stand them up. The fight continued in much the same vein for the majority of the first round; Belfort swung punches looking to hurt Johnson, whilst Johnson kept closing the distance looking for takedowns. Due to inaction, in the clinch and on the ground, Miragliotta separated or stood up the fighters fairly quickly when the fight was in those areas. However, when an exhausted Johnson shot for another takedown late in the first round, Belfort was able to stuff it and switch to Johnson's back. Once there he worked towards, and ultimately finished, a rear naked choke for the victory.

Following this fight many have commented on how quick Dan Miragliotta was to stand the two fighters up when the action stalled. Certainly, it seemed faster than usual and Miragliotta perhaps was not allowing "Rumble" enough time to advance his position. But, it is also true that Johnson was doing very little when the fight was in the clinch or on the ground and instead seemed to be using the time to stall as he tried to catch his rapidly diminishing breath. Some have questioned whether the quick stand ups were perhaps encouraged by the UFC brass, who were already extremely unhappy with Anthony Johnson. That though is highly unlikely. The UFC do not operate like that, plus the referees are not actually affiliated with the UFC. More likely is that Miragliotta was influenced slightly by the partisan Brazilian crowd into standing the fight up quicker than he normally would have done.

Up next for Belfort is a coaching stint on TUF Brazil, followed by a fight against old nemesis Wanderlei Silva. Belfort will be the heavy favourite in that fight, due to the rapid speed of his punches and the rapid decline of Silva's chin. With a win there, Belfort could once again find himself on the cusp of title contention. Anthony Johnson, as expected, was released following his loss in Rio. Dana White has, however, left the door open for a possible return if "Rumble" can get on a good win streak and sort out the weight issues which have thus far plagued his career. Expect the likes of Bellator and BAMMA (and perhaps Strikeforce too) to fight it out for Johnson's signature in the coming weeks.

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Elsewhere at UFC 142…

Rousimar Palhares made short work of Mike Massenzio. "Toquinho" shot for a takedown early on and pulled guard when he was unable to secure it. Within seconds the Brazilian had grabbed a hold of Massenzio's leg and secured the heel hook for the submission win. With another impressive leg lock victory, Palhares surely has to be matched up with a top 15 middleweight in his next fight as he looks to move himself towards title contention. There were rumours that with the UFC on FOX 2 reshuffle following Mark Munoz's injury that Palhares would be chosen to face Demian Maia in the third marquee fight on the card. It would have made perfect sense and word is that the UFC did approach Palhares for the fight, but he turned it down (allegedly due to problems with his passport).

In the most controversial moment of the night Erick Silva was disqualified for allegedly striking Carlo Prater in the back of the head on multiple occasions. The fight itself was a very short affair, lasting just 29 seconds. The dynamic Silva landed a hard knee and then followed it up with multiple punches to the side of the head of his downed opponent which resulted in the referee stoppage. Although there appeared to be a couple of strikes to the back of Prater's head, it was nothing out of the ordinary; there are many other examples fighters landing punches to the back of an opponent's head and getting away with it. However, in this case, referee Mario Yamasaki felt that Silva had hit Prater with a number of illegal punches which is why he opted to disqualify Silva. On reflection though it was the incorrect decision since no more than three punches connected to the back of Prater's head and only one of those could be considered a solid strike.

It was strange that Yamasaki did not once warn Silva for hitting the back of the head and odd too that he made the call to DQ the Brazilian without first consulting the video evidence. The point has been made in the aftermath of this dodgy decision that referees should use the video replay before they make a call of this magnitude and I agree. However, it should be noted that in the Jon Jones Vs. Matt Hamill fight (in which Jones was disqualified for an illegal 12 to 6 elbow which broke Hamill's nose), referee Steve Mazagatti did consult video evidence before making his decision. So why then did Yamasaki not do the same here? Either way, it seems likely that the decision will be overturned on appeal either to a Silva win or to a No Contest.

In the opening fight of the night Edson Barboza delivered an early contender for knockout of the year in his victory over Terry Etim. In the third round, Barboza found his distance using a leg kick and then attacked with a beautifully timed spinning wheel kick to the chin of the UK fighter. Barboza, who had tried this kick before (in his fight with Anthony Njokuani, that time connecting with the sole of the foot), got the technique perfect on this occasion, hitting Etim's jaw with his heel. The image of a stiffened Etim collapsing to the mat like a falling tree was incredible.

The fight up until the point of the KO had been well contested, although it was clearly Barboza who was dictating the pace of the contest. Etim struggled with the Brazilian's Muay Thai striking and looked off his game once he found himself unable to take the fight to the ground. With the win Barboza has moved himself even further up the lightweight ladder and will probably be matched up with a top 15 lightweight in his next contest.

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Video Interlude

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UFC on FX 1 Preview

Tonight the UFC present their first Fight Night event from their new home on the FOX network. UFC on FX 1 is a decent first TV offering for 2012 from the company, topped off with a potentially thrilling main event.

The lightweight showdown between top contenders Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller, features two fighters who always put on exciting performances. However, it also holds a lot of weight in terms of the UFC Lightweight title picture. After all, both men just months ago were on the cusp of title contention; Guillard was riding a 5 fight winning streak and Miller held a 7 fight winning run. However, with losses in their last outings (to Joe Lauzon and Ben Henderson respectively) both 155-pounders suddenly saw themselves slip down the ladder. As a result, this contest is a very important one for both men as a win sees them back in the talk for a title shot, due to the unstable state of the division at present.

"The Young Assassin" Melvin Guillard has an astonishing amount of MMA experience when you consider that he is still just 28 years of age. Tonight will mark his 42nd professional fight. Despite this, he still has the potential to make a mistake or become overconfident; a factor which played a significant part in his loss to Joe Lauzon. Guillard will have to maintain his focus in this fight; if he finds himself getting overconfident again then Miller, himself an experienced competitor with this marking his 24th pro fight, will almost certainly capitalise.

In this fight Guillard will clearly hold the advantage in the striking exchanges. He has fast hands, knockout power and fantastic movement which he uses to create different angles from which to attack. Although Miller too has heavy hands which could cause Guillard some problems if they land on Guillard's chin, I would anticipate "The Young Assassin" using his movement to stay out of Miller's range and not make the same mistake as he did against Joe Lauzon. Nevertheless, Miller is a very durable fighter and has never been knocked out in his MMA career. Guillard will have to be wary of this and not try too hard for the knockout, which is unlikely to come. Success for Guillard in this fight will come by staying on the outside, away from Miller's takedowns, and picking Miller apart with punches.

Jim Miller's best chance of success in this fight is if he can get the fight to the floor. As a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, 11 of Miller's 20 wins come by locking in a submission. Since Guillard is notoriously vulnerable when it comes to submissions (8 of his 9 losses come to submission holds), it stands to reason that this will be Miller's best form of attack. However Guillard has some of the best takedown defence in the lightweight division, using his speed and dynamic footwork to stay out of his opponent's range and then demonstrating remarkable balance to remain upright if they are able to get a hold of him. Miller then will have to be relentless in his pursuit of the takedown and be prepared to eat a few punches on his way in whilst trying to secure it. Miller's durability will likely help him in regards to that.

Ultimately, this fight will probably come down to the bare roots of an explosive striker Vs. a dynamic ground specialist. Whoever can implement their gameplan most effectively will win this fight. For Guillard, he has to keep the fight on the feet. If he can do that, and he has phenomenal takedown defence which could help him to keep the fight standing, then he should be able to pick Miller apart using his far superior striking arsenal. However, I doubt that he will be able to finish Miller since the BJJ Black Belt is incredibly durable. During a three round fight then you have to assume that Miller, at some stage, will be able to grab a hold of Guillard and take him down. Once the fight hits the floor Miller has the clear advantage and Guillard, who has shown his Achilles heel to be submissions, will be in serious trouble. I believe that this fight will play out with Guillard taking control of the fight early on but with Miller taking him down later in the fight, as "The Young Assassin" begins to tire. In the third round I feel that Jim Miller should be able to pull off the win with a submission (a rear naked choke most likely), in a fight which could well be an early fight of the year contender.

Be sure to check out the UFC on FX 1 preview on the main page today to see the 411 staff's full picks for this event.

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Quotes of the Week

"This thing started making money in 2005, 2006. It's 2012. If you look at the money the guys made from 2006 to 2012, it's phenomenal what we've done. These guys are coming out, and they got Ken Shamrock. Are you f***ing kidding me? You know how much money Ken Shamrock owes me?

"Ken Shamrock filed a bogus lawsuit against us and lost. He owes us that money. Do you know what I've done for Ken Shamrock? Ken Shamrock, when I brought him over, he was broke – flat f***ing broke. He was in income-tax trouble. His knee was shot. I rebuilt his knee. I got him out of income-tax trouble, fronted him a s***-load of money. We gave him money – literally gave him money – $60,000. We gave him $60,000 just to get him back on his feet. You know how much money he made in the two fights he fought with us? It was $2.5 million.

"F*** you, Ken Shamrock." – Dana White succinctly explains why Ken Shamrock is an unreliable witness for ESPN's controversial piece on fighter pay.

"The UFC has gone out and strategically bought out every company or they cut the knees out from underneath them when they tried to get started by putting on shows when their shows were on. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with that kind of business. But when you get into that kind of position, then don't use that kind of position to hold the fighters hostage." – Ken Shamrock with the account which so infuriated Dana White.

"Gina rocks. And yeah, she's kinda like my opposite, you know, like in every way. She's like brunette with short hair with a nice rack that's a good striker. I'm like a blond with long hair that's like a good grappler that has a nice ass. We were made for each other to hang out. Gina's cool, I'm so happy for her. I would not be a fighter if it wasn't for her. I wouldn't think this career would be possible for me if I hadn't seen what she was already doing." – Ronda Rousey on Gina Carano.

"I'm already laughing at what ppl are saying. Yeah it was for medical reason and I did what the UFC Dr Told me to do. Believe it or don't I give a f**k cuz the ppl close to me were freaking out but I'm still alive and something like this has never happen before. Say what you want I'm still gonna do my thang. You try not having feeling in your legs and can't move then and see how you look at life after that." - A lesson in how not to behave on social media after you miss weight by Anthony Johnson.

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Pound for Pound Rankings

With José Aldo's incredible performance in Rio de Janeiro, he retains his No. 3 spot in my pound for pound rankings. Consider too that come May 1st it will be a year since Georges St. Pierre last competed, and thus he will no longer be eligible to be ranked on this list. Therefore, in May could José Aldo be considered as the No. 2 best pound for pound fighter on the planet? Food for thought.



1. Anderson Silva (29-4)

2. Georges St. Pierre (22-2)

3. José Aldo (21-1)

4. Jon Jones (15-1)

5. Frankie Edgar (14-1-1)

6. Dominick Cruz (19-1)

7. Rashad Evans (16-1-1)

8. Junior Dos Santos (14-1)

9. Nick Diaz (26-7, 1NC)

10. Gilbert Melendez (20-2)

11. Joseph Benavidez (15-2)

12. Dan Henderson (29-8)

13. "Shogun" Rua (20-6)

14. Urijah Faber (26-5)

15. Benson Henderson (15-2)

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And that'll do it for another week.

I'll be back next week with my thoughts on UFC on FX 1 and my in depth previews of the two headline fights at UFC on FOX 2.

If you enjoy the column please do follow me on twitter (@AlexWattMMA).

Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or feedback please leave them below or message me on twitter. Cheers.