Even a green Mendes was able to land plenty of kicks and scored one clean takedown and should of got another if not denied by an Aldo fence grab... and since then, Mendes has improved greatly.
Use his Bang Muay Thai like TJ did to Barao? Bang didn't turn Faber and Benavidez into champions, they got out-classed by superior fighters and that's what's going to happen to Mendes, Aldo is once again going to stop his takedowns and use his striking to defeat him.
Mendes has improved his striking and footwork greatly, he already had wrestling and stamina. The knockout from Aldo was a special moment, not something someone pulls off twice.
I can see his improved striking and movement opening up better takedown opportunities, and takedowns as all ways will in turn open up more striking opportunities.
This is why i prefer talking before a fight rather than after... one of us will be proven right soon enough.
Mendes is a top guy in the division no doubt. Very solid fighter.
But he either runs from fights, fighters run from him, or ufc protected him. Nice streak he is on but look who he has faced. Seriously people talk about his striking...the best striker hr has fought in that 5-0 streak was probably Elkins!!! Didnt Guida give him some trouble for half the fight?
Seruously how does a guy ranked top 4 fight 5 times since that Aldo loss and not fight at least one of Lamas, frankie, cub, bermudez, poirier, conor? Really tho how does that happen?
I agree that hr has evolved some. But I think people get way too careied away with Bang Ludwig. Dill looked amazing. Dill has more of a relationship with Bang than anyine and was living with him during training. Mendes has showed off his improving striking vs crap opponents making it look better than it is.
Didnt he wrestle **** Lentz? Was he scared of his stand up?
He probably has improved his hands. But hard to tell when he has fought bums. Aldo still has supreme tdd and ability to scramble back up quick. It takes away Mendes' real game. Mendes will get lit up on the feet if Aldo stuffs a couple tds early.
Mendes has to push the pace and tire Aldo in order to win...in my opinion.
I hope Mendes wins, and he is a solid fighter, but I think the only way he wins is if Aldo's heart really isn't into it. His last performances have each shown what seems to be less and less desire. Still Aldo is a beast and none of those recent performances should not lull anyone into sleeping on him.
Don't really like the alpha fails much, because they are kinda boring. That being said i hope Chad throws him around for 2 rounds, GNP him bloody then submits the fence grabbing twat.
Or back in the days of ropes when people grabbed the ropes.
Even Fedor grabbed the ropes to stop a takedown against Lindland.
Yet Jose Aldo's fence grab has somehow become the standard for scummy cheating in MMA. Next people will say Conor McGregor should KO Aldo as justice for him being a dirty piece of garbage fence grabber(ignore that Conor has done this himself...like probably half of the fighters in MMA).
But if you were indifferent to Jose Aldo, clearly he is a scumbag and you should wish violent defeat on him because he once grabbed a fence in a title fight.
Next Renan Barao(or some other Brazilian that doesn't speak English) will kick someone in the groin in a title fight and he will be known as a filthy nut kicker.
I think, especially with him not being as lethal with the leg kicks, Jose Aldo hasn't been as impressive since beating Chad, where as Chad has turned into a knockout specialist.
I want Mendes to dump Aldo on his head but i want Conor to punch that head off as well. Who do i want to see as the champ more.. As for this fight, i'm not overly sold that Mendes has improved enough but i sure hope so.
Mendes looks good fighting other fighters because he's fighting other fighters, but IMO his improvements wont be enough.
Ive never felt Aldo was untouchable and I feel like he's had a few fights that he could have lost but I dont think he'll lose to Mendes and Aldo has made improved himself but so has his opposition so the gains might not look as big and they probably aren't big improvements but I still think its enough.
And what were these fights? Because he's clearly won every fight he's been in for about a decade.
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