UFC 142 was a fun night of fights. Every single main card fight had a finish and 4 of those were in the first round. It was a really fun card.
First off Aldo proved to everyone what I already knew: he is a top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. His speed is unmatched at featherweight and the way he throws knees like fast punches is so unique its super difficult to prepare for and counter those. Aldo will most likely hold onto that belt for a long time. Mendes looked decent until he was KOed. His main problem was that he came in with a plan that was just way to predictable. He didn’t even set up his takedowns well. But Mendes is still number 2 featherweight in my eyes and I see him staying up there for awhile.
After Anthony Johnson missed weight by 12 pounds we all knew there was a ton of pressure on him to win this fight. It was his third time missing in weight in the UFC and he actually went up a weight class so he had to cut 15 less pounds. It is ridiculous. But Vitor came to fight and although there were some arguably quick stand-ups Vitor destroyed Johnson. I can see Vitor staying near title contention for awhile. Johnson has officially been cut from the promotion. I see him winning a fight or two outside the UFC and then coming back. But he has to work on what weight he wants to fight at from now on.
Palhares looked good as usual. He is very close to being granted a title fight. Erick Silva got screwed out of a beautiful TKO victory over Carlo Prater. Silva looked great and finished Prater 29 seconds into the first round but referee Mario Yamasaki said that Silva hit Prater in the back of the head. There was one punch, out of the 15 or so, that landed on the back of the head but I disagree that it warranted a DQ loss to Silva. It’s a shame but Dana White also disagreed so it shouldn’t hurt Silva that much. Silva has a major future and I could see him fighting a higher-tier guy at this point. Prater will never amount to much but can be a decent test to UFC newcomers. The rest of the card was good and exciting.
The fight I want to mention most is the Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim fight. The fight was a pretty good fight that Barboza was slightly winning. But 2 minutes into the 3rd round Barboza landed a strike that will live in infamy. He did a spinning heel kick and KOed Etim while Etim was still standing up straight. Etim went stiff immediately and then fell really slow like a tree and hit the ground hard. It was beautiful and the best was to describe it is a kick Jean-Claude Van Damme would do in one of his old corny movies. It was insane!
Overall, great night of fights and I look forward to this Friday’s FX card; which happens to be on my birthday! Happy birthday to me!
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