Brazilian Jose Aldo beat American Chad Mendes by unanimous decision to successfully defend his featherweight title in UFC 179 at Maracanazinho arena early yesterday.
With the victory, Aldo remained the only champion the division has known and extended his winning streak to 15, one short of Anderson Silva’s record of 16 straight victories from 2006 to 2012.
The highly anticipated mixed martial arts fight was a rematch of their encounter in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. Aldo knocked out Mendes with a powerful knee strike to his face with a second left in the first round of that match.
Mendes extended the fight to the fifth round this time, but still could not come up with the victory. All three judges scored it 49-46.
“I deserved to win,” Aldo said. “He hit me a few times, but I hit him a lot more. It was a great a fight and I’m sure everyone enjoyed it.”
It was the seventh straight successful title defense for the 28-year-old Aldo (25-1), who is unbeaten since 2005. He was under extra pressure as the only Brazilian to hold a belt in the UFC. It could have been the first time in eight years that Brazil was without a champion.
The 29-year-old Mendes (16-2) had been dominant since his lone career defeat two years ago in Rio, winning four of his next five fights by knockout.
He was aggressive from the start this time, connecting early with kicks and punches and opening a wound on Aldo’s nose.
However, the Brazilian recovered fast and finished strong in the first round, twice knocking Mendes down with powerful strikes.
“He rang my bell for sure,” Mendes said. “I was just going so hard I didn’t know what was going on. I was just trying to push myself and obviously just outstrike him and mix things up well.”
Both fighters took fewer chances in the second round. Aldo made a strong charge near the end of the round, but could not finish his opponent.
Mendes tried to take the initiative more often in the final two rounds, but did not have enough to turn things his way. Aldo finished with a heavily swollen left eye.
In the co-main event, American Phil Davis (13-2), a former NCAA wrestling national champion, beat Brazilian Glover Teixeira (22-4) by unanimous decision to earn his first shot at challenging light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Teixeira lost to Jones in his previous fight.
In other main card fights, Beneil Dariush of Iran beat Brazilian Diego Ferreira in a unanimous decision in the lightweight division, and Darren Elkins of the US edged Brazilian Lucas Martins with a split decision in the featherweight division.
Brazilian Fabio Maldonado got past Hans Stringer of the Netherlands with a technical knockout in the second round in a light heavyweight matchup.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and