“Two more Brazilians become National heroes at home.”
Hey everyone, Harrison back at it once again with a brand new review (One actually on time as well!), for you, and this time, the UFC’s 3rd trip to Brazil, with UFC Rio: Aldo vs Mendes. On the card, Terry Etim faced Edson Barboza in the Lightweight Division, we had Vitor Belfort faced a bloated Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in his Middle Light Heavyweight Debut, and in the Main Event, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, defended his crown against Team Alpha Male sensation Chad “Money” Mondes, undefeated at 11-0. It’s UFC 142, here, on The Harrison Analysis!
Edson Barboza (9-0) vs Terry Etim (15-3) (Lightweight Division)
Round 1: Etim being very aggressive to start and immediately shoots, taking Barboza down. But, Etim can’t hold him down and Barboza bounces straight up almost instantly. They stand and exchange some punches and a combo by Barboza, before Etim takes him down again. Same result though as Barboza pops right back up again. Barboza lands two wicked leg kicks, targeting Etim’s leading front leg. Barboza going upstairs with a couple of hooks, and then a high kick. Etim lands a high kick back. Barboz going for the leg kicks again, Etim not checking. Barboza lands a spinning back kick to end the round. (10-9 Barboza. Despite the takedowns from Etim, Barboza picked him apart standing.)
Round 2: Second round, and Barboza resumes attacking the front leg of Etim, landing a few leg kicks here and there. After a nice left from Barboza, Etim shoots for a double while in the clinch, but Barboza stuffs him. Barboza lands a nice combo, ending with a body kick. Etim comes back and lands a nice combo of his own on Barboza, and shoots, taking Barboza down again, but once again, Barboza pops right up, ending the round. (10-9 Barboza. More of the same, more effective striking)
Round 3: Barboza opening the 3rd, like he did the 1st and 2nd, going for Etim’s lead leg. Etim lands a good jab as Barboza comes forward. Etim shoots for the takedown but its shrugged off. Barboza lands a spinning back kick and DOWN GOES ETIM! UNBELIEVABLE!
Winner: Edson Barboza via Knockout (Spinning Back Kick, 2:02 of Round 3)
Harrison’s Analysis: Simply put, one of the sweetest KO’s you’ll ever see. Caught Etim right on the jaw, and I’m happy for Barboza getting such a beautiful KO, but man, I do wish it wasn’t fellow Brit Etim on the receiving end. But was a stunning KO, one that’ll be in UFC Highlight reels for years to come. What a stunning moment. Edson Barboza, welcome to the Top 15. ★★★★
Carlo Prater (29-10-1) vs Erick Silva (13-1) (Welterweight Division)
Round 1: Erick Silva goes sttaight from Prater like a mad man, catching Prater with a knee and he goes down! Silva jumps on him and some hammer fists reign down, and it is all over, just like that!
Wait a minute, hold the phone, we have a problem. Yamasaki is saying that Silva is DQ’ed for multiple shots to the back of the head. Contraversy here!
Winner: Carlo Prater via DQ (Illegal Punches to the back of the Head, 29 seconds of Round 1)
Harrison’s Analysis: Two things regarding this whole situation. 1) Joe Rogan should never have interviewed Yamasaki. Half the crowd would have had no clue what he was saying, it made for awkward TV and it brought the quality of the programming down. 2) He had a point though, because maybe only 1 punch at the most really hit Prater in the “Back of the head”. I use inverted comments because a back of the head shot is pretty vague, but according to John McCarthy, it’s like a strip of duck tape down the centre of a guy’s head. A punch there, would be considered a shot to the back of the head. But yeah, Silva was a bease there, simple as that, shame he had the win taken away though. Wonder if it’ll get overturned. No rating due to calamity.
Mike Massenzio (13-5) vs Rousimar Palhares (22-3) (Middleweight Division)
Round 1: The fighters trade a few leg kicks to start the action. Massenzio gets clipped in the cup so they pause briefly. “Cue Joe Rogan explaining the Thai Cup for the 50th time”. Palhares rushes forward and takes Massenzio down and nails him with a deep heel hook submission! Wow, NEVER roll with Paul Harris!
Winner: Rousimar Palhares via Submission (Heel Hook, 1:03 of Round 1)
Harrison’s Analysis: NEVER roll with Palhares, he will tear your limb off! End of discussion. Seriously, man’s a firecracker of a fighter, and a knee submission is freaking horrible, especially for someone as strong, and as well versed in BJJ as Palhares is. Palhares moving quickly up the ladder, maybe Miller next, when he learns some cardio. ★★★ ½
Vitor Belfort (20-9) vs Anthony Johnson (10-3) (197 Pound Catchweight Fight)
Round 1: Johnson firing off kicks like lightning bolts to start. Belfort comes forward but Johnson catches the leg and slams him to the ground. Johnson from full guard, but can’t improve his position so they are stood up. Johnson tries for a single leg takedown but its stuffed against the cage. Belfort sprawls and lands some shots on Johnson. Ref stands them up again. Johnson pouring it on and takes Belfort down again. Both men already look exhausted. The ref stands them up yet again. Belfort takes Johnson down! Belfort takes Johnson’s back. Belfort with some vicious elbows! Belfort, with a closed eye and all, gets the choke out! What a fight!
Winner: Vitor Belfort via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke, 4:49 of Round 1)
Harrison’s Analysis: For anyone not in the know as to why this was a 197 catchweight fight, Johnson passed out while trying to cut weight for the fight, and had to be rehydrated, so he had NO chance of making 185 after that. Johnson came in at 197, and Vitor took the fight on the condition that Johnson was 205 or under the following morning. Johnson came in at 204.2 when that happened, and to the cage, Johnson was 211 while Belfort was 206. Interesting look at what happens when weight cuts go wrong, so yeah…Johnson I doubt will still be in a job after this epic failure of a process.
Awesome fight though, both men looked done, and at any moment either of them could have gone down. It was interesting as well that the ref, Big Dan, was very fast with the three stand-ups. Worked though, a cracking fight, and the crowd erupted when Belfort got the Submission. Amazing! ★★★★
Jose Aldo (Champion, 20-1) vs Chad Mendes (11-0) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Round 1: Mendes going for the legs of Aldo early, swinging some decent leg kicks. Aldo kicks him back and buckles the leg of his opponent. (Man, Aldo’s leg kicks are stunning) Mendes shoots for the takedown but Aldo gets out of the way. Aldo with more leg kicks. First time I’ve seen Aldo fight a guy smaller than him for sometime, maybe since Faber. Mendes shoots for a single and gets hit and stuffed for his trouble. Mendes tries again and is stuffed again. (there’s a reason why Aldo has 92% Takedown Defence) Aldo coming forward now but Mendes ducks and shoots for a takedown. Mendes has Aldo’s back against the cage. Aldo spins out and knees Mendes directly in the face! He’s out! Right at the buzzer! And it is all over!
Winner and still UFC Featherweight Champion: Jose Aldo via Knockout (Knee, 4:59 of Round 1)
Harrison’s Analysis: 4:59?! Talk about a buzzer beater! And my all time favorite UFC moment occurred afterwards, with Jose Aldo, running straight into the Brazilian crowd and celebrating. the Brazilian crowd exploding, and Aldo being carried back to the arena like a National Hero! Unreal, and a stunning KO, right on Mendes’ jaw, and just like that, Aldo can very much call himself the #2 P4P fighter on the planet, with that astonishing 21-1 record, 11 fight win streak in the Zuffa banner (Now =2nd with Royce Gracie on the all time list), and right back on form with yet another stunning KO. 4 stars for the fight, 5 for the aftermath, I’ll split the difference. ★★★★ ½
Harrison’s Final Analysis on UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes
My favorite UFC event ever. TWO stunning KO’s, TWO superb submissions, a bit of controversy and an amazing crowd? Tebow-who? Watch this event. DO IT. DO IT NOW! An early fight card of the year contender (I’ve been Andre Harrison, thanks very much for reading, and Sayonara!)
Harrison’s UFC 142 Rating (Aldo vs Mendes): 10 out of 10 – Virtually Perfect
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