UFC 179 took place on Saturday, October 25th at the Maracanazinho Gymnasium, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As expected, the main card of the event was relatively poor in comparison to the average UFC pay-per-view. However, the outstanding back-and-forth main event between UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo and contender Chad Mendes made this card a must watch.
For the first time in a long time, we saw Aldo tested and forced to fight back at his best, and move forward in the later rounds instead of sitting back and counter striking as per usual. Mendes even became the first man to knock Aldo down in the UFC.
This fight was much, much closer than the 49-46 scorecards from all three judges would indicate. Most of those rounds, if not all of them were quite close. Both men were rocked multiple times, and near finishes were constant.
When all was said and done, a battered Jose Aldo would win his 18th straight bout and defend his UFC Featherweight title for the seventh consecutive time.
Full results for UFC 179 below.
Main card:
Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Phil Davis def. Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Fabio Maldonado def. Hans Stringer via TKO – Round 2, 4:06
Darren Elkins def. Lucas Martins via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 30-27)
Beneil Dariush def. Carlos Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card:
Neil Magny def. William Macario via TKO – Round 3, 2:40
Yan Cabral def. Naoyuki Kotani via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:06
Wilson Reis def. Scott Jorgensen via submission (arm triangle) – Round 1, 3:28
Andre Fili def. Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Gilbert Burns def. Christos Giagos via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:57
Tony Martin def. Fabricio Camoes via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 4:16
Of The Night Awards:
Fight of the Night: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
Performances of the Night: Fabio Maldonado & Gilbert Burns