Chad Mendes proved Saturday that he is far and away the second-best featherweight in the world.
Unfortunately for him, Jose Aldo still proved that he's the best.
Despite a visibly better performance against the champion in his second shot at the UFC title, Mendes ultimately came up empty yet again. UFC on Fox tweeted out the official scorecards for the five-round bout:
Official result: Jose Aldo def. Chad Mendes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46). Still the featherweight champ. Awesome fight.
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) October 26, 2014
When looking back on this one, Mendes should still be proud of his effort in this bout. After suffering a first-round knockout in the first bout, Money was able to make this second bout a fight.
From the opening bell, the fight was characterized by intense exchanges such as the one described by Bleacher Report MMA:
Mendes rocked Aldo, Aldo responds by rocking him right back. Mendes dumps Aldo...almost. Both men recovering quickly.
— Bleacher Report MMA (@BR_MMA) October 26, 2014
It was in exchanges like the one described above that the evolution of Mendes as a fighter was revealed. In the first fight, Mendes approached the championship bout as a wrestler first and fighter second. When looking at the stats from FightMetric, it's no surprise Aldo was able to catch him with a knee. Mendes attempted seven takedowns in the opening frame.
Failing at seven takedowns isn't going to get the job done.
However, a new Mendes came out in the first round of the rematch. This Mendes was able to stand with Aldo and even rock him from time to time with a stand-up attack that had purpose. The challenger from Alpha Male attempted just one takedown in the first round this time.
| UFC 142 | UFC 179 | |
| 13 | Sig. Strikes Landed | 25 |
| 23 | Sig. Strikes Thrown | 44 |
| 0-for-7 | Takedowns | 0-for-1 |
| 11 | Sig. Strikes Absorbed | 37 |
Stats via FightMetric
But Mendes didn't just stop with a strong first round. The one criticism of Aldo has always been his cardio, and Mendes did well to put that to the test. Using his newfound striking skills, the challenger looked to push the pace and make Aldo earn his title defense over the course of five rounds.
Jose Aldo is champion for a reason, though. Despite the criticisms for his perceived lack of cardio, he showed it's possible there's room for him to evolve, too. Rather than go into cruise control and allow Mendes the opportunity to get back in the fight, he remained steady.
In fact, Aldo threw more significant strikes than Mendes in all but the second round.
With growing buzz that Demetrious Johnson might be the best little man in the sport, this was a resounding reminder to MMA fans that Aldo is still the most dynamic small fighter in the sports. His domination of the division has been thorough and longstanding.
Michael Carroll of FightMetric highlighted that reign:
Aldo moves one win closer to tying Anderson Silva for the longest combined win streak in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/SF history with his 15th straight.
— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) October 26, 2014
Mendes' losing effort has to be discouraging to the rest of the division. A potential bout with Conor McGregor would sell tickets because of his burgeoning stardom. But if an improved Chad Mendes can still only score one round in the eyes of the judge, then there isn't much hope for McGregor.
For now, UFC 179 proved one thing—Jose Aldo is the best featherweight in the world. It isn't even close.
