NEWARK, N.J. – Jose Aldo did it again. The UFC featherweight champ spent the first four rounds outclassing challenger Ricardo Lamas, then settled for surviving the fifth, resulting in a clear-cut unanimous decision victory (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) for the 145-pound titleholder.
The featherweight title bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC 169 event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
It was vintage Aldo for most of the bout. Mixing punch combinations with brutal, chopping leg kicks, Aldo methodically battered Lamas while absorbing next to no damage for the first few rounds. The closest he came to a finish was in the fourth, when he took the challenger’s back and nearly locked up a rear-naked choke.
It was in the fifth and final round that Lamas’ desperation started to aid his cause. He took the top position from a visibly weary Aldo for the first time, and launched a ground-and-pound assault that amounted to his most significant offense all night. But it was too little, too late for Lamas, as Aldo seemed content to hold on and wait for the judges to hand him another victory.
Aldo (24-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) defends his UFC title for the sixth time with the victory. Lamas (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffers his first loss inside the octagon.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 169 results include:
For complete coverage of UFC 169, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.
John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Newark.
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