Aldo vs. Faber had everything an MMA fan could ask for, from quick finishes to shocking upsets to dominant title defenses to controversial decisions and one absolute WAR that many are already calling the "Fight of the Year."
In the main event Jose Aldo proved he's worth the $44.95 as he absolutely Rick Roll'd the "California Kid" Urijah Faber.
Aldo used his leg kicks as a battle axe cleaving at Urijah's thigh for five rounds. Faber proved powerless to stop the twenty-five minute amputation on his left leg as the only defense he could muster was to constantly switch stances. It was to no avail as Aldo's kicks completely neutralized Urijah's mobility, power and technique, turning the former champion into a zero-dimensional statue rather than the dynamic fighter MMA fans have come to expect.
In the third round, Urijah began to pirouette (that means twirl for those not familiar with ballet) in a vain attempt to reduce the force of the leg kicks. At one point the former champion even somersaulted across the canvas after his leg was bludgeoned. Heading into the final round, Urijah's coaches had to physically pick the "California Kid" up in order to get him to the corner. Aldo had quite literally cut his opponent's legs out from under him.
Despite Aldo's complete and utter domination, the fight ended with a whimper as Jose let up in the final frame, not finishing his deflated opponent. When the judges read the scorecards, it was unanimous, Jose Aldo defeated Urijah Faber and retained the featherweight title.
Heading into the fight many believed Jose Aldo was the superior fighter but that didn't make it any less shocking to see the the ease with which he dispatched the WEC's biggest star. Whether or not Aldo can pull a Mega Man and absorbs his defeated opponent's drawing power and fame will be something to watch in the future but clearly the page has turned on Urijah Faber, the champion.
In the evening's co-main event Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone met in a rematch of last year's "Fight of the Year" where Henderson defeated Cerrone in a controversial decision. This time, Henderson left no doubt as he submitted Cerrone in under two minutes.
Former featherweight champion, Mike Brown, was the victim of a shocking knockout upset at the hands of Manny "Manvil" Gamburyan. Manny, a native Armenian, decided to use his post-fight interview to give Americans a history and geography lesson, as Gamburyan went on to talk about the controversial Armenian genocide. "Manvil? will probably be unable to get that State Department job he was holding out for in case this whole beating people up for a living thing doesn't work out.
Last week, Anthony Njokuani said that he had an improved ground game that would be able to stuff Shane Roller's takedowns. Unfortunately, his improvements were akin to a Windows Vista update, as Roller took Njokuani down and submitted him with ease.
The fight that is getting the most attention on the card was actually a free preliminary fight on Spike television. Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung "The Korean Zombie" Jung engaged in a three round slugfest (T.J. Desantis would say that's $lugfest).
For fifteen minutes, these men stood toe-to-toe, exchanging broadsides like some ancient man-of-wars. The fact that neither fighter was knocked out despite throwing punches with the power of bunker busters left many wondering if they were in fact zombies. Joe Rogan marveled at the barrage of haymakers, saying, "It's like a real life Rocky movie." All that was missing was Hearts on Fire blaring and the winner screaming "Adrian" in the post-fight interview.
When the scores were read aloud it was Leonard Garcia who edged out "the Korean Zombie" in a split decision. Fans immediately cried foul and the numbers back up a Jung win, but the WEC got their Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar. It's just too bad that the WEC logo was nowhere to be seen throughout the night. In fact, Zuffa completely whitewashed the WEC brand from the broadcast as the UFC attempted to hoodwink the fans into thinking they were watching a UFC event.
Not that it really matters as both promotions are owned by the same company and fans were saved from a six week MMA malaise with a fight card that was worth every bit of the $44.95.
Official Results
· Champ Jose Aldo def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-45, 49-45). Aldo retains featherweight title.
· Champ Benson Henderson def. Donald Cerrone via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:57. Henderson retains lightweight title.
· Manny Gamburyan def. Mike Brown via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:22.
· Shane Roller def. Anthony Njokuani via submission (rear naked choke) - Round 1, 3:07.
· Scott Jorgensen def. Antonio Banuelos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
· Leonard Garcia def. Chan Sung Jung via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
· Anthony Pettis def. Alex Karalexis via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:35.
· Brad Pickett defeats Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
· Chad Mendes def. Anthony Morrison via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:13.
· Takeya Mizugaki def. Rani Yahya via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
Tyler Toner def. Brandon Visher via TKO (elbows) - Round 1, 2:36.
