Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will make his third consecutive title defense for the promotion when he takes on Team Alpha Male wrestling afficianado, Chad Mendes, at UFC 142 LIVE from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Jan. 14, 2012.
Aldo will bring a sizable home court advantage into the Octagon with him as he fights in front of what will certainly end up being a multitude of friends, family and fellow countrymen.
"Scarface" enters the fight as a -265 betting odds favorite (see a complete UFC 142 betting breakdown here). Like many who have gone before him, Mendes is not being picked to win by an overwhelming majority.
Styles make fights, and this particular match up features two very different backgrounds and disciplines.
After the jump, I'll talk about the statistical variances that should give some better insight into the UFC 142 headline bout between Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes.
Check it out:
We'd love to sit down and watch fight tape on all the big UFC fighters who will compete in each upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event. However, we don't have to because the statistical savants at CompuStrike are always willing to put in the hours and the dig up the data.
This event is no different.
The numbers collected have been based on 10 fight averages for Jose Aldo and six fight averages for Chad Mendes.
First, let's kick things off with a look at the striking game:
Total Strikes:
Aldo -- 56 of 102
Mendes -- 51 of 88
Percentage:Aldo -- 55 percent
Mendes -- 58 percentTotal Power Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 40
Mendes -- 27Total Non-Power Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 16
Mendes -- 24
In the big picture, "Money" appears to be a bit more accurate, but "Scarface" is bringing the heat with the big power shots.
Here's what the arm striking aspect of the overall striking comparison looks like:
Total Arm Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 21 of 56
Mendes -- 13 of 35Percentage of Arm Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 38 percent
Mendes -- 37 percentPower Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 15
Mendes -- 9Non-Power Strikes Landed
Aldo -- 6
Mendes -- 4
Pretty close. But, again, the power strikes favor Aldo in a fairly big way.
MMA fans have witnessed Aldo's powerful kicks and knees. You'd assume he'd hold a large advantage in this category. Would you be right?
Total Leg Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 14 of 18
Mendes -- 9 of 12
Percentage of Leg Strikes Landed:Aldo -- 78 percent
Mendes -- 75 percent
Power Leg Strikes Landed:Aldo -- 10
Mendes -- 2
Non-Power Leg Strikes Landed:Aldo -- 4
Mendes -- 7
Hate to sound like a broken record here, but it's the same story again. The overall numbers are pretty even, but Aldo edges out his opponent, once again, by landing the larger volume of power strikes.
The ground portion of this fight is particularly interesting, as it matches up a top notch wrestler against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
Let's see who the numbers favor in this realm of the fight:
Ground Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 21 of 28
Mendes -- 29 of 41
Percentage:Aldo -- 75 percent
Mendes -- 71 percent
Power Ground Strikes Landed:Aldo -- 15
Mendes -- 16Non-Power Ground Strikes Landed:
Aldo -- 6
Mendes -- 13Takedowns:
Aldo -- 8 of 11 (73 percent)
Mendes -- 28 of 38 (74 percent)
Submission Attempts:Aldo -- 0
Mendes -- 1
Dominant Positions:Aldo -- 9
Mendes -- 3
I don't know about you, but after checking the statistics, I think this championship bout may end up being a little closer than I'd originally thought.
Think I'm crazy? Or are you having second thoughts, too? Leave a comment with your best predictions on what you think will be the end result at UFC 142.
For everything else you need to know about the clash between Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes be sure to check out our complete fight archive right here.