Jose Aldo entered tonight's (Sat., Feb. 1, 2014) UFC 169: "Barao vs. Faber 2" pay-per-view (PPV) event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, having successfully defended his featherweight championship each of the five times he was tasked with doing so inside the Octagon. That doesn't include the two times he did it under the WEC banner.
Ricardo Lamas was the man tasked with taking the title off him.
He failed.
Aldo was patient as could be in the opening frame, picking his spots and finding openings when presented. That includes clubbing blows that had to sneak past Lamas' defense, which was, admittedly enough, outstanding.
"Scarface", however, was just that much better.
That includes vicious body shots and super hard leg kicks that had the challenger hopping on one foot at various points. Really, it always felt like the Brazilian was ready to strike at the speed of light with a fury Lamas couldn't hope to contain. He just needed to find the right spot to do it.
And that's how most of the fight looked.
It was the fourth round that saw Aldo gain dominant position on the mat, mounting Lamas and and quickly taking his back before attempting a rear-naked choke that came close but failed to earn him a submission.
Still, it was clear Ricardo needed a finish in the fifth and final frame to win.
It never happened.
Final scores from the judges: 49-46 across the board, all for Aldo.
For complete UFC 169 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.