UFC 179 start time and schedule: Who is fighting tonight, when and why

Fight day!

Get all the info you need with our UFC 179: "Aldo vs Mendes" fight day preview for the pay-per-view (PPV) event, which goes down later this evening (Sat., Oct. 25, 2014) with an enticing offering after a three-week lull between events.

And it all happens LIVE from Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a PPV start time of 10 p.m. ET (for up-to-date UFC 179 results click here).

Below is everything you need to know about the mixed martial arts (MMA) extravaganza going down in "Rio."

Who: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes for UFC's featherweight title
What: UFC 179 
When: Sat., Oct. 25, 2014, beginning at 10 p.m. ET on PPV
Where: Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
How To Watch: PPV main card at 10 p.m ET; UFC on FOX Sports 1 "Prelims" under card at 8 p.m ET; and UFC Fight Pass early "Prelims" at 7 p.m. ET.
Live UFC 178 results: Play-by-play coverage stream

Why It Matters: How could you ever miss a Jose Aldo fight? UFC's Featherweight champion has never lost under the Zuffa banner, boasting a 17-fight win streak since 2005. The craziest part? Aldo is seemingly improving every successive bout, making exceptional fighters look nothing more than average on multiple occasions. While critics will state he has a poor gas tank, or he fights safely, the facts are that Aldo is among the five best pound-for-pound fighters on this planet today. If you are an MMA fan, you can not miss the master at work.

What's Hot: There aren't too many consequential bouts on this PPV, but the main event title fight and the co-main event match are certainly intriguing and important bouts. Fans will find out if Mendes truly has evolved since his first bout with Aldo. If so, we could be in for quite an exciting back-and-forth fight as Mendes looks to ground the indomitable champion. We will also learn whether or not Phil Davis will ever get a chance to contend for the UFC title. Simply put, if Davis can't beat Glover Teixeira tonight, it will be quite difficult for him to ever earn a crack at UFC gold.

What's Not: This card looks a lot more like an awesome Brazilian-flavored "Fight Night" card and a lot less like a PPV. The three bouts before the co-main and main event? Fabio Maldonado vs. Hans Stringer, Darren Elkins vs. Lucas Martins and Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Beneil Dariush. Cool, I guess.

New Blood:

-- Christos Giagos (vs. Gilbert Burns) 10-2, including six (technical) knockouts and two submission victories. Former RFA and Tachi Palace Fights Lightweight champion. Recently defeated Dakota Cochrane and Chris Tickle.

Original Card vs. Actual Card: This is one of the few cards of the year that had very little changes because of injuries or otherwise. Obviously the main event for this PPV was initially scheduled for defunct UFC 176, but an injury to Aldo forced the promotion to postpone the title fight to UFC 179.

The other changes were quite minimal. Fabrício Camoes was initially scheduled to take on Josh Shockley on the "Prelims" portion of the event, but an injury to Shockley allowed Tony Martin to take his place on what is now the first fight of the evening.

Beneil Dariush was expected to face Brazilian Alan Patrick, but a horrendous jaw injury forced the Lightweight out of the fight. Fellow Brazilian, Carlos Diego Ferreira stepped up on short notice to take on Dariush in the first fight on the PPV main card.

How The Prelims Look: Honestly, these "Prelims" are not too shabby. The main event of the FOX Sports 1-televised under card features 2014's most underrated fighter in Neil Magny. Wait, Neil Magny? Yes, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) veteran from the loathed season 16 is undefeated (4-0) in 2014, and has vastly improved from his time on the show. Magny steps into enemy territory as he faces off against savvy Brazilian striker William Macario.

The other bouts to watch out for are the Flyweight tilt between Scott Jorgensen and Wilson Reis, as well as the Featherweight bout between Andre Fili and Felipe Arantes. While none of these fighters will likely ever get a UFC title shot, they always put on an exciting show for the fans.

Who Needs a Win Badly: This portion is reserved for fighters who could be fighting for their jobs tonight, rather than contenders or title challengers needing victory. Let's take a look at those who need to pull it together:

-- Fabricio Camoes (vs. Tony Martin): This is likely a loser leaves town match. Camoes is coming off two straight losses, and has only fought twice in the last 27 months. To make matters worse for the Brazilian, his overall UFC record is 1-3 with one draw.

-- Tony Martin (vs. Fabricio Camoes): Martin came into UFC as a highly touted undefeated (8-0) prospect from American Top Team. Since then he has lost two straight fights, failing to impress in either outing. If he can't beat Camoes, he'll be back on regional cards in 2015.

Interest Level: 6/10

UFC 179 is not nearly as disastrous as the paltry UFC 177 PPV, but it is definitely a weak event over all. When UFC is able to put together PPV events such as UFC 178 and UFC 181, why are we being asked to shell out $55 for an enticing main event alone? It may be time for UFC to seriously consider having less PPV's to bulk up the cards with several consequential and intriguing bouts.

Being brutally critical here, but the co-main event is not exactly getting anyone giddy with excitement, so this really is a one-fight PPV. The facts are, however, that if Aldo is fighting, I am buying. That alone is the reason this card gets a 6/10 in my book. It is just an added bonus that Mendes seems to be a legitimate challenger to the featherweight kingpin.

Anyhow, enjoy the show!

Check out the full UFC 179: "Aldo vs Mendes"  fight card below:

PPV Main Event:

145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes

PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira
205 lbs.: Fabio Maldonado vs. Hans Stringer
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Lucas Martins
155 lbs.: Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira

FOX Sports 1 Prelims (8 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: William Macario vs. Neil Magny
155 lbs.: Yan Cabral vs. Naoyuki Kotani
125 lbs.: Scott Jorgensen vs. Wilson Reis
145 lbs.: Felipe Arantes vs. Andre Fili

Fight Pass Prelims (7 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Gilbert Burns vs. Christos Giagos
155 lbs.: Fabricio Camoes vs. Tony Martin

Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 179 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches, which are scheduled to begin TONIGHT at 7 p.m. ET, right on through the FOX Sports 1 prelims at 8 p.m. ET, and finally the PPV main card scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET.

See you then!