Mendes Gets Another Shot at Aldo's Featherweight Title at UFC 179
By:
Don Best Staff |
Friday, October 24, 2014
Jose Aldo Opened as a -250 Favorite Against Chad Mendes.
Top featherweight contender Chad "Money" Mendes rides a
five-fight winning streak into Saturday's UFC 179 main event against champion
Jose Aldo in hopes of leaving Brazil with the title belt. However, Aldo (24-1) has
won 17 in a row with a much more impressive resume, which includes a
first-round knockout of Mendes (16-1) at UFC 142 nearly three years ago.
That loss to Aldo is the only blemish on Mendes' MMA career record,
and he is very motivated to erase that with a victory in Rio de Janeiro. The
location of the first fight was also in Rio, giving the champ a significant
edge with his home country behind him. Aldo opened as a -250 favorite (bet $250
to win $100) at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, with early money coming in on
the challenger Mendes, who is now a +195 underdog (bet $100 to win $195). Click here
to check latest UFC 179 betting odds.
Mendes has finished all but one of his past five opponents
during the winning streak, earning a unanimous decision victory in his last
bout against Nik Lentz at UFC on FOX 9 last Dec. 14. All four of the finishes
have been knockouts, and he has six total to go along with two submissions
overall in his career. Aldo has just two finishes in his past six fights since
joining the UFC as the WEC featherweight champ. He is coming off a UD win over
Ricardo Lamas at UFC 169 on Feb. 1.
The co-main event at UFC 179 pits a pair of light
heavyweights who lost on the same card at UFC 172 on April 26. Glover Teixeira (22-3)
fell to light heavyweight champ Jon "Bones" Jones via UD in the main event
while his opponent Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (12-2) also dropped a decision to
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the co-main. Teixeira opened as a -280 favorite
against Davis (+240), and he has since skyrocketed to -380 at the SuperBook
with "Mr. Wonderful" jumping to +320.
There are nine other bouts at UFC 179 with three more on the
main card and six in the prelims. The biggest betting favorite is lightweight
Yan Cabral (-800) facing Naoyuki Kotani (+550), who is 33-11-7 and fighting for
the second time in his second stint with the UFC. Cabral previously competed in
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 but has to leave the show after suffering an
injury.
UFC 179 Picks:
Aldo -230, Lucas Martins +170, Wilson Reis -185
For more UFC 179 betting coverage, visit www.MMAOddsBreaker.com.