Aldo, Mendes Given UFC 142 Green Light; Johnson Misses Weight

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Chad Mendes wants what rests around the waist of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, and, nearly 7,000 miles from his California home, he will get his chance to take it.

Mendes checked in at 144 pounds for his five-round title bout with Aldo (145) in the UFC 142 headliner on Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The eight other men booked for main card duty also made weight without issue at Friday’s official weigh-in, with one glaring exception.

* Anthony Johnson, scheduled to make his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort (186) in the co-headliner, failed to meet the mandatory 186-pound threshold and will surrender 20 percent of his purse to his opponent after tipping the scales at 197 pounds. If Johnson does not weigh 205 pounds or less by a pre-determined time on Saturday, the bout will be canceled, according to UFC President Dana White.

Aldo has cemented himself as one of the premier pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, emerging during an historic tear through World Extreme Cagefighting. The 25-year-old Nova Uniao standout will enter the cage on a 13-fight winning streak, having defeated three-time UFC title contender Kenny Florian by unanimous decision in October. A world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu player and explosive standup fighter, Aldo has secured more than half (14) of his 20 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. However, he has gone the distance three times in his last four appearances.

One-sided wins over Mendes’ Team Alpha Male mentor Urijah Faber and American Top Team’s Mike Thomas Brown notwithstanding, it could be argued that Aldo has never faced a wrestler the caliber of his current foe. A two-time Pac-10 Conference champion and NCAA All-American at California Polytechnic State University, Mendes went 30-1 as a senior and reached the national final at 141 pounds. Perfect and virtually unscathed through 11 professional appearances, Mendes has not competed since he defeated 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Rani Yahya by unanimous decision at UFC 133 in August.

UFC 142 “Aldo vs. Mendes” -- which airs live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. ET -- will also feature a middleweight duel matching Brazilian leg lock savant Rousimar Palhares (186) with Mike Massenzio (184), a welterweight tilt pitting Erick Silva (169) against Carlo Prater (170) and a lightweight bout pairing the unbeaten Edson Barboza (154) with Terry Etim (155). Two hours prior, FX will carry four preliminary matchups, as Thiago Tavares (155) locks horns with Sam Stout (155), Gabriel Gonzaga (250) meets Edinaldo Oliveira (229), Yuri Alcantara (145) collides with Michihiro Omigawa (146) and Mike Pyle (171) squares off with Ricardo Funch (170). The opening undercard bout, a featherweight battle between Antonio Carvalho (144) and Felipe Arantes (145), will be streamed to the UFC’s Facebook page.

UFC 142 “Aldo vs. Mendes”
Saturday, Jan. 14
HSBC Arena
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

UFC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Chad Mendes (144)

Vitor Belfort (186) vs. Anthony Johnson (*197)
Rousimar Palhares (186) vs. Mike Massenzio (184)
Erick Silva (169) vs. Carlo Prater (170)
Edson Barboza (154) vs. Terry Etim (155)
Thiago Tavares (155) vs. Sam Stout (155)
Gabriel Gonzaga (250) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (229)
Yuri Alcantara (145) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (146)
Mike Pyle (171) vs. Ricardo Funch (170)
Antonio Carvalho (144) vs. Felipe Arantes (145)