I find Bendo to be a very underrated champion, he was a WEC Lightweight Champion and came over to the UFC beating guys like Jim Miller & Clay Guida then dethroning Frankie Edgar convincingly once, and nearly a draw the second time. Most recently he beat Nate Diaz in a dominant performance despite the fact that many people thought Diaz would beat him. The guy gets a lot of doubt but seems to always rise to the occasion. People are saying Aldo will beat Edgar and then Bendo but I find both of those fights to be very risky. I predict Aldo to defeat Edgar via close UD or split decision but I think it could go either way and will likely end in some controversy. Bendo on the other-hand though is bigger than Frankie, has a more versatile attack & also possess good wrestling and submission defense. Bendo could be competitive on the feet with Aldo and despite Aldo's notable TDD, in the later rounds Bendo's size and wrestling could wear Aldo down. Hominick got Aldo down in the 5th, whose to say a larger and better wrestler couldn't do the same or even better? Not sure if I'd say Bendo would win but I'd find it hard to so wholeheartedly side with Aldo without giving it a lot of thought.
Aldo will be giving up a lot of size to Henderson. He'll have a speed advantage, but definitely not an endurance advantage. Makings of a great fight, hopefully one we'll see by the end of 2013.
Both of these guys share the same athletic attributes, I would give a bit more speed to Aldo, but size would most definitely go to Benson. I wouldn't choose sides, but I would love to see these two fight one another.
Aldo was spent by the 5th due to a bad weight cut (allegedly). Since then his TDD has looked amazing. Especially against Mendes, his TDD in that fight was some of the best I've ever seen.
To be fair, we only saw 1 round of Aldo vs. Mendes. Now obviously it was because Aldo stopped Mendes with a well-timed knee to the face but who knows how Aldo's TDD would of have held up for another 4 more rounds.
How explosive and powerful would Mendes shot's have been if his legs kept getting chewed up by Aldo's leg kicks?
REALLY tough call. Bendo will have a size and wrestling advantage, but Aldo is on a WHOLE nother level in terms of striking than anyone else Bendo has faced and both are legit guys on the ground from what I've heard. Would be some serious Clash of the Titans level shit right there.
I think he could out wrestle Aldo for a UD. I think Aldo wins in every other category though. Would be a very interesting fight!!
Uhm shots tend to get slower and less explosive as the fight wears on. Especially when you eat leg kicks from the best leg kicker in the entire leg kicking universe. Mendes was 0-7 in takedowns and Aldos career takedown defense percentage is 95%. He has probably the best takedown defense in the history of mma. I think Aldo should be a favorite if he fights Bendo. He's a vastly superior striker, an extremely strong grappler and the far better finisher. If Bendo does win it will be because he has better cardio but Aldo has shown very solid cardio in all his fights besides with Hominick and he was sick and coming off an awful weight cut in that fight. At lw he should have even better cardio.
