Jose Aldo got to demonstrate both his striking and ground game tonight at UFC Vegas 17 as he earned himself a unanimous decision victory over Marlon Vera.
Round One:
Front kick attempt from Vera. Outside leg kick for him. Body punch for Aldo. Oblique kicks from Vera and then an outside leg kick.
Vera continuing to work the leg kicks and then drives in for a takedown. Aldo stays upright and Vera pressures him up against the cage.
Aldo landing some cuffing hands to the ear and occasional body punch as Vera lands an occasional knee and still thinking about the takedown.
Aldo able to reverse this position against the cage and then backs away. Oblique kick to the knee from Vera. Now a head kick attempt that comes off the guard.
Outside leg kick from Vera. Hard body shot from Aldo. He lands another clinical left hand to the body.
Body punch for Aldo and now a hard leg kick. He digs in another powerful leg kick. Vera won’t want to take many more of those.
Body kick for Vera. Aldo with a punch as Vera moves into the clinch. Aldo shoves him away and gets back to striking range. Aldo with a straight body punch.
Vera with a head kick that seemed to partially land, but Aldo responds with another power leg kick. Vera trying to respond in kind as the round ends.
Round Two:
Vera kicks to the knee and then a side kick to the body. Three power punches to the body from Aldo. Now a hard inside leg kick. head kick attempt from Vera comes off the arm.
Body punch for Aldo. Now an outside leg kick. Another kick to the knee from Vera. Nice counter left and a right from Aldo.
Another punch to the midsection from Aldo. Again he connects to the bread basket. Now a left hand for Aldo that knocked Vera off-balance momentarily, but he doesn’t seem hurt.
Front kick to the body from Vera. Left hook for Aldo. Outside leg kick for Vera. Solid right hand from Aldo. Now an uppercut.
Two-piece combo to the body from Aldo. Front kick attempt upstairs from Vera. Another solid punch to the body for Aldo. Vera with a spinning backfist that got through.
Vera into a takedown attempt against the cage. Vera landing knees to the body and Aldo responds with one of his own.
Knees exchanged now, but more from Vera. He tries for a trip takedown, but Aldo’s takedown defense is remarkable.
Back to striking range. Low leg kick for Vera. Left hand for him. Again Vera goes into the clinch against the cage. He lands a few knees to to the body.
Aldo tries to reverse the clinch, but Vera does the same and lands to the body with another knee. Knee from Aldo and another. He finally gets free from the clinch, but it’s just as the round ends.
Round Three:
They throw a punch apiece to start the third and then Aldo spins around to the back and is looking for a takedown, just as his coaches had suggested he do as he went out for the final round.
Aldo jumps onto Vera’s back, but he’s high and might slide off. Vera’s trying to shake him off, but then drops to his knees and that enables Aldo to secure the back position with the body triangle sunk in.
Aldo trying for a rear-naked choke, but then lets that go. He’s thinking about transitioning to full mount, but then decides against it and goes back to working for the rear-naked choke again. Aldo fighting his hands off for now though.
Vera trying to land punches behind him. Two minutes remaining and Vera gets to his knees, but Aldo is still firmly locked onto his back. Vera standing back up with a backpack on.
Vera walks Aldo across the Octagon to where his corner is. Vera drops back to the mat and Aldo still has that tight body triangle and is staying in control here as Vera tries to land punches behind him.
Aldo trying for the rear-naked choke. Vera gets to his knees and stands, then drops back down, but can’t get Aldo off and the former featherweight champ stays safely in control for the remaining seconds of the round.
Decision:
Close fight then, with Vera keeping a good pace, but Aldo was landing the harder blows, particularly with his leg kicks, while in the third round he smartly took the fight to the mat and controlled the action from his opponents back to ensure the unanimous decision would go in his favor (29-28 x3).
