[autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] reminded fans once again he still has plenty to give inside the octagon with a high-profile win over [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] in the UFC 265 co-main event.
Aldo (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) put on a defensive and counter-striking clinic over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision over Munhoz (19-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) with a trio of 30-27 scores.
The featherweight bout was the UFC 265 co-main event at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Munhoz immediately took the center of the octagon and threw a spinning back kick at Aldo. Munhoz charged forward with combinations before retreating and throwing multiple leg kicks. Aldo, as usual, was content to stay on the outside and looked to counter when Munhoz threw. Munhoz’s output was higher, but Aldo landed some effective body punches in an extremely evenly contested round.
Aldo picked up to the pace a bit more going into the second round. He continued to rip nasty hooks to the body and do good work behind his jab, but Munhoz stayed in his face with low kicks and punches from inside the pocket. Aldo remained composed through all the offense thrown his way, though, avoiding Munhoz’s big shots and sliding in strikes of his own in another competitive round.
With the pair going tit for tat for the first 10 minutes, Aldo and Munhoz came out aggressive to start the third round. Aldo started to put multiple strikes together with his combinations and stung Munhoz with some hard shots that snapped his head back. Munhoz tried to walk his fellow Brazilian down and land a momentum-shifting shot, but Aldo remained too slick in avoiding serious damage. Aldo landed some powerful legs kicks down the stretch, and stayed on point while Munhoz came at him to secure the victory on the scorecards.
Now with back-to-back wins at 135 pounds, Aldo said he’s gunning for a second title shot in the division in pursuit of adding another belt to his long stint as featherweight champion earlier in this career.
“I want to be a champion in this division and I’ve been dedicating myself a lot in Brazil,” Aldo said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “That’s why I’m here tonight.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC 265 results include:
- Jose Aldo def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Vicente Luque def. Michael Chiesa via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 3:25
- Tecia Torres def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Song Yadong def. Casey Kenney via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Rafael Fiziev def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Vince Morales def. Drako Rodriguez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alonzo Menifield def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jessica Penne def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:32
- Manel Kape def. Ode Osbourne via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 4:44
- Miles Johns def. Anderson Dos Santos via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:16
- Melissa Gatto def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
- Johnny Munoz def. Jamey Simmons via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:35
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