• UFC 142

Aldo won't get Faber repeat at UFC 142 - Mendes

Jose Aldo has only been beaten once © Getty Images

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Chad Mendes has promised Jose Aldo this weekend's UFC 142 battle will be nothing like Aldo's brutal domination of Urijah Faber back in 2010.

Faber is arguably the last opponent boasting top drawer wrestling capabilities to have faced Aldo. On that night, the reigning UFC featherweight champion delivered arguably the best performance of his career, chopping away at Faber's legs so badly that he could not walk back to his own corner.

Since then Manny Gamburyan, Mark Hominick and Kenny Florian have all tried and failed to beat Aldo, although none boasted Mendes' wrestling capabilities.

Mendes has the advantage of being a training partner of Faber, so he is as prepared as he can be for Saturday's fight in Brazil. And the undefeated 26-year-old insists he will get his hands on the champion.

"It doesn't make me nervous," Mendes said of Faber's loss to the Bleacher Report. "It really helps me out. We saw what his game plan would be against a wrestler.

"For me, it's a way to pick Urijah's brain to see where Aldo's strengths are and where he thought Aldo was weak. It will help developing our camp and our game plan.

"I think it's a great fight for me. My wrestling will definitely slow him down. Hopefully, when we get in there I can take it where I want to take it."

If Mendes is to win the fight, most believe he will have to do it on the mat, and Faber is convinced his friend can succeed where he could not.

"I think Chad's unstoppable wrestling is going to really translate in the fight," Faber said. "Aldo has great conditioning. He's a great athlete, but we've seen when he's done more grappling he gets more tired. Chad will force some grappling on him, and Chad's very tough.

"I'm a durable guy, and Aldo pinpointed my leg and took it apart. Chad knows that, and he knows what he has to do."

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