WEC’s featherweight division was a significant part of its draw prior to the UFC merger, and for the first time, its final champion Jose Aldo made his way into the Octagon to defend the newly-minted UFC Featherweight Championship.
The co-main-event at UFC 129, Aldo’s belt was on the line against Mark Hominick, who presented the most-technical striking threat Aldo has ever encountered. Aldo has cruised through most opponents and earned a high ranking on most “pound-for-pound” lists, but would his well-rounded game be enough to top the offensive onslaught from a high-level striker?
The result follows:
Jose Aldo b. Mark Hominick via unanimous decision (48-5, 48-46, 49-46) **Scores Corrected**
Story of the fight: Aldo’s pace and unpredictability was too much for Hominick at the beginning of round one, and when Hominick finally started to catch on, Aldo was ready with a big takedown. Aldo used his superior ground ability to control the action whenever it hit the mat.
Hominick actually got the clear better of Aldo, who gave off indications of fading, in the striking department in the second round, but Aldo was still successful enough with takedowns to stay in control of the fight.
Hominick’s striking advantage again reared its head in round three, but Aldo, having less initial success with takedowns, made up lost ground with a big shot that floored Hominick. Hominick survived the ensuing ground-and-pound onslaught, but it was clear that all of the momentum was back on Aldo’s side.
Aldo built on his striking advantage in round four, grounding Hominick again with the shot. Following that strike and some more ground-and-pound, one of the most shocking hematomas ever witnessed in UFC developed on Hominick’s right temple. Swelling at one point to resemble half of a softball, Hominick was actually checked out to see if he could continue fighting. The doctor gave him the go-ahead, but he could not reverse Aldo’s advantage.
With no apparent option for winning but a stoppage, Hominick took Aldo down to open up the fifth round. He maintained top control to deliver some big punches, and it was going to be a race against the clock to secure a ground-and-pound stoppage. He was unable to stop Aldo, however, so the possibility of a win would have hinged on getting a 10-8 final round and then one other round. There was no truly-justifiable way to give Hominick two of the other four rounds.
It was not a “spectacular” fight, but the story told over the course of the five rounds was tremendous. It definitely ranks as a top fight year-to-date.
