The scene was set at the Prudential Center. Dana White’s brilliance in placing UFC 169 in Newark, New Jersey to tie in the hype from the Super Bowl proved quite successful. The event featured a pair of title fights; the headliner being a trip back down memory lane with Renan Barao squaring off against Urijah Faber for the Bantamweight Championship, Barao had previously beat Faber in 2012.
The co-event also pitted Featherweight champion Jose Aldo against Ricardo Lamas. Aldo is widely considered as a hands down top tier fighter, so the bout was a highly anticipated one.
Barao/Faber (Bantamweight Title):
Barao entered the octagon off a ferocious 31 win streak. The two opponents are quite familiar, with Barao having defeated Faber in 2012, after which Barao was crown interim Bantamweight champion. The ‘California Kid’ Faber came into tonight holding his own winning 4 of his last fights in impressive fashion.
From the moment the two faced each other in the cage it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Barao was ready to dominate. Barao attacked Faber relentlessly, and after deflected a series of punches to the face he quickly fell–literally, and Barao took full advantage.
Some controversy surrounded the early stoppage of the fight, even Dana White came out and said Herb Dean made a mistake.
Barao wins TKO, round 1.
Aldo/Lamas (Featherweight Title):
Aldo came into tonight on a 16 win streak, coming in as a heavy favorite against Ricardo Lamas. Aldo’s signature potent leg kicks weren’t enough to quickly dispatch of Lamas, however. The bout lasted all 5 rounds, with Lamas not giving up easily. Lamas mounted a tiny last ditch effort in the 5th round after getting atop of Aldo and laying a barrage of punches at him.
Still, after 4.5 rounds of sheer domination Aldo was the winner by unanimous decision.
Frank Mir/Alistair Overeem (Heavyweight):
Many wondered what Mir had left to give, his walk out to ‘Forever Young’ was him setting a statement. The former Heavyweight champ met Overeem, whose strikes and punches are quite feared. Both came into the octagon off losing streaks, both had plenty on the line.
Ultimately Mir didn’t go down without a fight, he absurd vicious hit after another until Overeem finally managed to close things out. Overeem won by unanimous decision.
John Lineker/Ali Bagautinov (Flyweight):
Another bout which lasted all three rounds. Ultimately though, Bagautinov was landing hard blows on Lineker since the beginning, with Bagautinov pursuing Lineker all over the cage. Bagautinov wins by unanimous decision.
Jaime Varner/ Abel Trujillo(Lightweight):
Crowd favorite Jaime Varner stepped into the octagon with Abel Trujillo, and it was a stunning victory for Abel. In round 2, just as it appeared that Varner was set to finish off the struggling Trujillo, Trujillo fought back. Trujillo connected on Varner’s chin and Varner dropped right onto the mat. Trujillo won with a KO, round 2.
Preliminary Card
Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision .
Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision
Nick Catone Tom Watson (split decision)
Al Iaquinto def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision
Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision
Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision
Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision