After several heated verbal exchanges over the last few weeks, featherweight rivals Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes met face to face at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, and not surprisingly, the two were not happy to see each other.
An initial staredown for photographers at the UFC 179 media day came off as intense but without incident. A second one provoked a shove from Aldo, but the two were separated immediately, avoiding a scene like the one in Las Vegas earlier this month when light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Daniel Cormier brawled at a press conference in Las Vegas.
Aldo defends his UFC featherweight crown against Mendes at UFC 179 in Rio on October 25. The fight comes nearly three years after their first meeting at UFC 142 in January of 2012, won by Aldo via first-round knockout.
