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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
It may not have been the most exciting performance he's had in the WEC, but it damned well may have been the most impressive as Jose Aldo walked out of WEC 44 as the new WEC Featherweight Champion, defeating Mike Brown via TKO in the second round.
After a far more cautious opening minute than has been seen out of him in five previous fights in the WEC, Aldo's combination of speed and power set the tone for the rest of the fight, as he tagged Brown with a four punch combo that forced the Champ to shoot in for a takedown that did not materialize. While Brown got in a few solid punches of his own in the first round, Aldo opened it up in the second.
After tagging him again and stuffing a takedown, Aldo wound up tripping Brown up and moved from the striking game WEC fans have come to know and showed off his black belt level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by passing immediately to mount and getting Brown's back. Once there, he got both hooks in, flattened Brown out and left him helpless to defend against a series of punches to the sides of his head, forcing a stoppage from referee Steve Mazzagatti to award him the Title.
At only age 23, Aldo becomes only the fourth Featherweight Champion in the WEC's history. Aldo will likely have his first Title defense set after WEC 46 when Urijah Faber faces off against Raphael Assuncao, though there are a number of other possibilities in the WEC's featherweight division that could emerge over the next few months of WEC action.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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