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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The fight went to an unlikely decision, but there was no doubt who the better fighter was in the main event of WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber on Saturday night.
Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo came into hostile territory in Urijah Faber's hometown of Sacramento, Calif., and as he entered the arena floor to "Run This Town" as his entrance music, he did just that.
After a tentative first round that saw both fighters land punches and Aldo land some good kicks to the legs and body of Faber, the rest of the fight was all the Champ. Starting in the second, Aldo peppered Faber's lead left leg with a nasty series of kicks that continued to worsen as the fight wore on.
The Sacramento crowd was into the fight throughout, and continually held out hope that Faber could mount some sort of offense in the fight.
The fourth round became the most exciting of the fight, as Aldo followed Faber to the ground more than once after sending him there with more crippling leg kicks. He got into the most dominant position of the night by moving to the crucifix position with nearly half the round remaining, and he proceeded to land short punches and elbows to the head of Faber. Faber continually tried to buck Aldo off to no avail, and blocked some of the punishment with a hand and referee Josh Rosenthal allowed him to survive as Aldo wasn't raining down vicious shots.
The fifth round saw Aldo content to let the clock wind down after doing his job for enough of the fight to solidify the decision. Faber tried to come back after him but had his legs kicked out again on more than one occasion.
In the end, Aldo outclassed the former Champion in his hometown in the main event of the WEC's biggest event, earning him what should be a universal number one ranking with a bullet in the featherweight division.
Penick's Analysis: This was an excellent display of dominance by Aldo, but after such an awesome fight card preceding it the fight felt like a bit of a disappointment. Still, Aldo was just on another level than Faber. His reach and power were apparent, and his gameplan was perfect in taking out Faber's legs. It was a successful first defense and he may now be facing a challenge from Manny Gamburyan his next time out.
RELATED STORY: Penick's detailed Aldo vs. Faber report with star ratings and analysis: [CLICK TO READ FULL REPORT]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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