Gina Carano compares sex and MMA on ?Conan?

We've had a lot of Gina Carano coverage lately, as the onetime Strikeforce title contender has been making the rounds to promote her movie "Haywire." This might be considered piling on, but during her appearance on Conan O'Brien's show, she talked about why she got into MMA and how fighting is like sex. It's not quite NSFW, but definitely PG.

[Yahoo! speaks with Gina Carano about Haywire]

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/gina-carano-compares-sex-mma-conan-180940511.html

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

Rio crowd explodes as Jose Aldo posts crazy finish of Chad Mendes at UFC 142

So much for the lack of finishes from Jose Aldo. The UFC's featherweight champ ended the "Rocky IV" dreams of Chad Mendes with a big knee and two brutal punches.

At the end of the first round, the champ beat the clock by landing a vicious knee. Mendes went limp and fell to his back where he ate two more punches squarely to the face. Referee Mario Yamasaki stopped things at the 4:59 mark of the first round in the main event of UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro.

Aldo can be a lunatic sometimes when it comes to the post-fight celebration. Tonight, he set a new standard.

At the end of the fight, the second the Octagon door opened, he flew through it running into the crowd. In what was a near riot-like scene as the fans went crazy on Aldo. He was eventually carried on their shoulders and got back into the cage after a few minutes.

Aldo (21-1, 3-0 UFC) runs his win streak to 14 straight. He hasn't lost a fight since 2005.

"Jose is a great champion. I wanted keep the pressure on and close the distance and get my hands on him," Mendes said. He's got great takedown defense and footwork. Watching a lot of his fights, I knew it would be tough to take him down. He was the better man."

Mendes, a former elite college wrestler, had to get the fight to the ground to give himself a shot. Aldo was simply too big and too athletic. The champ stuffed all five of Mendes' takedown attempts.

In between those tries, Mendes (11-1) ate kick after kick on his lead leg. It took roughly three minutes for the challenger to switch stances to protect that leg.

With just under a minute left in the round, Mendes actually got into a favorable position. He had standing back control and delivered some solid knees to the back of Aldo's legs. Aldo freed himself with eight seconds left in the round. Mendes turned, ducked his head and tried to shoot forward for another takedown. Aldo's reaction time was ridiculous as he landed a quick left knee. Mendes fell to his back where he ate two huge punches to force the stoppage.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/rio-crowd-explodes-jose-aldo-posts-crazy-finish-050851819.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

UFC 142?s Three Stars: Aldo, Barboza and Palhares

Brazil provided another picturesque setting for a UFC card dominated by Brazilian favorites. Even our Three Stars is filled with fighters from a country so important to MMA. Who are your Three Stars from UFC 142? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Jose Aldo: With a swift, well-deployed knee, Aldo showed again that he is the cream of the the featherweight crop. He then brought the celebration to the jubilant crowd in Rio de Janeiro, creating a memorable moment for every fan at UFC 142 and a headache for UFC security. Can you blame him for the euphoria? Starting with the WEC featherweight championship, Aldo has held his belt for 26 months and five title defenses. A man that dominant in his division is allowed to celebrate with his fans.

No. 2 star -- Edson Barboza: From his three previous fights in the UFC, we knew that Barboza was capable of debilitating kicks. No one -- particularly Terry Etim -- expected him to throw a spinning wheel kick, executed so perfectly that Etim was out well before he hit the canvas. He won both Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses for that performance, and something tells me that he's an early favorite for Knockout of the Year awards.

No. 3 star -- Rousimar Palhares: Any fighter preparing for Palhares knows that he is a heel hook master, with the majority of his submission wins coming that one hold. Mike Massenzio knew the heel hook was looming, but couldn't stay out of Palhares' grip. For submitting Massenzio in just over a minute, Palhares won Submission of the Night.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-142-three-stars-aldo-barboza-palhares-150507547.html

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio