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UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held on October 25, 2014 at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Official fight card
Main card
Featherweight José Aldo (c) vs. Chad Mendes For the UFC Featherweight Championship.
Light Heavyweight Glover Teixeira vs. Phil Davis
Light Heavyweight Fabio Maldonado vs. Hans Stringer
Featherweight Darren Elkins vs. Lucas Martins
Lightweight Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Beneil Dariush
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Welterweight William Macario vs. Neil Magny
Lightweight Yan Cabral vs. Naoyuki Kotani
Flyweight Scott Jorgensen vs. Wilson Reis
Featherweight Felipe Arantes vs. Andre Fili
Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Gilbert Burns vs. Christos Giagos
Lightweight Fabrício Camões vs. Tony Martin
Background
The event is expected to be headlined by a Featherweight Championship rematch between the current champion José Aldo, and top contender Chad Mendes. Their first fight at UFC 142, also contested in Rio de Janeiro, ended in a first round KO victory in favor of Aldo.
The headliner was originally scheduled to take place on August 2, 2014 at UFC 176. However, on July 2, Aldo pulled out of the fight citing a neck injury suffered during training. Subsequent to Aldo's injury, that event was postponed on July 8, when the UFC announced they were unable to replace the original main event fight and with less than a month before the event, the decision was made to postpone the event – though the promotion said the numbering scheme for already scheduled pay-per-views after it, including UFC 177 in Sacramento on Aug. 30, would remain in consecutive order. The entire fight card was sporadically rebooked for other events.
Jeremy Stephens was linked to a possible bout with Lucas Martins at the event. However, Stephens' manager indicated shortly after the fight announcement was leaked that they had no intention of taking the fight. Martins has since been scheduled to face Darren Elkins instead.
Fabrício Camões was originally scheduled to face Josh Shockley at the event. However, Shockley was removed from the bout citing injury and replaced by Tony Martin.
Beneil Dariush was expected to face Alan Patrick at this event. However, Patrick was forced to pull out due to a broken jaw he received during training. Dariush will now face Carlos Diego Ferreira.