UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo faces Chad Mendes at UFC 142 in Brazil

[rayallen0]

Cue the music, Diddy. UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo (20-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is coming home.

Jose Aldo will defend his belt against top contender Chad Mendes (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at January's UFC 142 event in the UFC featherweight champion's native country of Brazil.

UFC president Dana White today revealed the booking to FOXSports.com, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has since confirmed the promotion's plan.

While not yet officially announced by the promotion, UFC 142 is expected to take place Jan. 14 at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena.

Aldo seeks his third-consecutive defense of the first-ever UFC featherweight title. The 25-year-old was granted the belt when the UFC absorbed the WEC, where Aldo was the reigning champion with two successful title defenses. Aldo has since earned unanimous-decision wins over Kenny Florian and Mark Hominick.

Meanwhile, Mendes brings a perfect career mark into the contest. The Team Alpha Male product was penciled in to face Aldo at this past August's UFC 133 event, but injuries to the champ prevented the contest. Mendes elected to fight on rather than wait, downing Rani Yahya via decision. The 26-year-old will now be rewarded for his choice with a shot at the belt.

Should be a great fight