We already saw Team Alpha Male courtesy of T.J. Dillashaw's mauling of the former bantamweight champion, but can they do it against Jose Aldo? They've long had trouble defeating Nova Uniao fighters in UFC title fights, and Chad Mendes knows all too well about that, as his only loss came against Jose Aldo via 1st round knee KO at UFC 142 in 2012. Mendes has been on a tear and has earned a rematch against the featherweight champ, whose last fight was a decision win over Ricardo Lamas.
In the co-main event of UFC 176, "Jacare" rematches Gegard Mousasi in a massive middleweight affair. Their first fight ended with Mousasi winning by upkick KO, which was only achieved because Mike Goldberg wasn't at ringside in Japan telling Souza to watch for the upkick. Goldberg should be present at the Staples Center in LA for this one, so Jacare is safe, and history therefore cannot be repeated.
Those are the two biggest match-ups of the evening, but here's a look at the nearly complete fight lineup for UFC 176 on August 2nd:
Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo Souza
Bobby Green vs. Abel Trujillo
Jussier Formiga vs. Zach Makovsky
Gray Maynard vs. Fabricio Camoes
Danny Castillo vs. Tony Ferguson
James Vick vs. Walmir Lazaro
Lorenz Larkin vs. Derek Brunson
Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler
Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Martin