Sherdog Remembers: Jose Aldo Destroys Chris Mickle at WEC 39

On this day nine years ago at WEC 39, rising featherweight sensation Jose Aldo was expected to deliver another spectacular performance. He did just that at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Former Sherdog features editor Joe Hall recapped the action on fight night:

Jose Aldo made short work of Chris Mickle. Sherdog.com’s No. 8-ranked featherweight and widely regarded as one of the top prospects in MMA, the 22-year-old Aldo picked his shots against his much more experienced opponent. He stung Mickle with kicks, planted a knee into his chest and flurried on him with punches until the bout was stopped at 1:39 of the first.

Afterward Aldo acted as if he were going to celebrate with another sprint into the stands -- a move he’d made in January after knocking out Rolando Perez. But this time Aldo (14-1) stopped and collapsed to his knees with a sad expression, suggesting that he’d been told to stay in the cage after disposing of the opposition.