Issue 125

February 2015

UFC featherweight champion José Aldo rescued Brazil from a complete mixed martial arts collapse in 2014, so what has he got in store for the year ahead? FO traveled to Rio de Janeiro to find out...

Last year was wildly sobering for Brazilian MMA. Titles tumbled, legends fell, superstars were exposed and prospects were dismantled. The spiritual home of the sport was probably more eager than any other nation to put 2014 behind it.

Renan Barao, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, ‘Shogun’ Rua, and Eduardo Dantas were the tip of the iceberg in terms of Brazil’s failure at the highest level of MMA during the past 12 months. But thankfully one champion remained – José Aldo.

The UFC featherweight king went into his championship rematch with Chad Mendes in October with the weight of a nation on his shoulders. As Brazil’s last world champion standing, the pressure on Aldo was immense. Had he failed, Brazilian MMA could have spiraled into a deep demise.

Aldo, however, handled his business. Sure it wasn’t the spectacular finish home fans had been hoping for at UFC 179, but in grinding out a tough decision against Mendes – himself riding a five-fight winning streak and buoyed by the success of his teammate TJ Dillashaw against Aldo’s training partner Barao – José stopped the rot. The 2014 Brazilian crunch was over.

Former fighter Wallid Ismail, now head of Brazil’s leading domestic promotion Jungle Fight, said afterwards: “José Aldo saved Brazilian MMA... He saved us, no doubt about it. If he had lost our last belt, it would have been really bad for Brazilian MMA.”

Aldo’s success inspired Fabricio Werdum weeks later to capture the interim UFC heavyweight title, while fellow heavyweight Junior Dos Santos bounced back with a gutsy points win over Stipe Miocic in December. The samba nation was smiling again.

But without that win against Mendes who knows what may have happened. Aldo admits it was a moment he could not shy away from. “I knew it was important to win but I don’t give pressure much importance because I was ready to fight my fight and showcase everything I had been training for long months in the camp set at Nova Uniao with my teammates,” Aldo says.

“Personally, 2014 was not a bad year for me. In my opinion everything worked out. I won the two fights I did this year and kept the belt in my country. Unfortunately, some results that we were expecting in Nova Uniao didn’t come true but it is part of the sport. 

“But Junior ‘Cigano’ has already started off his return to the top and the next is going to be Barao and we will put Brazil back to the top of the UFC championship list.”

He adds: “Brazil is certainly going to recover some of the UFC belts that it lost in 2014. We already have Fabricio Werdum as the interim heavyweight champion and Junior Dos Santos is doing a very nice job too. 

“Also, in the lightweight division, Rafael Dos Anjos is on fire and both Renan Barao and Jussier Formiga in their respective weight classes have big plans for 2015, so our country will be back to have a good number of UFC championships in 2015. It’s just a matter of time and taking the right opportunities.”

Challengers

The Mendes victory wasn’t plain sailing for the champ. The tough Californian arrived in Rio believing it was his destiny to take the belt back to the West Coast, but in Aldo he found a champion willing to win ugly and take his licks in order to stay on top. Hardly vintage Aldo, this was the night he proved to his people and the world that he has the heart of a champion to go with his skills.

“It was a very tough fight, one of the toughest of my career,” the 28-year-old confesses. “I knew Chad was strong and would come to fight me in the middle of the Octagon. I knew he was capable of trading big punches. Chad is a great athlete and he prepared very well for the fight, so I already knew that was going to be a big show for the fans. He is number two in the featherweight division and has evolved his game a lot and became more confident. But I was ready for anything he should bring to the bout and I overwhelmed him being superior in all areas.”

Look down the list of the UFC roster’s current top 10 and it’s hard to pick out a man that Aldo hasn’t already slain. Yet as we enter a new year the 145lb weight class is bubbling with excitement and Aldo seemingly has more options than ever in terms of high-profile title defenses heading into his 2015 campaign.

Frankie Edgar and Ricardo Lamas have both staged meritorious title challenges recently, going 3-0 and 2-0 after losing to Aldo first time around. There’s also wealth of young new title pretenders at 145lb all chomping at the bit to take their shot at the aging number one.

The long list of challengers is something Aldo admits has put a spring back in his step en route to the gym every day. “It’s exciting,” he says with a grin. “It’s so good to know that there are a lot of people willing to take my belt from me. It’s just more motivation for me. 

“I am ready to beat each and every one of them and I’m ready and prepared to keep myself as the featherweight champion of the world, regardless of the number of challengers I may have to defeat. The division has gained some names but the champion will always remain the same.”

One name that stands out from the rest – probably because it’s already in lights over the Las Vegas strip – is that of Conor McGregor, the loose-lipped Irishman who has taken the entire UFC by storm inside the past two years with his actions both inside and outside of the Octagon.

The swagger and performances of the youngster haven’t gone unnoticed by the champion, who takes McGregor’s jibes in his stride. While Aldo sits on the throne in his royal championship court, McGregor is nothing more than the fool.

Asked whether all the attention being lavished on the Irishman annoys the champion, Aldo shakes his head and points to his UFC belt. He states: “Not at all. As I said after the fight (with Chad Mendes), he has been acting as a real jester but I am still the king. 

“I have gained attention for my accomplishments inside the Octagon, for my victories, my championship belt, while he’s gotten some popularity from only his trash-talking. It does not please me, but it does not bother me either.”

Notorious

McGregor, who was due to face Germany’s Dennis Siver in Boston on January 20th, insists he’s already got the next shot at Aldo’s title, with Dublin’s 83,000-capacity Croke Park stadium, according to ‘The Notorious’, penciled in for a record-breaking summer blockbuster. And, with Aldo’s regular pattern of fighting at home then abroad, a lucrative trip to the Emerald Isle later this year may not be out of the question.

Aldo says: “I have fought three times here in Brazil and it has helped me continue to build the hype around the UFC image in my country. I have won all of the fights I’ve had here and I have been the longest-reigning champion in the UFC besides Jon Jones. As champion, why should I travel?

“That said, I have no problem whatsoever in fighting in the United States or in any part of the rest of the world. If the UFC wants me to go to Ireland I am happy to do that. But it is a decision up to the organization and my manager Andre Pederneiras. Anything he decides is a good move for my career will become a deal.”

Aldo reveals a trip to Europe would also appeal to the soccer fan in him, especially as close friend David Luiz would be only a short flight away in France, where he plays for Paris St Germain. But just because McGregor says it’s so, and the champ has no problems with traveling, that doesn’t mean he necessarily thinks McGregor should get the next shot at the UFC 145lb belt.

Aldo believes Edgar is more deserving, after winning a November shoot-out with Cub Swanson on the back of a Fight of the Night victory against Charles Oliviera and a TKO of BJ Penn following their coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter.

“Frankie Edgar has beaten Cub Swanson and has won all of his fights since the time we first fought, so I would say he deserves to fight for the title most. McGregor is coming with some wins too, so any of them. Whoever the UFC decides to put in front of me they can do it and I will face him for my belt. I’m ready for them all.”

This time last year all talk around the champion was of a potential move up to lightweight and a fight with then new UFC 155lb champ Anthony Pettis, an equally lethal striker and fan favorite. Aldo has nothing but admiration for ‘Showtime’s outstanding ability, but he believes his career is firmly at featherweight for the foreseeable future due to his revised line-up of legit potential challengers.

“Pettis has achieved a great victory with an amazing performance against Melendez, he says. “I have the dream of fighting him one day, but our respective weight classes are so jammed now. I am sure we will fight each other in the future but I don’t have any plans right now to move up to 155lb.”

In reality, why would he move up? Aldo has been the man at 145lb ever since he captured the WEC featherweight title in 2009. His sole defeat in a stellar 10-year, 26-fight career also arrived in his one and only fight up at lightweight back in 2005. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Athlete

That’s exactly what the man from Manaus has done through his fighting career: stuck to what he knows best, and worked harder than anybody else in the gym. There is no secret to his success. It’s a championship career built on hard graft, thousands of hours in the gym, strong coaches and teammates and a stoic determination to remain at the top of the pile.

Sure he’s faced his fair share of injury setbacks, but Aldo insists that sticking with the same routine and camp nuances that got him to championship class is also what’s going to keep him there. He says: “I just keep doing the same things that I’ve always done since my beginning in mixed martial arts. 

“I prepare in an intense fashion looking for the best way to reach my pinnacle and the result of all the hard work is seen inside the Octagon. Just look at my last fight – a real battle against Chad Mendes and my arm raised in the end. The injuries are part of the sport, but they have now gone and I am healthy.”

He continues: “I am a true athlete. By that I mean I don’t smoke or drink alcohol. I am a guy who likes to stay at home with my family. All this social behavior will help me to grow older nice and healthy. I also love to practice other sports, such as soccer and volei.”

What’s clear with Aldo, unlike one or two other of his countrymen, is that he’s still very much in love with mixed martial arts. “I love my job and I was born to be a fighter,” he says. “I dreamed of becoming a soccer player when I was younger, but I realized what was best for me and I believe I took the right decision by coming to the fighting business. Every day I look to evolve, always, constantly trying to become a better fighter.”

While Brazil’s other leading lights may be hurtling towards the abyss of retirement, Aldo is still getting started on his career goal, that of leaving a legacy of greatness. 

He finishes: “My goal is to break all UFC records. All of the doubters that didn’t believe in me, I have so far proved already I am a worthy world champion. But I work hard to be much more. I am going to the greatest UFC champion in the history of the organization. 

“It is to achieve this goal that I work hard every day. I dedicate myself every day to win every fight I will ever have inside the Octagon. José Aldo, like Brazilian MMA, is definitely not finished. We have many more great nights to enjoy yet.”

Champion's gauntlet

The contenders at the top of the 145lb division gunning for José Aldo’s championship belt.

• Frankie Edgar: The man with arguably the strongest case for a shot. Two brutal beatdowns of opponents BJ Penn and Cub Swanson in 2014 showed the world ‘The Answer’ deserves another shot at the featherweight championship.
• Conor McGregor: Aldo’s most marketable challenger. Though his record doesn’t match Edgar’s, few can deny he lacks the skill or popularity to deserve a crack at the belt.
• Chad Mendes: Sure he’s 0-2 against the champ, but after their epic October war who’d say no to one more go-around?
• Cub Swanson: Though recently defeated by Edgar, the SoCal native’s six-fight streak took him to the top of the division. He’s still just a big win away from earning a rematch with the champ.
• Ricardo Lamas: Another defeated challenger, but ‘The Bully’ is already working his way back to the top with outstanding, crowd-pleasingly violent victories.
• Anthony Pettis: The dream super-fight: champion vs. champion. It’s been scheduled before and we’d pay good money to see it come to fruition.