Issue 150

January 2017

Originally scheduled to face Urijah Faber in an eliminator for a shot at the WEC featherweight title, José Aldo was bumped down the card in favor of Jens Pulver – much to his disappointment.

But the Brazilian dutifully took his frustration out on hapless newcomer, Rolando Perez.

After predicting a first-round finish, ‘Junior’ softened up his opponent from Alliance MMA with his trademark leg kicks and picked him apart through gaps in his defense.

Aldo controlled the fight by dominating from the center of the cage for just over four minutes before closing the show with a spectacular finish, which landed him his first ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonus.

READY AND WILLING

Aldo called for his title shot afterwards, stating: “There are a lot of tough guys at 145lb but I train with a lot of good guys also, so I am ready to face anybody.”

It took two more knockouts for him to get his chance, and he took the belt from Mike Brown at WEC 44 via second-round TKO.

STEP 1

Lunging forward with a high-risk, low-reward jab to the body, Perez’s attack put his head in the worst possible place.

As the Californian goes low, Aldo immediately throws a right knee, which connects with his jaw.

STEP 2

As Perez crashes backwards onto the mat, Aldo dives into his guard to land a big right hand.

The Brazilian follows up with a thudding left, right and another left before the referee finally leaps between them.

• 66.6% Two-thirds of Aldo’s first 15 wins came via KO.