Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
What a difference a weight class makes.
There has been much concern over Jose Aldo’s decision to move down to bantamweight, a weight class he’s never competed at before. The former WEC and UFC featherweight champion figured to be much more suited to moving up to lightweight, especially given his documented difficulties cutting to 145 lbs.
Ultimately, Aldo committed to making his bantamweight debut against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245, and at Friday’s weigh-ins, Jose made the non-title limit of 136 lbs. For comparison’s sake, here’s what Aldo looked like on the scale early this morning:
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19528158/p.jpeg)
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Now take a look at his weigh-in for UFC 237 against Alex Volkanovski, in which he needed the towel in order to make the featherweight limit.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19528443/Screenshot_2019_12_13_UFC_237_Official_Weigh_In_Highlights___MMA_Fighting___YouTube.png)
We’ve seen many fighters look like hell on the scale and turn in brilliant performances on fight night, but you can always flip the coin over and see disaster like James Irvin’s ill-fated move to middleweight.
UFC 245 takes place on Saturday, December 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Aldo vs. Moraes is part of the PPV main card.