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Jose Aldo will kick off a championship tripleheader when he collides with top bantamweight contender Petr Yan at the upcoming UFC 251 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., July 11, 2020 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
That means “Junior” has roughly a week remaining in his second cut down to 135 pounds. His first attempt proved successful in a losing effort against Marlon Moraes last December, but Aldo insists bantamweight is his permanent home.
Because it’s easier to maintain than featherweight.
“I’m happy to be a part of this, and the cut for 135 has actually been a lot easier than it was at 145,” Aldo told ESPN (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “We adapted everything for me to move down in weight so my nutrition and everything else, and I really feel like I rejuvenated my body. It gave me a lot of energy, so I’m keeping my weight down more than I was before, and so that cut down to 135, I’m still feeling a lot better after that cut.”
I guess Cub Swanson was wrong.
Aldo (28-6), 33, has now dropped back-to-back fights after also coming up empty against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237 in Brazil. To his credit, he’s only been fighting the best in the world, so it’s hard to be overly-critical of his recent record.
Yan (14-1), still just 27 years old, has only been competing in UFC for two years, but has already racked up a 6-0 record with three knockouts. “No Mercy” opened as a sizable favorite over Aldo at -225 (9/4), while “Junior” settled in as the +190 (19/10) underdog.
To see the rest of the UFC 251 fight card and line up click here.