Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Jose Aldo wants to show the world Petr Yan is not as good he’s looked so far in his UFC career.
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has something to prove at UFC 251. Paired up against hot prospect Petr Yan in a bout for the vacant bantamweight title, the Brazilian is eager to show the world that his opponent isn’t quote championship material just yet.
In an interview with Combate, Aldo pointed out the level of competition Yan has faced in the Octagon so far, which he believes doesn’t put the fighter on par with himself. Apart from Urijah Faber, who Petr defeated in his last outing and is past his prime, Jose feels like none of the other athletes ‘No Mercy’ took on were even close to his skill set.
“In his mind, he might think I’ll be looking for a grappling fight. In the stand-up, he switches stances a lot, he might throw an occasional overhand, some haymakers. He has a good left kick. He thinks, I can assure that to everyone, that my output will go down by the third round. But I’m very relaxed when it comes to his arsenal, I studied him very thoroughly. He can come up with anything he wants. I’m ready for everything. If we’re fighting on the feet, I’m ready. Like I said, that’s what I want. If we hit the ground, no problem. I’ve always had a ground game. We trained for that. I’m not worried about that.”
“It’s the first time he’ll face a well-rounded guy,” Aldo continued, “Someone with a good level of striking, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. That’s the real test. Faber had been retired for a while. Before that, Yan fought some really low-level guys. The best was one Rivera, and he struggled to win that one. They were all really hard fights, though. Some of which his opponents managed to knock him down. That’s the first test. Like I said, today I feel like I’m the strongest guy in the division. I feel very aggressive, strong.”
Currently on a two-fight losing skid, Jose Aldo (28-6) dropped decisions to both Alexander Volkanovski and, in his bantamweight debut, Marlon Moraes, back in December 2019. Before the defeats, the 33-year-old had two consecutive TKO victories against Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano.
Now, Jose Aldo is expected to take on Petr Yan at UFC 251, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on July 11. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between the champion, Kamaru Usman, and short-notice replacement Jorge Masvidal. The event will also feature a featherweight title fight rematch between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.