Aljamain Sterling was in the building as Jose Aldo rolled back the years against Rob Font to pick up a unanimous decision win at UFC Vegas 44.
The UFC bantamweight champion was particularly impressed by Aldo’s ability to fight well for the full 25-minutes, after being unsure if ‘Scarface’ had that type of performance in him at this stage of his career.
“I thought it was a phenomenal performance,” Sterling said about Aldo on the UFC Vegas 44 post-fight show. “I was doing my breakdown with my podcast and trying to figure out which Jose Aldo was going to show up tonight. I think we got the questions answered. Cause three round Jose Aldo is a nightmare for anybody in this division. We saw it with Pedro Muhnoz, we saw it with [Marlon] ‘Chito’ Vera. Five rounds, he tends to struggle a little bit. [Max] Holloway fights, a couple of the other ones, even going back to the WEC days with Mark Hominick.
“So for him to come out and perform like that for five rounds compared to what he did against Petr Yan, this was night and day. I think he’s still getting better, still proving that he’s one of the top dogs in this division. I’m super excited cause this division is super hot right now. There’s guys for everyone to fight and I think even outside the top 15, this division is just way too deep.”
Aljamain Sterling Is Not Concerned About Jose Aldo’s Wrestling Ability
Aldo spent large parts of the UFC Vegas 44 main event in top control and looked as good as ever in the fight.
Despite that, Sterling is confident he knows how to beat the Brazilian fight legend.
“I know how to escape,” Sterling said when addressing Aldo’s grappling. “He’s not going to hold me there for the entire round and again, he’s a black belt, he’s a legend, he’s done what he’s done in the history books for a reason. But I do believe I have the tools to beat any one of these guys in the bantamweight division.
“I think myself and Merab [Dvalishvili] are just going to run through everybody.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
How do you think Aljamain Sterling vs. Jose Aldo would play out?