Jose Aldo’s head coach feels his star pupil has done everything he needs to do inside the Octagon over his career, and knows the risk of longterm injury only grows as time goes on.
Nova Uniao’s head coach is not too keen on seeing former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo continue his career. A longtime partner and friend of the Brazilian, Andre Pederneiras believes the time has come for his pupil to call it a career, but that doesn’t mean he’s exactly sure about what’s going to happen next.
In a conversation with Combate, Pederneiras explained how he believes Aldo is talented enough to still become a UFC champion again. However, Andre questions whether there is enough motivation in Aldo to pursue that goal at the age of 36, following a frustrating loss to Merab Dvalishvili.
“I think it’s going to depend on lots of factors. It depends on one last fight, a contract renewal, lots of things. I know he has the will to go for a new title run. I think Aldo has every chance to become champion at bantamweight and start a new title run. Now, will there will be motivation to keep doing that?”
Pederneiras also admitted that he does have some fears over the possibility of serious injuries at Aldo’s age, especially after dedicating almost 20 years of his life to fighting. Mostly for health reasons, Pederneiras believes it would be a good moment for the fighter to hang up the gloves and be proud of what he was able to accomplish.
“I would tell him to quit. I think Aldo has already conquered so much. It’s not going to be that last fight that is going to take away the legacy he has built in the sport. My biggest fear is when an athlete arrives at this final stage of their career and an injury might mess them up for the rest of their life.”
Aldo (31-8) dropped a unanimous decision to the aforementioned Dvalishivili, back in August. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak for the 36-year-old, including victories over Rob Font, Pedro Munhoz and Marlon Vera, all by way of unanimous decision.