Jose Aldo has been dominating the ranks of the featherweight division for the past seven years, establishing himself as one of the pound-for-pound best in the process. The Brazilian phenom has steamrolled a long list of elite-level talent during his reign as the 145-pound king, which has put his talent and toughness inside the cage beyond question.
That said, the Nova Uniao standout has also started flexing muscles outside of the Octagon in recent years, and Aldo’s stances on fighter pay and a variety of other issues have drawn the scorn of UFC brass on more than one occasion.
The 28-year-old champion’s most recent dust-up with his employers came following the announcement that the United States Anti-Doping Agency would no longer allow the use of intravenous methods to rehydrate following weight cuts.
Aldo addressed a collection of Brazilian media back in July, and when the IV ban became the topic, the Rio de Janeiro-based wrecking machine publicly stated he would not be following the new rules. His comments generated a score of headlines around the MMA community, as one of the UFC’s longest-standing champions snubbing his nose at USADA’s requirements created immediate controversy:
I will continue to do IV, I don’t care. I’ll tell them I’m going to eat and do it instead. They won’t take me out of the f—ing fight, so I don’t care. They can say whatever they want, but it’s scientifically proved the best way to rehydrate. Only if they put security guard with me 24 hours a day. I don’t care.
That’s what’s going to happen. I will do it anyway, or someone else will do it for me. I will go to a friend’s house, to a different hotel room. I don’t f—ing care about them. They won’t take me out of the fight anyway. They can’t take me from the fight. It’s not doping. They will say they will test me. How are they going to get IV re-hydration from my urine, brother? Only if they got new techniques. They are ninjas. They are f—ing stupid.
While Aldo’s stance appeared firm back in July, it appears his tune has changed a bit as of late.
According to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, the 145-pound titleholder recently met with UFC President Dana White and the head of the promotion’s new anti-doping push, Jeff Novitzky, to talk and learn more about the changes. Following his sitdown with White and Novitzky, Aldo spoke with media in Las Vegas, where he accused the Brazilian media for taking his previous comments about the I.V. ban out of context.
“Sometimes I say something to the journalists in Brazil, and the moment the guys translate that, my interview is almost totally wrong,” he told MMA Junkie. “Everybody knows if you have the rules, you need to follow the rules and do exactly what you need to do.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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