Aldo Set To Challenge For Bantamweight Crown
Jose Aldo has surprisingly claimed that his weight cut to 135 pounds has been easier than his usual 145 cut.
Aldo shocked many when he decided to move down to bantamweight to face Marlon Moraes back in December. The Brazilian had a hard enough time making 145, so cutting an extra 10 pounds could have posed serious health concerns.
Although Aldo did look unhealthy leading up to the fight, he eventually made the weight limit and performed well despite a controversial split decision loss to Moraes. That performance was enough to earn him a title shot as he is currently set to face Petr Yan for the vacant strap at UFC 251 on July 11.
Things are not ideal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as Aldo is currently in a mandatory two-day quarantine in Sao Paulo before flying out to Abu Dhabi for fight week. That said, with his nutrition now taken care of, he feels a lot better making the cut to 135 than he previously did making 145.
“These two days here in Sao Paulo are definitely gonna get in the way of my weight cut a little bit,” Aldo told ESPN (via MMA Junkie). “But I bought a rope to jump, and I’m gonna go in the jacuzzi in the room or whatever. I’m gonna be able to stay active, but 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.
“… 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.”
Hopefully, things remain that way leading up to what is a stacked UFC 251 card with three title fights.
Along with Yan vs. Aldo, Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title in a rematch with Max Holloway while Kamaru Usman defends his welterweight championship against Gilbert Burns in the main event.
How do you think Aldo will fare in his second bantamweight bout?