Jose Aldo’s trainer agrees with referee stoppage at UFC 212 – ‘I saw no way how he would recover’

Controversy? Nah …

Max Holloway murked Jose Aldo in the third round of their championship fight last Saturday night (June 3, 2017), flooring the Brazilian with a crisp one-two combination and then unloading on him with follow up punches in bunches (watch highlights here). Referee “Big” John McCarthy seemingly gave Aldo more than enough time to adequately defend himself, but eventually he intervened to ensure that he did not sustain unnecessary damage.

Aldo immediately disputed the stoppage and, of course, his hometown crowd inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thought it was a bit early. Twitter, too, erupted with outrage, but it was all misplaced according to the former Featherweight champion’s head trainer.

“He thought Big John stopped it early, but I don’t have the same opinion,” Andre Pederneiras told Combate (via MMAFighting.com). “I’m sure that, when he watches the video, he will change his mind. I saw no way how he would recover in the fourth round after so many punches to the head. It would be hard Holloway not to hunt him after that.”

Indeed, Holloway was seemingly just getting warmed up after an uncharacteristic slow start. He was dialed in and nailing Aldo consistently with hard, accurate shots. For his part, Aldo was more than game — he put up a great fight while it lasted, winning the first two rounds on all three judges scorecards. Indeed, he had several bright spots, particularly in the first round, where he showed the dynamic striking and speed that helped him become the greatest 145-pound UFC champion ever. Holloway, though, was simply the better man in the end.

Clearly, not all is lost for Aldo, 30, who was able to bounce back after a humiliating 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor in Dec. 2015 with a very impressive unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar seven months later. According to Pederneiras, he’ll relax and regroup. And with a little help from Holloway, he’ll be back in a title fight sooner than later.

“You have to put your head in the pillow and relax, because the athlete can’t make any decisions after a loss like this. Nothing good ever comes out,” Pederneiras said. “He’ll go on a vacation and relax. Actually, Aldo has a really good head. There was the (Conor) McGregor loss and right after he had the title fight with Frankie (Edgar), he went there and delivered. When he has his head well, he’ll come back to win.

“Max had a great achievement for the division, defeating an athlete who’s there for a long time UFC champion, and I believe his next fight will be against Frankie Edgar,” he continued. “If Frankie wins, Aldo is back in a title fight, especially because he already beat him twice.”

Controversy? Nah …

Max Holloway murked Jose Aldo in the third round of their championship fight last Saturday night (June 3, 2017), flooring the Brazilian with a crisp one-two combination and then unloading on him with follow up punches in bunches (watch highlights here). Referee “Big” John McCarthy seemingly gave Aldo more than enough time to adequately defend himself, but eventually he intervened to ensure that he did not sustain unnecessary damage.

Aldo immediately disputed the stoppage and, of course, his hometown crowd inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thought it was a bit early. Twitter, too, erupted with outrage, but it was all misplaced according to the former Featherweight champion’s head trainer.

“He thought Big John stopped it early, but I don’t have the same opinion,” Andre Pederneiras told Combate (via MMAFighting.com). “I’m sure that, when he watches the video, he will change his mind. I saw no way how he would recover in the fourth round after so many punches to the head. It would be hard Holloway not to hunt him after that.”

Indeed, Holloway was seemingly just getting warmed up after an uncharacteristic slow start. He was dialed in and nailing Aldo consistently with hard, accurate shots. For his part, Aldo was more than game — he put up a great fight while it lasted, winning the first two rounds on all three judges scorecards. Indeed, he had several bright spots, particularly in the first round, where he showed the dynamic striking and speed that helped him become the greatest 145-pound UFC champion ever. Holloway, though, was simply the better man in the end.

Clearly, not all is lost for Aldo, 30, who was able to bounce back after a humiliating 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor in Dec. 2015 with a very impressive unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar seven months later. According to Pederneiras, he’ll relax and regroup. And with a little help from Holloway, he’ll be back in a title fight sooner than later.

“You have to put your head in the pillow and relax, because the athlete can’t make any decisions after a loss like this. Nothing good ever comes out,” Pederneiras said. “He’ll go on a vacation and relax. Actually, Aldo has a really good head. There was the (Conor) McGregor loss and right after he had the title fight with Frankie (Edgar), he went there and delivered. When he has his head well, he’ll come back to win.

“Max had a great achievement for the division, defeating an athlete who’s there for a long time UFC champion, and I believe his next fight will be against Frankie Edgar,” he continued. “If Frankie wins, Aldo is back in a title fight, especially because he already beat him twice.”