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Jose Aldo Happy With Performance Against Petr Yan, Praises Referee

Despite coming up short, Jose Aldo was pleased with how he performed against Petr Yan. Aldo took on Yan for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 251 last month as he looked to become just the fifth two-weight champion in promotional history. Although he enjoyed promising start to the fight where he had his fair […]

Despite coming up short, Jose Aldo was pleased with how he performed against Petr Yan.

Aldo took on Yan for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 251 last month as he looked to become just the fifth two-weight champion in promotional history.

Although he enjoyed promising start to the fight where he had his fair share of moments, Aldo eventually slowed down before succumbing to a fifth-round TKO at the hands of Yan who became the new undisputed king of the division.

And while he doesn’t rewatch his fights, the Brazilian was happy with how the contest played out in his reflection of it.

“Pretty much everything worked out,” Aldo told MMA Fighting. “Everything we thought would happen in the fight happened. It was a very tough fight. We were basically tied going into the fifth round, but the main factors in the fight were a kick that landed on him and his punch that got me in the first and affected me. I thought it would be a tough fight, but I would be able to control it.

“We fought smart for two rounds. When I came back to the fourth, I don’t know why I changed my strategy again. I should have kept it, controlling the distance, but it’s his merit for imposing his rhythm, coming forward and controlling until the fifth. We thought about fighting [the way I did in round one], but he connected a good punch, and I went down and stayed there for a while trying to recover and couldn’t fight until the end.

“But, like I said, I’m very happy. I was able to land kicks, I was able to land punches. I think I should have done more combinations with my hands. I think it was a good performance regardless. I think it’s more of his merits for being able to neutralize some areas we had in mind than me not doing something.”

Aldo Defends Referee For Stoppage

The end of the fight saw a turtled up Aldo take a number of punches from Yan for over a minute before referee Leon Roberts ultimately decided to stop the bout.

Roberts received plenty of criticism afterward for what seemed to be a late stoppage. However, Aldo could only praise him.

“The referee was great, man – excellent work by the referee,” Aldo said. “It’s hard to think about stopping a title fight. If he stopped it early, everyone would talk about it. I wasn’t out at any moment. I went down and was trying to recover. Everyone who gets in there, or those who have been knocked down before, knows how the body reacts. You get slower, that’s a fact. Fighters who say it should have been stopped earlier are just kidding themselves. You get slower, you try to move, but it’s completely different.

“To me, the referee did an excellent job. Getting punched once or twice more won’t make any difference in your life. You’re willing to do it. What if the referee doesn’t stop it there, I recover and land a good one that knocks him out? Every referee goes to our locker room before the fight to go over the rules, and I always tell them to not stop the fight, only if I have no reaction. As long as I’m fighting, let me in there. It’s part of the sport.”

Regardless of how his bantamweight career has gone so far — with a 0-2 record now — Aldo still plans on competing for the time being.

“I’m an athlete,” Aldo added. “I’m a fighter. This is what I’ve chosen for my life. As long as I have this hunger to train and learn, to get out of my comfort zone, brother, I want to fight. That’s the goal. I’ll get back to training, do what ‘Dede’ and I are planning, and ask Dana (White) for a fight.”

What do you make of Aldo’s comments?

Dan Lambert Tried Talking Jorge Masvidal Out Of UFC 251 Fight With Kamaru Usman

American Top Team (ATT) owner Dan Lambert did not want Jorge Masvidal to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 earlier this month. Masvidal notably stepped in on six days’ notice to challenge Usman for the welterweight title in the UFC 251 headliner. Although he would wind up losing a unanimous decision, “Gamebred” received plaudits for […]

American Top Team (ATT) owner Dan Lambert did not want Jorge Masvidal to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 earlier this month.

Masvidal notably stepped in on six days’ notice to challenge Usman for the welterweight title in the UFC 251 headliner. Although he would wind up losing a unanimous decision, “Gamebred” received plaudits for stepping in as well as his overall performance.

But Lambert never liked the idea as he tried convincing Masvidal not to take the fight to no avail.

“I found out Gilbert [Burns] dropped out because Jorge called me at like 1 o’clock in the morning,” Lambert told BJPenn.com. “He said hey, I’ll take that fight, let’s make some calls. I didn’t want him to [take it]. I tried to talk him out of it.

“That is like less than a week from today in Abu Dhabi, halfway around the world like are you out of your mind? He said, no, I’m taking the fight, it’s going to happen. Like alright, I’ll make a call and let them know you want it to happen and tell them to call your guys and start working it on it. I wasn’t a big fan of it happening on that kind of notice.

“There is a big difference between a guy who is around the gym and a guy in a training camp. But, Jorge Masvidal did pretty damn well.”

Masvidal Wants Rematch

Masvidal has since expressed his desire for a rematch as he believes he has what it takes to defeat Usman with a proper training camp — especially after going 25 minutes with him.

He even claimed he would reject a fight with Conor McGregor if it meant getting revenge on Usman. But for Lambert, he would much prefer the BMF champion face McGregor instead.

“Jorge probably has a much better seat at the table now that he has proven himself as a draw,” he said. “If I had my say, I want him to make as much money as possible. Conor McGregor is the biggest fight in the world for anybody. So, if I had my say, that would be his next.

“If Jorge has his say, he probably wants the rematch. Right now, the belt is more important than money.”

What do you think Masvidal should target next?

Calvin Kattar Open To Max Holloway Bout Next: ‘I’ll Fight Anyone’

Calvin Kattar wants to keep his momentum going after his impressive victory over Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night and would be open to fighting former featherweight champion Max Holloway next. “That’d be great,” Kattar told MMANews. “I know he’s a tough fighter. Another one of these guys that (featherweights) don’t want to compete against. […]

The post Calvin Kattar Open To Max Holloway Bout Next: ‘I’ll Fight Anyone’ appeared first on MMA News.

Sean O’Malley Plans To Score KO Win Over Marlon Vera At UFC 251

Sean O’Malley believe he will be able to showcase his skills against Marlon Vera. On Aug. 15, O’Malley will return to the Octagon. He’ll meet Marlon Vera on the UFC 252 card. Headlining that event will be a trilogy bout between heavyw…

The post Sean O’Malley Plans To Score KO Win Over Marlon Vera At UFC 251 appeared first on MMA News.

UFC 251 Medical Suspensions: Kamaru Usman Faces Lengthy Sit

The UFC 251 medical suspensions have rolled out and Kamaru Usman is looking at a potential 180-day sit. On July 11, Usman put his UFC welterweight championship on the line against Jorge Masvidal. The title bout served as UFC 251’s headliner. This…

The post UFC 251 Medical Suspensions: Kamaru Usman Faces Lengthy Sit appeared first on MMA News.

Miesha Tate Didn’t Cringe At Yan vs. Aldo Stoppage, Defends Referee

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion had no problem with the referee’s stoppage in Petr Yan’s win over Jose Aldo at UFC 251 this past weekend. Yan defeated Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title following a back-and-forth brawl that ultimately saw the Russian earn the fifth-round TKO win. “No Mercy” lived up to his nickname as […]

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion had no problem with the referee’s stoppage in Petr Yan’s win over Jose Aldo at UFC 251 this past weekend.

Yan defeated Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title following a back-and-forth brawl that ultimately saw the Russian earn the fifth-round TKO win. “No Mercy” lived up to his nickname as he dropped Aldo in the final round and unloaded with brutal ground and pound.

Many felt referee Leon Roberts should have stopped the fight sooner as Aldo took heavy damage while not intelligently defending himself.

Tate, however, disagrees.

Tate: Fighters Know The Risks

While Tate felt the fight could have stopped sooner, she had no problem with the stoppage as a whole. She feels fighters know the risks when signing on the dotted line and would prefer to not have a fight stopped too quick.

“I am not a fan of fights being stopped too quick,” Tate said on MMA Tonight. “People are concerned about safety. My argument is, we are in a hurt business. We fight for a living. We sign on the dotted line and we know exactly what we are risking and we want to be allowed to risk it.

“… I wasn’t cringing at that stoppage. I wasn’t upset. There was maybe two times in the last 30 seconds or so where I was kind of like, ‘oh, he could stop it here.’ And the ref chose not to. And I didn’t feel upset about that because right when I thought, ‘ah, he should probably stop it,’ there was a slowdown in the action. Petr adjusted position or Jose moved. I do think Jose Aldo knew that fight was done before the ref decided to step in … but I’m not upset, I don’t think it was a horrible stoppage.”

Tate went as far as saying she would have loved to have had Roberts referee her fights any day of the week.

“We’re fighting! I would way rather have a referee who lets fighters be fighters than somebody who wants to overdo their job and stops fight soon,” she added. “For me, that’s the key. I would have that man referee my fights any day of the week.”

Do you agree with Tate?