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Exclusive: Max Griffin Talks Fighting His Idol, Reaching His Prime

Welterweight Max Griffin is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career this weekend when he takes on Thiago Alves at UFC on ESPN+ 2. Sacramento’s Griffin will be making his sixth appearance inside the Octagon come Saturday night. Since joining the promotion back in August of 2016, Griffin has competed against some of […]

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Welterweight Max Griffin is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career this weekend when he takes on Thiago Alves at UFC on ESPN+ 2.

Sacramento’s Griffin will be making his sixth appearance inside the Octagon come Saturday night. Since joining the promotion back in August of 2016, Griffin has competed against some of the very best in the sport.

Although Max “Pain” has shared the Octagon with some well known fighters, he believes Alves holds the title of legend. And for that, Griffin is beyond excited for.

“This is my sixth fight in the UFC,” Griffin told Lowkick in a recent interview. “I haven’t fought a legend yet. It’s what it’s about to me! That’s what it’s about! To fight the best guys, to fight the guys who have been there and done that.

“To me, he [Alves] is on the level of Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, he is one of these old pioneers that I used to watch hardcore. He used to be my favorite fighter so its gonna be an honor to go against him,” he added.”

Alves is definitely a time-tested veteran. He has been fighting at the top levels of MMA for a very long time. However, Griffin does not share that same opinion about his last opponent, Curtis Millender.

“I learned a lot from that fight,” said Griffin when asked about what he took away from the Millender fight. “I watched it [the fight], it was close as sh*t. It was close, on the stats I beat him, if you look at the stats I think I had like 68 significant strikes and he had like 17.

“But he stole rounds,” Griffin continued. “He [Millender] is not a finisher, he may have finished guys but to me, he doesn’t fight like a finisher. He just likes to sit in there and wait to the end of a round and throw a flurry and try to win the round. All he is doing is mentally trying to win rounds.”

Max “Pain” may not be sold on Millender’s finishing ability, but there is no denying the primal rage that courses through Thiago Alves’ veins when “The Pitbull” smells blood.

Griffin insists he has never felt better and that he has a few things in store for the former title challenger.

“I got something for him, this is the best I’ve ever felt,” Griffin said. “I’m getting wiser and better, just how my body is performing. I’m doing a lot of mobility stuff now. I’ve always been so tight, I haven’t really been flowing or flexible. I stretch for an hour a day now. I’m just working on being more mobile, because if I’m mobile then I’m that much better.

“I’ve also been reading a sh*t ton,” added Max. “I’m getting my mind on a whole nother level. I’m just so happy it’s all coming together.”

Griffin will be fighting Alves on the prelim portion of this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 2 card in Fortaleza, Brazil.

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Jose Aldo Explains Why He Isn’t Headlining UFC Fortaleza

Former featherweight king Jose Aldo will face off with Renato Moicano in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC Fortaleza. That, however, wasn’t always the plan according to UFC President Dana White, who stated said that Aldo wanted a three-round fight instead of a five-round main event fight. And that is why the promotion booked […]

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Former featherweight king Jose Aldo will face off with Renato Moicano in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC Fortaleza.

That, however, wasn’t always the plan according to UFC President Dana White, who stated said that Aldo wanted a three-round fight instead of a five-round main event fight. And that is why the promotion booked UFC Fortaleza as such.

Aldo Clarifies His Decision

Speaking with the media in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (via MMA Fighting), Aldo clarified that his coach Andre Pederneiras was in charge of that part of his career and that he has never questioned him yet, so why start now.

”I never turned anything down,” Aldo said. “The thing about three or five rounds, it was ‘Dede’ who thought it wouldn’t be good. You can ask him. He made the fight three rounds, he thought it would be better. To me, it doesn’t matter. Five, 10 rounds, however many they want, I’ll do it against Moicano or anyone else. I have no problem with that, I train for that, that’s what I do every day. I want to get there and always do my best, I never said otherwise.”

Aldo On Trusting His Coach

The consensus featherweight GOAT went on to say that it really didn’t matter to him whether or not the fight was three rounds or five rounds. He was more than happy to headline UFC Fortaleza. But instead opted to trust his longtime coach, Pederneiras.

”It’s tough to see me in the in the co-main event,” Aldo said. “Of course, respecting both of them, Raphael (and Moraes) will be the main event, (but) it’s tough to see the name I have and not being the main event. I had that in my mind, but if I got to where I am today was thanks to ‘Dede’, and he knows really well what he’s doing.”

Pederneiras’ Reasoning

While it may seem like a five round fight could be an advantage for Aldo, it’s important to remember that many fights that are scheduled for 25 minutes, do not go the extra two rounds, the “championship rounds”.

Logic along these lines as well as the slim chance of guaranteeing a title shot with a victory in Fortaleza — was the main factor that in Pederneiras’ decision.

“Aldo became WEC champion in 2009. So we’ve been training his body for five rounds for nine years,” Pederneiras explained. “There’s a huge toll in what you do. So, when someone thinks, ‘Oh, it’s just two more rounds’ — no, it’s a completely different preparation.

“Since there’s no possibility that Aldo fights for the belt, I explained him everything and he agreed. If (Brian) Ortega had won (against Max Holloway), this fight could be five rounds to elevate him (for a title shot). But even if Aldo accepted a five-round fight now and knocks [Moicano] out in 30 seconds, his next one won’t be for the title, everybody knows that.

“If Dana says before the next fight, ‘This fight will determine who fights for the title,’ he will fight five, 10, 12 rounds, whatever is necessary, but that’s not the case for this fight now.”

UFC Fortaleza, otherwise known as UFC on ESPN+ 2, will take place Saturday, February 2, 2019, from the Centro de Formacao Olimpica, do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.

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Jose Aldo Wants To Walk Away On His Terms

Jose Aldo will be taking on Renato Moicano in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 2 card in Fortaleza, Brazil. Many fans were surprised when UFC President Dana White said Aldo had requested the co-main event slot in favor of a five-round fight. Aldo Doesn’t Want To Be Stuck Speaking with Portal […]

The post Jose Aldo Wants To Walk Away On His Terms appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Jose Aldo will be taking on Renato Moicano in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 2 card in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Many fans were surprised when UFC President Dana White said Aldo had requested the co-main event slot in favor of a five-round fight.

Aldo Doesn’t Want To Be Stuck

Speaking with Portal do Vale Tudo, Aldo dropped another bombshell. That is, the greatest featherweight to ever live no longer cares about collecting belts.

“If I fight for the title and win, my contract pretty much gets renewed on its own,” Aldo said (translation via Bloody Elbow). “Then Dede (Pederneiras) will have to step in and negotiate, which is exactly what I don’t want to happen, I don’t want to be stuck.”

“My goal is to fight in Fortaleza. Then in May. And then end it here (in Rio de Janeiro). Because I know there’ll be another card here, and they know that” Aldo continued. “There’s no reason for them to give me a title shot. But make no mistake, I’ll make it hard for everyone who steps in front of me, I’ll win all three fights.”

Free Agency Or Retirement

Whether or not Aldo is giving some early warning signs of a fighter looking forward to free agency remains to be seen. The former two-time featherweight champ insists that retirement and family are the motivating factors for his decision.

“I want to stop and not spend my money getting my health back,” he said. “Today, I’m spending my money to be healthy. I want to feel well. I want to enjoy seeing my daughter grow. Travel with my family. Smile, play, I don’t want to fight into my forties and performing badly like I see so many of our great idols do. I programmed my entire life to be financially stable so I could stop whenever I felt like it.”

You can watch all of Aldo’s interview with Portal do Vale Tudo below.

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Jose Aldo Explains Why He No Longer Wants To Pursue UFC Gold

It looks like former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is done pursuing UFC gold. The 32-year-old recently admitted that his fighting days are winding down. He plans to fight three more times, finishing out his UFC contract, before retirement. The f…

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Marlon Moraes: Its ‘Time To Win And Earn My Title Shot’

Marlon Moraes will rematch fellow Brazilian Raphael Assuncao in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fortaleza card. The rematch will come 18 months after Assuncao welcomed “Magic” to the Octagon with a split decision loss at UFC 212. Since then, Moraes has rolled off three straight wins. Each progressively more impressive than the last. […]

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Marlon Moraes will rematch fellow Brazilian Raphael Assuncao in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fortaleza card.

The rematch will come 18 months after Assuncao welcomed “Magic” to the Octagon with a split decision loss at UFC 212. Since then, Moraes has rolled off three straight wins. Each progressively more impressive than the last.

As a matter of fact, Moraes believes he should be on a 17 fight winning streak, and that his first fight with Assuncao was way too close to call.

“It sure didn’t (make it clear who won),” Moraes told Combate in a recent interview. “It was very technical fight, it wasn’t really clear who won. I’m not complaining, I lost and now I have another fight on February 2, that’s my opportunity to make it different. Honestly, if he was fighting for the belt, I couldn’t complain or anything, because he won. Since he isn’t, he will now have to defeat me, which I know he won’t.”

Moraes has found the “Magic” of the old World Series of Fighting days. In his last two fights, he put Aljamain Sterling and Jimmie Rivera to sleep in under two minutes combined.

It seems Moraes has learned his lesson as it comes to leaving it in the judge’s hands.

Marlon Moraes vs. Raphael Assuncao will headlines UFC on ESPN+ 2 on February 2, in Fortaleza, Brazil.

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Jose Aldo On Underdog Status Against Moicano: ‘I Don’t Give A Sh*t’

Jose Aldo insists he doesn’t care about being an underdog going into his fight with Renato Moicano. Aldo will meet Moicano in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 2 on Feb. 2. The bout will take place inside the Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordes…

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