Jose Aldo - A New Threat at 145
The landscape of the WEC’s featherweight division is a very competitive one, as it is stacked with tremendous athletes who continually put on excellent fights. It is a division that holds several worthy opponents for current featherweight champion Mike Brown. Due to the inflation of top tier talent such as Urijah Faber, Leonard Garcia and former IFL featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano, matchmakers have the ability to put together a number of compelling bouts that have “main event” written all over them. Amidst all the talent in the division, there is yet another fighter matchmakers can introduce to the featherweight equation, that being Jose “Junior” Aldo; the man who has been causing a stir in the star-studded division.
Aldo grew up in Alvorada, a neighborhood centralized in the city of Manaus Brazil. Manaus is the most populous city in the Amazonas state (in proximity to the Amazon River), which is located in North Western region of Brazil. Growing up in South America, futebol (soccer) becomes a major part of one’s life and it is not uncommon for young males to pursue careers in this sport and become successful, this was something Aldo had initially planed for. As a natural athlete, Aldo possessed the necessary tools required to become a great futebol player and eventually played for semi-pro teams. However as a result of his energy and emotion, he was often involved in scuffles on the field. Following a number of battles on the green, Aldo was encouraged to use this energy positively, thus resulting in his introduction to combat sports.
Originally Aldo was a Capoeira practitioner and by the age of fifteen, he began studying jiu-jitsu. As a jiu-jitsu player his development into MMA was a natural transition (as it is for most fighters). After moving to Rio de Janerio, Aldo immersed himself in his training and focused on becoming a professional fighter. Today he trains at Nova Uniao headed by Andre Pederneiras and works along notables such as Thales Leites (UFC Middleweight title challenger), Marlon Sandro (featherweight King of Pancrase) and the 20-2 Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro. Aldo is surrounded by extremely talented individuals who continually push him to improve and excel in his fights, something we have seen come to fruition in his recent bouts.
Prior to entering the WEC, Aldo put together an impressive record of 10-1. A majority of those wins were acquired in 2005, as he fought six times that year earning five victories and only one loss. Looking back at some of those earlier fights in 2005, one can see that his style is a very fan friendly one, since the majority of his contests have ended via TKO. If you are unfamiliar with his pre WEC matches, go back to his fight with Anderson Silverio. The Silverio fight is primarily a stand up bout, where we see Aldo’s precision striking on display. In addition, the crowd gets behind Aldo once his opponent is on the ground as they continually chant “Pezão…Pezão” meaning “Stomp,” that’s right, head stomps and soccer kicks to a grounded opponent are legal in this one! Aldo makes short work of Silverio at eight minutes in the first frame with a calculated stomp followed by those “semi-pro” soccer punts to the head. Following this fight, Aldo would record two more TKO victories until encountering his first defeat at the hands of Luciano Azevedo via rear naked choke. Despite the loss Aldo had stated in pervious interviews, that this single defeat helped him become a more focused fighter which has pushed him to continually train and improve in all aspects of the game. Aldo has unquestionably made good on those statements, as he has not lost since the Azevedo bout. Aldo would go on to record three decision wins just prior to entering the WEC.
On June 1st 2008, Jose Aldo made his North American debut in Sacramento, California at WEC 34. The brawling Brazilian took on former Shooto lightweight champion Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" (Little) Nogueira. Even though Nogueira had the edge in experience, he lacked size, reach advantage and was out classed in the striking department. Once again, the fight demonstrated Aldo’s incomparable stand up game and we also saw his knowledgeable takedown defense. Aldo’s first bout in the United States was a success and his performance proved to American fans that he was (and still is) someone to look out for.
In the following months, MMA fans would witness Aldo obliterate his next three opponents via TKO, Jonathan Brookins, Ronaldo Perez and most recently at WEC 39, Chris Mickle. After debuting on Sherdog’s top ten Featherweight list at number eight, and accumulating four straight wins in the WEC, the Nova Uniao product has shown that he has the potential to become the next dominate force in his division. As a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Aldo’s ground game is as lethal as his stand up. Furthermore it is interesting to note that this ground specialist prefers to look for the knockout and in doing so, he shows a high degree of adaptability in his game. His style is one that instantly wins over fans and his futebol inspired victory celebrations make him a definite standout.
It goes without saying that the 22 year old Brazilian deserves to be in the title picture. Aldo has proven himself to be a worthy contender and at this point, he should be fighting the who’s who of the WEC featherweight division. Regardless of who he is matched up with, spectators can anticipate an exciting bout. With the Faber vs. Brown sequel scheduled for WEC 41, it would be wise for the WEC to build Aldo as the next challenger for the title; as it was once said, “this guy puts asses in seats!” An intriguing match up for Aldo would be against Leonard Garcia, and if Aldo were to continue his winning ways, it would certainly cement his positioning for a title shot and the matchmakers would have to give him his opportunity. With that being said I believe it is inevitable, it’s only a matter of time before Aldo seizes the featherweight title and begins a dominate reign as champion.
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