If you were one of the fans who witnessed UFC greatness at Rio de Janeiro Brazil Aldo (21-1-0) vs Mendes (11-1-0) you got to witness one of the most electrifying victories in MMA, let alone UFC history. After landing a perfectly placed knee to Chad Mendes’ jaw solidifying another title defense, Aldo ran into the stands to the embrace of his loyal Brazilian fans. In Rio, Jose’ is an icon who continues to deliver excitement in every appearance and performance. Few fighters match the ferocity and striking pace of the veteran Blackhouse MMA product who recently had help from Lightweight top contender Gray Maynard to fill holes in his wrestling game. Add that to his untouchable striking pedigree (flying double knee K.O.!) with submission skills and a take no prisoners rise from the favela attitude and it’s no wonder he’s come to be a household name.
The fighter has also held a title in the now defunct WEC which has come to breed many great competitors such as UFC Welterweight interim Champion Carlos Condit, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominic Cruz, Urijah Faber, and many more. In other words Jose’ showed up great and is now shaping up to be amazing. Jose is the epitome of cage fighting in the fact that he makes the sport look as brutal as it sounds. Take for instance, his bout with Urijah Faber where Jose Aldo used lightning speed lowkicks to immobilize Faber and cause the early stoppage. If that wasn’t a good enough example,then check out Aldo’s fight against Mark Hominic who was pushed forward repeatedly taking shot after shot leaving a cartoon size hematoma that left us all cringing and wondering to ourselves; “why is he still in there with this maniac”?
This brings us to the harsh reality that maybe just maybe Jose’ has outgrown the featherweight division. Of course it is just that, a division which leaves us questioning ourselves about possible match ups for Jose’, but lets not waste our time crunching the stats and numbers of fighters who are at the podium for the title shot. The fact is a lot of these fighters just aren’t ready; cause if they were Aldo would have an ,opponent for his matchup July 21 in Calgary. Hell, let’s be really truthful with ourselves socialites, I mean did you see the pictures of Fabers leg? Right now Jose’ is THAT kind of monster, the type that makes others in the highest tier of competition in the UFC look afraid. Still, we all now that avoiding Aldo is futile, cause when you have a record like his and the game is running scared you aren’t afraid to tread into new territory.
In recent news it seems as though it’s inevitable for the lightweight division to avoid getting locked in the Octagon with Aldo. This may be a wake up call to Frankie Edgar– who is the top contender in the lightweight division and seemingly the one Aldo has targeted. Aldo had this to say “Edgar thinks he won against Henderson, so he really had to stay in his division and get the rematch,” Aldo said in an interview with Sherdog.com. He was also quoted by the same source saying “If he comes to featherweight, we’ll fight. … Many people want to see it. Having Edgar, a former lightweight champion, would be amazing for the featherweight division, but if he doesn’t come down [to 145 pounds], in the future, I’m going to have to move to lightweight.” In the end it seems the words of my brother sum up the bleek situation and more problems for the lightweights “The Hawk is coming!” and Jose’ Aldo is the Hawk.
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