It appears as though Jose Aldo doesn’t understand the concept of a tune-up fight.
Jose Aldo hasn’t faced an easy opponent this decade, but that’s the territory that comes with being the top dog in your division for such a long time.
The inaugural UFC feather king breezed past elite contender after elite contender to create an air of invincibility, which was subsequently shattered by Conor McGregor’s patented Celtic cross. He bounced back from that devastating knockout loss with a stellar decision win over future Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. However, his second reign as champion was over before it ever really began as Max Holloway brutally beat him up to claim that coveted golden strap.
Although the loss to McGregor was an extremely bitter pill to swallow, at least it was quick. Whereas the ‘Blessed’ beatdown was relentless. The Hawaiian beat him down to the ground, rained down with vicious ground and pound until he took his back, then kept letting his hands go until the referee was forced to put ‘Scarface’ out of his misery.
Everyone wants a piece of Jose Aldo these days https://t.co/tEPBOQAvVP
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) September 12, 2017
Since suffering his second defeat in less than two years, Aldo has received fight offers from a long list of names including Edson Barboza, Artem Lobov, Michael Johnson and Jeremy Stephens.
The loss Aldo suffered to Holloway isn’t the kind of defeat that’s usually followed by a quick turnaround, but according to several reports, he wants to fight again before the year’s end. While he would be forgiven for looking for a bout against a lower-ranked guy to get his groove back, it looks like Aldo wants to get straight back into the business end of the 145 lb division.
Aldo has verbally agreed to a bout with number-three ranked contender Ricardo Lamas, according to Brazilian outlet Combate. Lamas is a familiar foe, having gone five rounds with Aldo in 2014. Although that fight wasn’t particularly close, Lamas has put himself on the cusp of another crack at the belt with his recent performances.
‘The Bully’ is riding a two-fight win-streak after finishing Charles Oliveira and Jason Knight in his last two trips to the Octagon. While he has three losses under the UFC banner, they have come against Aldo, Holloway and Chad Mendes, all of whom have had multiple title fights.
