4.) He’s admitted to playing it safe to hold on to the belt:
Aldo’s fights in the UFC have almost always ended with a decision. His finish of Mendes was by far his best stoppage, as his only other one was an injury stoppage over Chan Sung Jung at UFC 163.
Despite criticism lambasting him for going away from the absolutely insane killer instinct that earned him the WEC belt, Aldo has admitted that his UFC title is all-important to him, and if that means fighting a little safer in order to hold onto it, that’s what he’ll do.
He doesn’t seem to care what his critics think, and that could be a big part why he hasn’t really gained a following outside of Brazil. Aldo has mockingly said that he can’t “kill the other guy” in the octagon, but he hasn’t even appeared to go for the finish lately.
He had “The Korean Zombie” on the ropes at UFC 163, but he only swarmed when it was painfully obvious that Jung’s shoulder was badly injured. He needed an advantage to do what came so naturally during his initial rise to glory.
Aldo was also outclassing Ricardo Lamas in his last fight at UFC 169. But instead of pushing the pace and making fans want to see him fight because he ended a championship bout, he coasted on to a one-sided a somewhat uninspiring decision.
Even if he gets by Mendes with an easy decision, that won’t make fans want to see his next fight for his skills.
Instead, they’ll probably be watching it to see his opponent McGregor, who promotes his fights to the fullest and goes for the finish.
