Is Jose Aldo losing it, is Chad Mendes that good or were there other factors?
This fight has posed so many questions. This was one of the more exciting Jose Aldo fights in a while. Was it exciting because Jose was actually aggressive again, or was it exciting because it was actually competitive? Was Aldo too emotional or was Chad’s boxing just that good? Why didn’t Aldo throw as many legs kicks? Was he scared of the takedown or just looking to knock Chad’s head off? Was he willing to take some damage just so he could dish out more to Mendes? Were those shots after the bell dirty? I can answer at least one of those. Now that the dust has settled and everyone has told their side of the story in my humble opinion they were not dirty. Chad said he did not hear the bell. It was not as if he had stopped protecting himself. Aldo didn’t hear the bell. Even the ref could barely hear it over that deafening Brazilian crowd. Had any one of those three heard the bell, and those shots were still thrown, then they would be dirty, but this was a rare occurrence. Plus he had already rocked him thirty seconds before that so those punches weren’t exactly the only offense Aldo had. Without a barrage of his signature leg kicks we got to see some of the best pure boxing from Aldo, laser like jabs, fast combos and diverse combos. Chad has made tremendous improvements in his striking but not enough to be world-class yet. This looked like the most fired up Jose Aldo the UFC has ever seen. I was wrong he isn’t losing it, he finally had someone who was able push him both physically and emotionally. He wore his heart on his sleeve this weekend and it showed. Conor MrGregor is very good at getting fighters emotional and that could hurt Aldo if they fight. No matter how many questions do or don’t get answered there is one with a clear-cut definitive answer. Who has proven to be the best featherweight fighter on the planet time and time again? Jose Aldo Junior.
