Aldo Discusses Injury; UFC Champ Eying September Return

Jose Aldo was as surprised as anyone to hear of Monday’s Internet reports that he had suffered an injury in training.

While it is true that Aldo (Pictured; file photo) will be unable to defend his UFC featherweight title against Chad Mendes at UFC 133 in August, the champ would like everyone to know exactly why.

“I had a problem with my cervical vertebrae in December that was making my arm numb,” Aldo told Sherdog.com Tuesday. “I contacted a doctor and he diagnosed it a nerve entrapment, and recommended for me not to fight and to do physical therapy. I did that and got much better. I had this during the camp for the [Mark] Hominick fight, but with less intensity.”

The morning after his first title defense -- a five-round struggle which resulted in a unanimous decision over Hominick on April 30 -- Aldo notified his trainer, Nova Uniao head Andre Pederneiras, of numbness in his arm.

“He said when I arrived in Brazil I would need to see the doctor again. When I was scheduling it, already in Brazil, my manager, Ed Soares, said I was going to Los Angeles and they diagnosed that entrapment again,” explained Aldo. “The doctor recommended I go through physical therapy for six weeks before training again, and that’s what I’m doing now. That’s why I won’t fight in August.”

On Monday, Aldo took to Twitter in an attempt explain the issue to his followers and fans.

“Many friends of mine called me after seeing the reports about the injury, saying they’ve read I’ve injured another part of my body. Some said the knee, others the shoulder, and some were asking about my elbow,” Aldo told Sherdog.com. “To end these questions, I said on Twitter that I didn’t have any injury to those parts of my body.”

Though therapy and rehabilitation will keep Aldo from any immediate title defense, the 24-year-old Brazilian already has eyes on his Octagon return.

“I will return in September or October. The daily physical therapy will be my training for the next fight. I’ll treat it as seriously as I would treat a camp, because I need my body 100-percent healed to fight well,” said Aldo. “I want to thank everyone who called me worried about my health and say that it hurts more in my heart than the actual injury. My life is fighting, and when it doesn’t happen, it’s like I’m dying a little bit. But, I know I need to follow the doctors’ instructions, because I need to be 100-percent healthy to have a long career in MMA.”