Andre Pederneiras Discusses UFC on ESPN 31 Headliner, Aldo-Nurmagomedov Dispute

After defeating Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz via decision for a pair of key bantamweight victories, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will return to the Octagon on Saturday against Rob Font, who is on a four-bout winning streak at 135 pounds.

In an interview with Brazilian podcast Mundo da Luta, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras revealed that Aldo is finally comfortable in his new weight class and is in great position to earn his third consecutive triumph at UFC on ESPN 31 on Dec. 4.

“Aldo is much more adapted in that division now,” Pederneiras said. “Font deserves all respect. He has two strong points: a dangerous jab and straight. But I see Aldo with many more weapons to finish the fight before the fifth round.”  

Pederneiras also discussed the feud between Aldo and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who recently seemed to downplay Aldo’s success in a new weight class. According to Perderneiras, Khabib´s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, talked to him via phone to clear the air.

“I received a call from Rony, who works with Ali Abidelaziz. They were having lunch and Ali asked to talk to me,” Pederneiras said. “He said Khabib told him he never said bad things about Aldo. According to him, it was just a bad translation done to create conflict. Ali guaranteed me that Khabib respects Aldo a lot and would never say bad things about him in any interviews.”