Andre Pederneiras Shares Details of Negotiations for Jose Aldo’s UFC Return

Jose Aldo’s return from retirement to help bolster the UFC 301 card in Rio de Janeiro was met with celebration by Brazilian fans.

In addition to Aldo, the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro includes Brazilian standouts such as flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja, Caio Borralho and Michel Pereira — making the card more appealing to fans in the country.

Aldo will face Jonathan Martinez in a bantamweight bout on May 4 at Rio Arena. In an interview with Sherdog.com, Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras shared additional details regarding negotiations for Aldo’s UFC return.

“Since last year we were negotiating for the last fight of Aldo’s UFC contract. Since I started to negotiate with Sean Shelby, three months ago, many names were considered,” Pederneiras said. “Of course, we started from the top of the rankings, trying some names that would make sense for a last fight at home, but most of those names were not available.

Dominick [Cruz] needed more time; [Henry] Cejudo had a shoulder injury. We also asked about [Cory] Sandhagen and a rematch with Petr Yan, but no one at the top of the rankings was available. So we started to ask about the guys at the bottom of the rankings, and that's how Jonathan´s name came up.”

According to Pederneiras, the fight was finalized just days before it was announced by the UFC.

“It was getting close, and I told Shelby that we needed a decision, otherwise it would be hard for Aldo to cut weight and get ready for May 4,” the coach said. “We are not talking about the featherweight division, but bantamweight. We just got the confirmation eight weeks before the event. Now, in addition to the weight cutting process, we are readapting Aldo, who was just training in boxing for the last two years, to return to train all MMA disciplines.”

An unexpected addition to Aldo’s camp this time around is ONE Championship title holder Fabricio Andrade.

“He was spending some time training with us in Rio when the fight was decided,” Pederneiras said. “Martinez is southpaw. Andrade works in both stances, throws good knees. If Aldo is defending Fabricio’s attacks well by the end of camp, he will not have problems during the fight.”

Pederneiras also analyzed Martinez’s strengths.

“He has great low kicks and uses his inside leg kicks very well to open up other ways to attack,” Pederneiras said. “Also, he is very experienced in the striking game, even though he doesn't have an iron chin. Definitely the fans can expect a great fight.”