Jose Aldo Targets Late 2021 Meeting with T.J. Dillashaw After UFC 265 Triumph
After a rough beginning, Jose Aldo has found his stride in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bantamweight division.
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Since then, Aldo has authored back-to-back decision victories over Munhoz and Marlon Vera at 135 pounds to regain some much-needed momentum. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Brazilian credits some tweaks to his training for his performance at UFC 265.
“After I lost a fight, I felt I needed to incorporate more things
into my repertoire and that’s how I got into Navy-sponsored boxing
in Brazil,” Aldo said. “I feel that’s how it made better my punches
and obviously everything upper, but I’m never gonna forget the
kicks.”
Though Aldo landed a few devastating leg kicks against Munhoz, he was at a 37-to-8 disadvantage in that category, according to UFCStats.com. That said, Aldo was precise and powerful with his punches, as he outlanded Munhoz 74 to 35 in significant strikes to the head and 32 to 3 in significant strikes to the body. Despite those figures, Aldo was unable to put his adversary away.
“[Munhoz is a] great fighter and I understood it was going to be a tough fight and a brawl pretty much,” Aldo said. “I knew this was going to happen. It wasn’t frustrating [that I couldn’t finish him]. I knew it was going to happen.”
Because of the reputation he built as one of the sport’s greatest featherweights, Aldo doesn’t have difficulty securing marquee matchups. Case in point: he received a bantamweight title shot without a single 135-pound victory to his credit. This time, Aldo is calling his own shot and he has a fellow former champion in his sights.
“It would be great for me to fight with [T.J.] Dillashaw,” he said. “Hopefully by December. I think it would be a great fight and that’s what we expect. That’s what I’m expecting right now.”
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