Don’t Rule Out Junior… Jose Aldo is Still One of the Most Dangerous Fighters on the Planet After Showing Renato Moicano There Are Levels to This Game…
It might shock people, but Jose Aldo Junior is just 32 years old. It feels like he’s been around the fight game forever. He’s the greatest featherweight of all time – even if Max Holloway might have something to say about that very soon, and his record speaks for itself.
After a hellish 2017, when he suffered back to back defeats for the first time in his career – both to ‘Blessed’ – many people believed that Aldo should call time on his career. With a record of 29 wins and 4 losses, he went unbeaten from 2005 to 2015, before running into Conor McGregor’s left hand.
In 2018 he got back on track with a vicious liver shot KO win over Jeremy Stephens. And now he’s ruthlessly dispatched yet another challenger in his fellow Brazilian Renato Moicano, in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN in Fortaleza, Brazil. Watch the footage of the finish below.
"Jose Aldo turning back the clock!" – @BrendanFitzTV
▶️ Watch #UFCFortaleza LIVE on ESPN+ https://t.co/mLiw9AK2c2 pic.twitter.com/zxIcbuvPmV
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 3, 2019
Vicious
This win harked back to the glory days of WEC Aldo. He looked incredibly dynamic and powerful against his highly rated opponent, who many believed could potentially be the future of the division. The first round was back and forth and could have reasonably scored either way on the cards.
However, in the second Aldo shut down Moicano, catching him with a vicious left hook. His Brazilian counterpart was visibly stunned and Aldo went in for the finish. He landed a series of crisp shots to the younger man’s head and body before the referee finally intervened to give the former two-time champion another win.
https://twitter.com/RetroWweUfc/status/1091899976119189504
Inspiring
Aldo’s return to form is one of the best MMA storylines of this year. He admitted himself that many people had started to think he was past his best and should consider retirement. However, he’s adamant that he still has a lot to give. The biggest problem for him is that he’s lost twice to the current champion. Unless Max Holloway goes up a division to 155lb, Aldo might have to consider making that jump to lightweight himself. He said:
“No one believed me, but I knew you would be by my side and the victory would be ours.”
You’ve got to love it.
JOHNNY WALKER!
WATCH ➡️https://t.co/7gsc6RQiv8 #UFCFortaleza pic.twitter.com/VDK6nNvL8h
— UFC (@ufc) February 3, 2019
Round-Up
Elsewhere in Fortaleza, Marlon Moraes submitted Raphael Assuncao to declare himself the number one challenger in the bantamweight division. As a very exciting action fighter, he’s done everything right to get himself up there as the next contender. That is, unless the UFC book Henry Cejudo to fight the champion TJ. Dillashaw next.
Meanwhile, Johnny Walker obliterated Justin Ledet in 15 seconds to collect another emphatic victory. He was lucky that he didn’t connect with what would have been an illegal kick, but was otherwise very impressive as he moves up the light-heavyweight rankings.
Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping also made his debut as a colour commentator, with most viewers agreeing that it was an assured performance from ‘The Count’. All-in-all, it was a good night in Brazil.
