'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Jose Aldo has never been the same since that Conor fight back at UFC 194. That 13-second has come to define Jose Aldo's career in a world where everyone judges you on your last fight.
One big change in Aldo's game since that fateful night back in late 2015 was his total abandonment of kicks. His leg kicks were known as some of the most brutal in the game as seen by his destruction of Urijah Faber's leg back in their WEC days.
As Jose Aldo prepares for a title bout against Petr Yan at UFC 251, he and his team must know that they have to incorporate kicks if the "King of Rio" is to become a champ in two divisions in the UFC. Aldo, who won in many people's opinion against Marlon Moraes in his last fight, has been given a golden ticket by Dana White to resurrect his legacy.
Aldo has had seven fights since his debacle at UFC 194 and has stuck by a gameplan mostly based on boxing. His two matches against Max Holloway for the featherweight championship is where his lack of leg kicks caught everyone by surprise.
Will Jose Aldo bring back the nasty leg kicks against Petr Yan?
Those two defeats and the one against current featherweight champion Volkanovski showed that his gameplan of not mixing things up with kicks backfires against elite fighters. Jose Aldo did look really good in his last outing against Marlon Moraes without kicks as he seemed faster and agile since his drop down to bantamweight.
Jose Aldo should look at this match as a way to rebuild his legacy left in tatters due to that loss. Jose Aldo was on an 18 fight win streak and had defended the throne seven times before his loss to McGregor which seems to be all but forgotten by MMA fans.
The co-main event of UFC 251 gives him a chance just like Daniel Cormier's. Cormier was never accepted by fans as a true champion at Lightweight and had to become champ-champ before becoming a fan favorite.
Jose Aldo can do the same two weekends from now, only if he incorporates those nasty leg kicks to stop a young hungry fighter in Petr Yan.
