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Jose Aldo has managed to secure a title shot in Bantamweight without having won a single bout in the division and a loss against Marlon Moraes. But the former Featherweight king is pretty confident that he will beat the Champion Henry Cejudo no matter what.
A month-and-a-half before his UFC 250 bout with Cejudo, Aldo opened up to MMA Fighting about the fight and his training process amidst the coronavirus restrictions.
Aldo needs only a week to beat Cejudo
Aldo shared that he will pick a group of five fighters who have been in isolation for two weeks and have not been exposed to the coronavirus, and will train with them exclusively for now. Once the quarantine period is over, he will resume normal training in the gym, taking appropriate safety measures.
But till then, with his gym Nova Uniao and several other gyms shuttered down in Rio de Janeiro, he will be training at home with his wife.
In any case, Aldo is not worried about the fight with Cejudo as he believes he can prepare for that in only a week. Making weight is more of a concern for him right now.
"F***, I only need a week of training to beat Cejudo. I'm more worried about making weight than fighting him. I can be off camp, on vacation, but if you put me in the Octagon with him, I beat him with an eye closed. So, for me, it’s not about sparring, if I only have a month or a week to train, I beat him even if I’m not training. The only problem is the weight, so that’s why I’m eating well. I’m cool about the fight though, don’t worry about it.
Weighing at 155.4 pounds currently, Aldo is following his home training routine strictly to hit the 135-pound mark in six weeks' time.
Aldo predicts the result of the fight
The fight was originally slated to take place at Sao Paolo, Brazil on May 9. Given the current situation, no one knows where it will be. But wherever the fight goes, Aldo is sure of knocking him out before the five rounds end.
"Easy. I’ll knock him out fast, no doubt about it. It won’t go five rounds, brother. It won’t. No doubt. If he tries to take me down, he won’t succeed because I’ve fought better wrestlers than him."
Aldo said he respects Cejudo's legacy as an Olympic winner, but MMA is a different sport and he is better at it than 'Triple C'.
"I’m not worried about it. I have way more jiu-jitsu than him. If he takes me to the ground, I’ll submit him even if I’m not training for a year, and if we stay on the feet, I’ll knock him out. Don’t worry, wherever the fight goes I’ll knock him out."
