Written by John Gordon at MMA Manifesto
Alright, look around you . . . find something . . . maybe an old bookshelf, maybe an antique chair . . . found it? Good, now knock on that sucker because I really, really want to be wrong about this.
If you’re like me, you’re waiting for December 12th eagerly – after all, you’ll finally get to see Conor McGregor sink his fangs into Jose Aldo.
Yes, on the eve of December 12th, I’ll be staring down at the “order” button on my remote control, preparing myself to do absolutely nothing for the next three hours except glue my eyes to the television screen.
I mean, c’mon, that’s what America is all about right?
But what if, and this is a dreadful proposal, the UFC 194 card found itself sans the biggest title fight in promotional history? What if Aldo, or McGregor to be fair, pulled out due to injury, thus crushing the dreams of mixed martial arts fans across the globe?
Unfortunately, when it comes to Jose Aldo, that’s much more a reality than it is for any other fighter. Despite defending his belt on six different occasions, the vaulted Brazilian has pulled out of five title fights during his fifty-four month tenure with the UFC.
In other words, Aldo has almost pulled out of more title fights than he’s actually engaged in.
While Aldo has always looked dominant in each of his defenses, the scare of Aldo getting injured again is a very rational fear. Training out of the revered Nova Uniao camp in Manaus, Brazil, Aldo is renowned for training feverishly and remaining dedicated to improving his skill-set.
Yet, as it was in the days of the famed Chute Boxe, training full-bore can have its consequences, and Aldo serves as a perfect representation of that.
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