"Three round Jose Aldo is a nightmare for anybody"- Aljamain Sterling weighs in on Jose Aldo's chances of capturing the UFC bantamweight belt
Jose Aldo came up big in his fight against Rob Font at UFC Vegas 44, and Aljamain Sterling could not be more pleased. 'Funk Master' lauded Aldo for his perseverance and admitted that Aldo was a legitimate threat in the division.
Seemingly turning the clock back to his glory days, Jose Aldo outperformed an up-and-coming Rob Font to walk away with the win by way of unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46).
Following Aldo's stirring performance in the headliner of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, Aljamain Sterling featured in a sit-down at the UFC ESPN+ Post Show. During the segment, he shone some light on Aldo's resurgence and the depth of one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC.
However, Aljamain Sterling admitted that Jose Aldo had a tendency to wane when it came to the championship rounds. Drawing parallels with his most recent loss against Petr Yan, Sterling declared that Aldo had come a long way and was continuously growing, even at this stage in his career:
"I thought it was a phenomenal performance [by Jose Aldo]. Three round Jose Aldo is a nightmare for anybody in the division. We saw it with Pedro Munhoz, we saw it with Chito Vera. But five rounds he tends to struggle a little bit. So for him to come out and and perform like that for five rounds I mean compared to what he did against Petr Yan, this was night and day," admitted Aljamain Sterling.
Catch Aljamain Sterling breaking Jose Aldo's performance down right here:
Jose Aldo eyeing Aljamain Sterling's bantamweight throne
In the wake of his awe-inspiring performance, Jose Aldo made his intentions in the division crystal clear. In his post-fight interview, the 35-year-old declared that he was coming for the divisional strap.
However, since the bantamweight title picture is in flux, with Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling looking to run things back, 'Junior' has trained his aim at former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw:
"I want to be a champion in this division and I'm working toward that. Nobody is gonna stop me. Dillashaw is right there. Let me fight Dillashaw," asserted Jose Aldo via English translator.
Aldo: Dillashaw is right there. Let me fight Dillashaw. #UFCVegas44
A title fight for Jose Aldo at the moment is admittedly a ways away. However, should he continue to build on this performance, there is no reason why he can't usurp the throne when the time finally comes.