It’s time to give Aldo more room to play

Before I go into specific details on why Jose Aldo should move up to the UFC’s 155 pound weight class, I want to lay out the physical factors; size, height, reach, and weight, because these factors are of course the whole point of having separate weight classes in the first place. Aldo is 5’7”, 145lbs, and has a 70” reach. Let’s take a look at current UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar’s measures: 5’6”, 155lbs, and a 72” reach.

Sizes of other top lightweights:

Gray Maynard : 5’8”, 155lbs, 70” reach

Clay Guida: 5’7”, 155lbs, 69” reach

Ben Henderson: 5’9”, 155lbs, 70” reach

Melvin Guillard : 5’9”, 155lbs, 71” reach

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When it comes to sizes and measures, does it seem like Jose Aldo will have any problems at 155? I don’t see any. Despite some lightweights with the height of 5’10”- 6’0”, there have been an endless amount of fighters who have had success at 155lbs with a height range of 5’6”- 5’8”. I mentioned a few above, but others include: Sean Sherk, Tyson Griffin, Jim Miller, Joe Stevenson, Mark Bocek and many more. The great thing about Jose Aldo is the fact that it seems like he has just as much potential of moving up one weight class as Anderson Silva does. It is obviously a more difficult task for GSP and I don’t think it would be smart for Jon “Bones” Jones to try to take on Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez. Furthermore, if in fact Jose Aldo did have issues cutting weight for his fight with Hominick, then why not take the chance and move up to lightweight? As a matter of fact, he said he put on a little too much muscle before the fight and that is why he had trouble making weight. I don’t think he needs to put on much more muscle to fight at 155. The extra muscle he had put on isn’t what made him tired; instead it was the draining of his body too quickly because of the extra muscle. However, he would avoid this problem by moving up. Lastly, if you put Jose Aldo next to many of the lightweight fighters, you might even think they are already in the same weight class.

Fights for the Fans and for the Honor at 155

Aldo vs. Edgar : I would love to see this fight. I want to see the strategy that Jose Aldo chooses to bring to this fight. It would be fast paced Frankie versus the smart Aldo who looks like a predator when he is standing in front of his opponent during the rounds. They are both dangerous fighters.

Aldo vs. Guida : I think that everyone that wants to make it to the top of the 155 pound weight class to fight the champion should have to fight Clay Guida. Why? Clay Guida is a beast. He will fight anyone and he will never quit. He is a test for anyone and I love seeing how people react when they fight Guida. I like seeing how people deal with or crumble under his pace and pressure.

Aldo vs. Penn : Although it looks like they are technically labeling Penn as a welterweight right now, I’m sure this fight wouldn’t be impossible to put together. This would be an awesome fight! Both of these fighters know what it is like to be a champ and both are very well rounded. My eyes would be glued to the TV during the stand up as well as when it goes to the ground.

Aldo vs. Maynard : Gray Maynard is a tough fighter. He comes in to hurt his opponents and I would love to see the tactician in Jose Aldo during a fight with Gray. They both hit hard and there is no doubt in my mind that they would both come into the cage confident and neither one would quit when the fight gets tough.

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Jose Aldo’s future:

Chad Mendes is a tough fighter, but despite working on his stand up skills lately, he is still pretty one dimensional; a wrestler. His striking is not going to be able to withstand Aldo’s vicious attacking skills. Sure he might be able to take Aldo down sometimes, I wouldn’t say at will, but Aldo has good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills. Hominick was able to hold him down for the last four minutes of their fight, but I really think Aldo was just resting because he knew he locked in the W. I would have been screaming in his corner “get up!” Some of those ground and pound strikes were pretty good. However, I don’t see him being that nonchalant about Mendes’ ground and pound. Even though their fight is called off for now, let’s say they still fight; who does Aldo face after that, besides Florian? He has already fought the top fighters at featherweight and I don’t see anyone working their way up that looks sharp enough to take him on any time soon. Does it seem necessary for Aldo to stay at 145 for one fight against Florian? Even though it would be a fun fight, it doesn’t do anything for Aldo. Win or lose, Aldo will still be left with a bunch of fighters that we already know he can beat. A fight with Florian is exciting, but anything after that is delaying and wasting opportunities for great matchups.

It’s hard to say whether or not Dana White and the UFC would allow Jose Aldo to jump right in and fight the champ Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. It seems like they would and maybe even should. But they are not very consistent with this type of thing. For instance, how many fights at 205 does Anderson Silva have to win until he fights the Light-Heavyweight Champion? On the other hand, they let BJ flop back and forth when he had the lightweight title. Also, what about when they let Randy Couture lay the beat down on Tim Sylvia (Which by the way, I was at! It was a great night of fights) right after losing to Chuck Liddell? Look at it this way; Frankie Edgar could easily fight at 145 and they could fight as champions in a featherweight clash. But, the real excitement after a match with Frankie Edgar is that, win or lose, Aldo has a lineup of great matches after that at 155lbs.

Regardless of whether or not the UFC offers Aldo a title shot at lightweight immediately, Aldo should take a shot at 155 to keep his fire burning. More motivation for a fighter is always the ticket to success. What more motivation would Aldo need than to have the endless list of exciting and skilled fighters that the UFC’s 155 pound class holds? If he can blow through the 1ightweight division, it should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jose Aldo is one of the top three pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world.

By Brandon Beck
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer