The Film Room: Jose Aldo
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder
Jose
Aldo will be back in the Octagon on Feb. 2, when he faces
rising contender Renato
Carneiro at
UFC Fight Night 144 in Fortaleza, Brazil. Not long ago, Aldo
was considered all but untouchable at 145 pounds, but a knockout
defeat to Conor
McGregor and back-to-back losses to Max
Holloway flipped the switch and led some to believe that the
Brazilian’s career was nearing its end. However, a first-round
stoppage of Jeremy
Stephens in July quieted his critics and showed Aldo still had
some gas left in the tank.
Ahead of his showdown with Carneiro, Aldo is the subject of this edition of The Film Room.
On the lead, Aldo is an aggressive and sometimes reckless striker. He does not use many feints or misdirection to set up his attacks, but his quick hands and ability to mix in shots to the body is what had him heralded as one of the best strikers in MMA. There are some major holes in his leading attacks, mainly his tendency to cross his feet while overextending on punches, but only two men managed to exploit this weakness.
Aldo might be best remembered for his leading attacks, but he does his best work on the counter. When his opponent comes forward, Aldo is a master at pivoting off his lead foot at a 90-degree angle -- a maneuver that leaves his opponent whizzing past him or stopping in his tracks, unable to defend attacks from Aldo’s now-dominant angle. Aldo’s pivot counter is his bread and butter, but he also employs more classical methods, like retreating and intercepting counters. Retreating counters work best when a fighter moves his head off the center line or takes a slight step laterally to give himself a better opening and avoid any counters coming back. If you attack Aldo on a straight line, he will either pivot and send you flying past him or take a step back and look for his counter right. Either way, coming forward on a straight line against Aldo will get you nowhere.
Aldo’s pivot is arguably the best in UFC history, but most do not give it the credit it deserves. The pivot is often overlooked in combat sports, but for someone like Aldo, it can win or lose him fights. The pivot can set up counters, but it can also set up leading attacks when the opponent is slow to turn. It also allows him to defend takedowns and avoid oncoming attacks.
Aldo also has incredible head movement in the pocket that he will use to slip strikes while pivoting or taking an angle to set up his attacks.
As a child, Aldo wanted to become a professional soccer player before transitioning to martial arts at 17; his soccer background is what helped him become one of the most feared leg kickers of all-time. The speed and power behind his kicks are second to none, and his ability to set them up with combos makes them impossible to see coming. Lately, he has seemed to abandon his leg kicks, but they would work wonders against Carneiro, who relies on his footwork for offense and defense.
Some will say Holloway was the first person to exploit the holes in Aldo’s striking, but the deficiencies have always been there; and he struggles with things a lot of Nova Uniao fighters -- mainly Renan Barao -- have had problems with in the past. If we look at T.J. Dillashaw’s performances against Barao, there are a lot of similarities in Holloway’s performances against Aldo. Both Aldo and Barao struggle with somebody that is willing to stay in their face and mix in attacks to the head and body while switching between stances.
Ahead of his showdown with Carneiro, Aldo is the subject of this edition of The Film Room.
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On the lead, Aldo is an aggressive and sometimes reckless striker. He does not use many feints or misdirection to set up his attacks, but his quick hands and ability to mix in shots to the body is what had him heralded as one of the best strikers in MMA. There are some major holes in his leading attacks, mainly his tendency to cross his feet while overextending on punches, but only two men managed to exploit this weakness.
Aldo might be best remembered for his leading attacks, but he does his best work on the counter. When his opponent comes forward, Aldo is a master at pivoting off his lead foot at a 90-degree angle -- a maneuver that leaves his opponent whizzing past him or stopping in his tracks, unable to defend attacks from Aldo’s now-dominant angle. Aldo’s pivot counter is his bread and butter, but he also employs more classical methods, like retreating and intercepting counters. Retreating counters work best when a fighter moves his head off the center line or takes a slight step laterally to give himself a better opening and avoid any counters coming back. If you attack Aldo on a straight line, he will either pivot and send you flying past him or take a step back and look for his counter right. Either way, coming forward on a straight line against Aldo will get you nowhere.
Aldo’s pivot is arguably the best in UFC history, but most do not give it the credit it deserves. The pivot is often overlooked in combat sports, but for someone like Aldo, it can win or lose him fights. The pivot can set up counters, but it can also set up leading attacks when the opponent is slow to turn. It also allows him to defend takedowns and avoid oncoming attacks.
Aldo also has incredible head movement in the pocket that he will use to slip strikes while pivoting or taking an angle to set up his attacks.
As a child, Aldo wanted to become a professional soccer player before transitioning to martial arts at 17; his soccer background is what helped him become one of the most feared leg kickers of all-time. The speed and power behind his kicks are second to none, and his ability to set them up with combos makes them impossible to see coming. Lately, he has seemed to abandon his leg kicks, but they would work wonders against Carneiro, who relies on his footwork for offense and defense.
Some will say Holloway was the first person to exploit the holes in Aldo’s striking, but the deficiencies have always been there; and he struggles with things a lot of Nova Uniao fighters -- mainly Renan Barao -- have had problems with in the past. If we look at T.J. Dillashaw’s performances against Barao, there are a lot of similarities in Holloway’s performances against Aldo. Both Aldo and Barao struggle with somebody that is willing to stay in their face and mix in attacks to the head and body while switching between stances.
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