The Film Room: Jose Aldo

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo will battle Jeremy Stephens in the UFC on Fox 30 co-main event on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. Aldo has lost three of his last four fights and needs a win to stay relevant, while Stephens finds himself on the best run of his UFC career. The fight could decide the next No. 1 contender at 145 pounds.

This installment of The Film Room places Aldo under the microscope.

The Pride of Nova Uniao

It may seem incomprehensible now, but not long ago, Nova Uniao was the best MMA gym in the world and housed the two best fighters in the sport: Aldo and Renan Barao. Both had ghastly falls from grace, but at only 31 years old, Aldo is still in his prime entering his fight with Stephens. A win for Aldo puts him right back in the title picture, while a loss would have even more observers casting him as a washed-up former champion. Needless to say, this is a fight that calls for desperate measures from a man who is still considered the greatest featherweight of all-time.

Although Aldo’s highlight reel features its share of leading attacks, he is much more comfortable and successful when playing the matador rather than the bull. 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. Having this matador-like pivot is an odd skill and rarely seen in any combat sport, making it incredibly difficult to deal with in the cage. Attacking Aldo on a straight line will almost never work, as these pivots force his opponents to get creative with their attacks.



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 center line or takes a slight step laterally to give himself a better opening and to 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 may do his best work on the counter but made his career on his leading attacks, and he can still come forward and trade in the pocket with the best of them. Against Max Holloway, arguably the best in-the-pocket striker in the UFC, Aldo still managed to find some success with his right straight and lead hook.



With his muay Thai-inspired upright stance, Aldo is open to uppercuts and any strikes up the middle. Chad Mendes managed to fake a level change and come up with an uppercut to catch Aldo clean multiple times in their second fight. Aldo needs to be wary about this hole in his game, as Stephens throws more uppercuts than anybody in the division.



Aldo is known for his perfection of the basics, like his 1-2 and leg kicks, but he can surprise you with the occasional flying knee or spinning back kick. In his first fight with Mendes, Aldo grabbed the Team Alpha Male ace’s wrist and pulled him forward, all while breaking the body lock to set up a perfect knee strike to the forehead. Despite abandoning the leg kicks against Holloway, Aldo generally relies on his basics and will walk down opponents with 1-2s or pivot counter when they strike first. Once or twice a fight, he will throw an unorthodox strike, which becomes much easier to land since its unexpected from someone who usually is not flashy.