Former champion of Jungle Fight, Bilharinho (right) was Aldo's (left) sparring partner for the fight with McGregor. Photo: reproduction
José Aldo underwent long and intense preparation for the fight against Conor McGregor, this Saturday (12), in the main attraction of UFC 194. In order not to be surprised by his rival's game, the linear featherweight champion had special assistance: Jonas Bilharinho, responsible for simulating McGregor's style during Aldo's training.
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Bilharinho has a successful resume on the national MMA scene, with two titles in Jungle Fight (in the bantamweight and featherweight categories) and, more recently, in the First Round Combat. The promising athlete participated in an exclusive chat with the SUPER FIGHTS and stated that the Brazilian is fully prepared to leave the octagon with another victory.
“I can only say one thing: knockout or submission, it doesn’t matter. O Conor McGregor You will have a problem on your hands in every environment, at every moment of the fight. If you think about it in isolation, Aldo is better in all combat factors: standing up there is a balance factor, but I still think he's better. Now, if you take experience, chin, gas, ground, wrestling, Aldo is much superior. Aldo is going to this fight with a lot of resources”, declared Bilharinho.
More than emulating McGregor's fighting style, Jonas paid attention to details about the Irishman, such as his fighting stance, movement and even provocations. “The movements that McGregor makes are nothing new. I've seen people doing this for ages. As I always keep an eye on athletes in my category, I had already been studying his game, so it wasn't difficult to imitate him. The challenge was to imitate his psychological game, where he is really good. In training I provoked Aldo, cursed, and when he hit me, I reduced the blow”, he explained.
Precisely because he contributed to preparing Aldo for the provocations of the fight, Bilharinho believes that the featherweight champion will not mentally destabilize himself with his rival. “Aldo is not a guy who feels pressure. He is very well prepared in all aspects, especially psychologically. He's been on this road for a long time, and he's never commented or complained about anything. He never opened his mouth to talk about McGregor in training – he's just a number to Aldo. It will be another fight and another victory for Aldo. After this fight is over, no one will remember all this nonsense”, he said. “My only fear of this fight is that Aldo will kill him and I won’t be able to hit him later.”
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