José Aldo responds to Henry Cejudo's provocation: 'I just want him to sign the contract!'

J. Aldo weighing in for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

After the defeat suffered by Alexander Volkoanovski, in UFC 237, in May this year, the former featherweight champion (up to 65,7kg.) surprised many by saying that he intends to switch to bantamweight (up to 61,2kg.) to face the current champion, Henry Cejudo. After a positive response and provocations from the North American, the man from Manaus, at the launch event of a documentary about Pedro Rizzo, asked the 'Triple Champion' to stop talking and sign the contract. The statement was made to 'Combate'.

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“I just want you to sign the contract. Just that. He talks a lot, but doesn't do anything. He didn't do anything, he just won the 57kg title (flies, 56,7kg.) and he didn't defend it or anything. What are you talking about? He is an Olympic medalist. Okay, let's respect it. But, within Ultimate, he hasn't done anything yet”, said the 'People's Champion'.

Aware of his virtues in sport, Aldo is confident about his superiority when compared to Henry's talent. Flyweight champion since 2018, when he beat Demetrious Johnson, considered the best athlete in the history of the division due to his victories and record number of title defenses, Cejudo ventured into the bantamweight division to try to win the vacant division title.

The North American has proven, at this moment, that he is not just made of promotions. The athlete achieved a great victory over Marlon moraes, his opponent for the challenge, and joined the select group of athletes who hold two titles in different categories.

If he actually manages to reach the bantamweight limit, Aldo foresees an advantage over the champion in some aspects. According to the manauara, he would be able to nullify Cejudo's main characteristic, which is Wrestling, a modality that made the North American Olympic champion at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

“He’s short, he starts there. He has wrestling, he is an Olympic medalist, no disrespect, but putting me down is very difficult. As soon as the opportunity arises, I will sink my knee into him and knock him out. Not just him, anyone. Nowadays, I'm thinking about developing kickboxing or striking, a very aggressive style, rather than thinking about strategy. In my last fight, I waited so long that I overstepped and didn’t do anything,” said José.

Regarding his weight, the 'People's Champion' states that he is following a new diet. The Brazilian shows confidence in proving that critics were wrong when they said that the fighter would not be able to make the weight cut.

“The weight is falling well. I had never been on a diet in my life. I'm maintaining 68kg or 69kg (about 7kg above the limit), training hard. If I were to make featherweight (weight), I wouldn't even suffer. I even held back because it was getting too low. It's right to fight at 61kg. I’m waiting for Cejudo to decide whether he’s going to fight or not,” he reported.

Plans to face Cejudo, however, should be postponed until next year. The North American is recovering from shoulder surgery, while the Brazilian needs to accustom his body to the conditions of a category below the one in which he had been playing for more than 10 years.

At 33 years old, Aldo has 33 fights in his professional career, with 28 wins and five losses.

Less experienced, Cejudo has less than half of the fights in Manauara. Henry played on 15 occasions, winning 13 and losing two.