Dede Pederneiras with Aldo on his shoulders after his UFC victory. Photo: Josh Hedges
José Aldo had his opponent changed for the main fight of UFC Rio 3, an event that takes place on October 13th, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. After Erik Koch's injury, the Brazilian will defend his featherweight belt against the American Frankie Edgar, former lightweight division champion (remember here).
With the change of opponent, Dedé Pederneiras, Aldo's coach, is already studying how to draw up a new strategy for the fight.
“I received a call from Sean Shelby, UFC matchmaker, around midnight saying that Erick Koch had been injured and that his replacement would be the Frankie Edgar. I received it as a surprise, even given the time, but as there is enough time to change the strategy, even though he has a completely different game to Koch, I believe we will be successful in another fight”, revealed Dedé, in an interview with sportv.
The coach also revealed what will change in Aldo's preparation for the duel against his new opponent. For Dedé, training partners will be changed and the arrival of the North American Gray Maynard, the first fighter to defeat Edgar, will be fundamental for the Brazilian.
“Now I’m going to sit down to rethink the planning regarding the athletes I imported, who are left-handed and were the height of the opponent. What I will have to do is hire some wrestling athletes with the same stature as Edgar. More than ever the coming of Gray Maynard will be extremely important. I think that the speed that Edgar had in the top category will be compared now in the category he is playing in”, concluded the leader of Nova União.
Comments