José Aldo trains in the Netherlands to defend his belt against Anthony Pettis

UFC featherweight champion and undefeated in 15 fights, José Aldo has not found opponents in the octagon. However, the Brazilian knows that he cannot settle down if he wants, on the night of August 3rd, in Rio de Janeiro, to defeat Anthony Pettis and receive, for the fifth time, the belt from the hands of President Dana White.

Keeping an eye on Pettis' striking skills, Aldo went to polish his striking in the Netherlands, with K-1 legend Andy Souwer. There, he spent almost 15 days, in a routine similar to that adopted in 2011, before the fight against Mark hominick, and in 2012.

“Andy Souwer is a great friend and a spectacular fighter. He has always helped me a lot and I'm happy to always be able to count on these training sessions in the Netherlands. He was very helpful the first time and now he has been again. I'm sure I'll show weapons that Pettis doesn't expect to see and that I'll keep this belt for the Brazilian fans and for my friends”, said the champion.

Among other objectives with the trip to the Netherlands was to strengthen the psychology and leave the comfort zone, which is so dangerous among athletes who have reached the top of their careers. Against Anthony Pettis, José Aldo will have the challenge of facing an athlete from the upper category (up to 70kg), who dropped in weight just to compete for the belt. From now on, the champion will train with his teammates from Nova União, in Rio de Janeiro.

“Pettis is a big challenge, but I will be more than ready to face him. I will only be able to defend my belt if I train a lot, if I always try to improve myself, and these trips are great, because in addition to training, I can improve the psychological part, by being in a different country, alone, focused only on training... There are new cultures and training and that only brings good things. Now I'm going to train at Nova União until the fight, because that's my home and where the best training in the world for lightweight fighters is,” he concluded.