J. Aldo (photo) is the only Brazilian champion currently. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
the defeat of Renan Barao for TJ Dillashaw at UFC 173, held last Saturday (24), he left Brazil for the first time since May 2009 with just one Ultimate champion. During this period, the country had four fighters dominating their categories in the organization, which corresponded to half of all the titles at stake, in mid-2012. Now, only José Aldo, among the featherweights, remains among the champions. Despite this, Brazilian representation in the distribution of belts in the UFC could change, both positively and negatively, by the end of this year.
The only remnant of the champion crop, José Aldo He already has a commitment to defend his featherweight title. On August 2nd, Aldo, who is Barão's training partner, puts his belt on the line against the challenger Chad Mendes, who coincidentally is on the same team as Dillashaw. In case of defeat to the North American, Brazil would experience an unprecedented situation since 2006: not having any champion in the biggest MMA organization on the planet.
On the other hand, in a more optimistic view, 2014 could be the year in which Brazil once again has multiple champions in Ultimate. On July 5th, Lyoto Machida challenges the North American Chris Weidman for the middleweight belt at UFC 175. Furthermore, in November, Fabricio Werdum already has an appointment with the heavyweight champion Cain Velazquez, with whom he currently shares the technical role on TUF América Latina, at UFC 180.
Finally, although there is nothing official, the rooster belt itself, recently lost by Renan Barao, you could end the year back in Brazil. This is because the two main possibilities for TJ Dillashaw's first title defense involve athletes from the country: the first is a rematch against Barão himself, while the second would place Raphael Assunção as number one challenger.
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