Coach reveals relief after Aldo's victory: 'The deal was bad'

Dedé Pederneiras with J.Aldo on his shoulders after victory. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

the fight between José Aldo e Chad Mendes tested the nerves of the fans who attended the main attraction of UFC Rio 5. And anyone who thinks it was different with the Brazilian's team, who ended up retaining the UFC featherweight belt after an intense fight, is mistaken.

Aldo's main trainer, Dedé Pederneiras, admitted that the dynamics of the fight affected his emotions a lot. “My heart left my mouth a long time ago. In the middle of the business, the heart was already out of the mouth, but you need to control yourself and give the right instructions. The deal was tough, but everything went well”, said the leader of the Nova União academy, in an interview with the “SporTV” channel.

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Analyzing the fight more coolly, Pederneiras said that the challenger's stance was exactly as he had predicted. “Chad came with the strategy we expected, alternating strong rounds and recovering in the following ones. As he was knocked down in the first round, he had to fight back in the second, so it was worse for him. In the fourth round, I told Aldo to take his foot off the gas, because we knew the fifth would be tough,” he said.

As for the champion's future, Dedé was open to the options that the UFC might offer, but admitted that Conor McGregor may be on your way. “We don’t usually choose opponents. I think McGregor promotes himself well – maybe he's not the best athlete to face him, but he'll be the one who promotes the most. Aldo said that his kingdom needed a jester, and Dana White managed to hire one. Whether it’s him or someone else, we don’t choose the opponent,” he added.

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