Dedé considers that Aldo 'remains the greatest name in featherweight history'

D. Pederneiras (left) and J. Aldo (right) have a partnership of almost 20 years. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @josealdojunioroficial

At 32, José Aldo has one of the most impressive trajectories in MMA. In his career, the Brazilian holds the titles of featherweight champion of the now extinct WEC and UFC. In 2015, the fighter lost the belt to Conor McGregor. The following year he managed to regain his position, but soon lost to Max Holloway. Even so, Nova União coach Dedé Pederneiras considers the manauara to be the biggest name in the history of the under-66kg division.

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“I see a lot for those who dominate the category for a long time. Until someone comes along who does what he did, for me he continues to be the greatest in the featherweight division. Regardless of what happens along the way. You can't count a guy who is the biggest in the division, having beaten the champion once and leaving weight to move up to another category. The champion for me, the greatest of all, is the one who dominated for a long time. He dominated not just for one year, but for five (years)”, said Dedé in an interview with the Tatame magazine website.

Aldo has already admitted that he will retire at the end of his UFC contract. Even so, Dede confided that he tried to cancel his contract with the franchise in 2016. According to the Nova União coach, the champion wanted to leave so he could box.

“I believe so (do the three fights and retire). I was the guy who gave him the most strength, when he became champion again against Frankie (Edgar), in July 2016. We went to Las Vegas to try to cancel the contract, so he could fight boxing. He didn't want to fight MMA anymore. If not, we agreed that he was retired, we left there and the next day Dana (White) called me. He said he was going to put up a title fight in his category. I said: 'Oh, there's going to be a competition in your category'. He replied: 'No, no, no… in my title, no' (laughs). I think that after these three fights, he will retire or end up doing something else”, said Dedé.

In 14 years of career, José Aldo accumulated 31 clashes, 27 triumphs and four setbacks. His last fight was the knockout over Jeremy Stephens at UFC Calgary in July 2018.

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