Dantas: Jose Aldo will ‘surprise everyone’ in bantamweight debut

Jose Aldo’s longtime training partner Eduardo Dantas has claimed that Aldo is going to surprise everyone upon making his official bantamweight debut.

Dantas, a former two-time champion in Bellator, has been with Aldo for over a decade over in Brazil, and will play an integral role in assisting him for his new weight venture. Many have questioned Aldo’s decision to go down instead of up, with many believing that he instead should’ve given lightweight a try.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, however, Dantas didn’t seem all too concerned about Aldo’s upcoming clash with Marlon Moraes at UFC 245.

“Many people associate weight loss with loss of performance, but they have to look at the whole picture,” Dantas said. “Aldo always weighs around 158 pounds when he’s not training, and then goes up to 166 when in camp (for a featherweight bout), so I think it’s going to be an easy cut to bantamweight.”

“He’s training hard every morning. He’s very focused,” Dantas continued, praising Aldo for his work ethic. “He was one of the fighters in a sparring session on Tuesday, helping guys that are about to fight, and he sparred with a 135-pounder and a 177-pounder. He’s faster now but with the same punching power, so he’s way more dangerous. He’s kicking hard and landing heavy punches. He’ll surprise everyone with his speed and punching power at bantamweight.

“I saw him sparring with a heavier guy (177 pounds), keeping the distance and countering. The hand landed and the guy felt it and immediately shot for a takedown. He hasn’t lost his punching power and he’s still weighing 150.”

While there is plenty of speculation as to how Aldo is going to look after such a drastic weight cut, the hope and expectation is that it’s going to reinvigorate his career in the sport.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 11/28/2019.