Jose Aldo is happy with referee Leon Roberts Following UFC 251.
Back in July, Aldo took on Petr Yan for the vacant UFC bantamweight title. The bout was featured on the main card of UFC 251. The action was held on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Aldo ended up being stopped via TKO in the fifth round.
Jose Aldo Heaps Praise On Referee Leon Roberts
Many fans and critics felt Roberts was late on the stoppage but Aldo doesn’t agree. The former featherweight kingpin told MMAFighting that he’s glad Roberts gave him ample opportunity to remain in the title fight.
“The referee was great, man – excellent work by the referee,” Aldo said. “It’s hard to think about stopping a title fight. If he stopped it early, everyone would talk about it. I wasn’t out at any moment. I went down and was trying to recover. Everyone who gets in there, or those who have been knocked down before, knows how the body reacts. You get slower, that’s a fact. Fighters who say it should have been stopped earlier are just kidding themselves. You get slower, you try to move, but it’s completely different.”
Aldo also said that he’s content with staying in the bantamweight division. While he is 0-2 at 135 pounds, he gave Marlon Moraes all he could handle and was competitive at times against Yan. Aldo plans to get back on the horse soon. He’s prepared to compete again in Abu Dhabi or Las Vegas before 2020 comes to a close.
With the defeat to Yan, Aldo has dropped three bouts in a row. He hasn’t emerged victorious since Feb. 2019 when he stopped Renato Moicano via second-round TKO.
