One week from today, Jeremy Stephens will take part in the biggest fight of his career when he steps into the cage with the man who is widely considered to be the greatest featherweight of all time, José Aldo at UFC on Fox 30. Those who make the argument of Aldo being the GOAT of the featherweight division could swiftly point to the fact that Aldo went eight years without losing a fight and was able to successfully defend his featherweight championship nine consecutive times. But there can be a thin line between consistency and stagnancy; and Stephens believes that after Aldo’s loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 194, the former featherweight king has not been the same… and yet has also stayed the same:
“This guy, he’s stayed the same,” Stephens said in an interview with Kevin Iole in reference to Aldo’s fighting style. “Conor’s taken his head, Max took his heart, I’m gonna take his soul.”
José Aldo has not competed since losing to Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 218 via TKO in the third round. Stephens’s memory of what he saw from Aldo last winter still seems fresh in his mind, however. And he is convinced that what is left of Aldo is a beaten down version of the man who once ruled the featherweight division.
“I mean, look at his face,” said Stephens. “It’s droopin’. He’s been in a lot of wars. He’s been in a lot of fights. The guy’s got a lot of damage. Not only that, just the training camps that he’s had. And I’ll get my chance to expose him, and I’ll do exactly what I said.
“I’m not saying things to lie. These are facts. These are pure facts. Check it out, after July 28th, we’ll be talking about it again. You’ll be like, damn, he was right. I’m gonna expose this dude.”
On June 28th, we will find out if these proclamations will indeed become facts or if Aldo will do the exposing of misinformation his foe circulated before the fight.
Do you agree with Jeremy Stephens’s assessment of present-day José Aldo?
