Coach Andre Pederneiras denies rumors that Jose Aldo intends to retire following UFC 278 loss
Jose Aldo‘s head coach, Andre Pederneiras has officially denied claims that Jose Aldo intends to retire from MMA.
Aldo (31-8) fought at UFC 278 on Saturday, August 20th in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he lost a decision to Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (15-4). Dvalishvili courted strong controversy for his post-fight comments when he revealed that Aldo told him of his intentions to walk away from the sport following the fight. Speaking on Ariel Helwani‘s “The MMA Hour”, Dvalishvili said:
“When he was down and I (went) to shake his hand and tell him, ‘Thank you so much for the fight,’ and I go to respect him, he was down, and I tried to help him, and he was telling me, he said, ‘That means this is my last fight, because it was my last run to title. And then he said, ‘I guess I’m done.”
Andre Pederneiras comes out swinging; denies Jose Aldo retirement rumors
However, Pederneiras has come out and firmly refuted Dvalishvili’s comments. in an interview with “Ag Fight”, Pederneiras said:
“They’ve made a mini-documentary about me and Aldo, about our relationship and shedding some light on the times he lost. He would turn to me and say ‘I’m going to stop. I don’t want to do this anymore.’ If you only knew how many times an athlete loses and says they don’t want anything to do with MMA anymore. After a couple of days, they’re right back at it. I haven’t heard that from just Aldo.”
Pederneiras went further in emphasizing the situation, saying:
“This is what I always tell them ‘do what you want today, we’ll talk later.’ I’m sure nothing has changed. Unless he brings that up again in the coming weeks, which I don’t think he will. Sometimes it’s just anger. It’s normal to say things. I want to see the champions who are in this life and are able to remain in the top 5 like Aldo. Most guys in Aldo’s age, they retire after conquering what Aldo has conquered. Aldo is still winning. He’s top 2 or top 3 now.”
Not only has Pederneiras vigorously denied any talk of retirement, but he even has his eyes firmly set on his star pupil’s ideal return date: UFC Rio de Janeiro on January 21st, 2023. Pederneiras said that that would be more than enough time for Aldo to get ready:
“We’re in August and the card is in January. That’s time enough to get ready. We have to talk to the UFC, see what they think. It’s a lot to consider.”
Rumors have been rife on social media of setting up a “legends fight” between Jose Aldo and fellow veteran Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz, himself coming off a loss, albeit in far more violent fashion to a man that Aldo actually beat; rising title contender Marlon “Chito” Vera. Would you like to see Aldo take on Cruz early next year?
One thing certainly appears to be the case for Jose Aldo: All roads lead home to Rio.
