Urijah Faber: TJ Dillashaw & Chad Mendes Could Both Beat Jose Aldo
Reigning featherweight king Jose Aldo has been at the top of the ladder for quite some time now. During this time the Brazilian has had great success against his rivals at Sacramento-based Team Alpha Male, which is led by veteran Urijah Faber and regarded as one of the best camps in the sport.
Aldo was able to use his relentless leg kicks to beat Faber at a WEC event back in 2010. Since then, “Scarface” has defeated Faber’s teammate Chad Mendes on two separate occasions, once at UFC 142 and most recently in a five-round war at October’s UFC 179.
Despite his team being 0-3 against Aldo, Faber still feels as if a Team Alpha Male member can someday dismantle the king of the featherweight division.
It’s undeniable that Mendes gave Aldo a run for his money in their second go around last month, but he did come up short. However, “The California Kid” told MMA Junkie that he believes only a few changes are needed for Mendes and that a third fight should happen at some point:
“I thought there was a good chance Chad was going to win that fight from the judges, but it was so close, and Aldo’s so tough that you can’t really argue either way. Chad’s going to be a better fighter and person for it.”
“Chad did amazing, and I think that’s a fight that will probably happen again. He wanted to win, but he had an amazing performance. When you let it all hang out and you put it all on the line, it’s kind of hard to be disappointed in yourself, so that’s the mentality that he had.”
Although a third crack at Aldo is possible, it will definitely take some time for Mendes to establish himself as the top contender yet again. In the meantime, another member of Team Alpha Male has voiced a desire to duel with “Scarface,” and that is none other than bantamweight king TJ Dillashaw, who notoriously dismantled Aldo’s teammate Renan Barao back at UFC 173.
“I want to fight Aldo so bad,” Dillashaw recently said on Team Alpha Male Radio. “I will beat Aldo. I want to fight him. … I respect him. He’s an awesome fighter.”
Dillashaw is a relatively new champion and would most likely have to overcome a few more challenges at bantamweight before being able to move up and face Aldo, but it could be a very interesting scenario. Faber, giving his thoughts on the idea, stated that “The Viper’s” desire to move up and challenge for featherweight gold is just a testament to his passion for fighting:
“T.J. is a super competitive guy. Right now we’ve got a guy that believes in himself, a guy that’s extremely talented and a gifted athlete. He can do anything. I don’t think it would be a mismatch by any means. Whoever brings their best game on that day would win. Aldo might be a little bit bigger, but I think T.J. would be the guy more willing to die in the cage. That’s just the way he is, so there’s something to be said about that.”
Although Aldo may very well be the best fighter on the planet, second only to pound-for-pound king Jon Jones, Faber believes his guys are right up there with him and is confident in their abilities despite hteir less-than-glaring track record:
“I know that Aldo is one of the best pound-for-pound guys, but Chad and T.J. are both right there as well. They both have what it takes to get the job done.”
Due to how close their most recent bout was, I don’t think anybody would mind seeing Aldo Mendes III, but would you like to see Dillashaw take on Aldo? “The Viper” looks like a beast lately and it would be interesting to see how he fairs against one of the world’s best.
However, the UFC featherweight division is buzzing thanks to Conor McGregor, and it would take a lot of doing for the UFC to be persuaded to book a super fight between Aldo and Dillashaw, especially with the long-rumored Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis super fight still a distant possibility. Which one would you rather see?
