HE HASN’T BEEN beaten in 10 years, but Jose Aldo won’t be under-estimating his next opponent.
That’s according to Aldo’s striking coach Pedro Rizzo, who’s currently preparing the UFC featherweight champion for his 11 July title defence against Ireland’s Conor McGregor at UFC 189 in Las Vegas.
Rizzo, a former UFC heavyweight title challenger, told Sherdog that Aldo’s camp have been impressed by McGregor’s performances, but he believes the 26-year-old Dubliner has yet to face a fighter of Aldo’s quality.
“I expect a very tough fight,” Rizzo said. “Aldo said that McGregor is the real deal, he’s the real deal. He’s not bullshit. [Aldo] is training hard, he’s training very, very hard.
“But I think Jose Aldo can go to a place that McGregor’s never been. [Aldo] has had big battles in the ring. His last fight against Chad Mendes, he didn’t control the fight. He had no moments that he controlled the fight, but he kept fighting.
“We never see McGregor out of control. We saw him controlling everybody. So I think Jose Aldo will bring something that McGregor doesn’t know. I think Aldo’s going to take McGregor to places that he’s never been.”