AHEAD OF HIS clash with Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on 11 July, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo went in search of a sparring partner to imitate Conor McGregor and we’re impressed by what he found.
A southpaw who’s been a two-weight champion with a top regional organisation and also likes knockouts and wearing his hair in a top-knot. That’s Jonas ‘Speed’ Bilharinho, who’s been working with Aldo at the Nova Uniao gym in Rio de Janeiro.
The undefeated Bilharinho (6-0-1) has won the bantamweight and featherweight titles for highly-regarded Brazilian promotion Jungle Fight, while McGregor was the featherweight and lightweight champion for the UK’s Cage Warriors before moving to the UFC.
Bilharinho favours an unorthodox stance, has won most of his fights by (T)KO and wears his hair in a similar style to McGregor’s. However, The42 understands that he doesn’t own any Louis Copeland suits.
It remains to be seen whether or not the presence of Bilharinho in Aldo’s training camp will make any difference next month, but it’s certainly proof that the defending champion is leaving no stone unturned as he aims to keep his 10-year undefeated run intact.
