It's been four months since Jose Aldo was the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet, undefeated in almost a decade as the UFC's only ever featherweight champion.
The Racket:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/256786110" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
Aldo, they said, was as humble as he was immensely talented in the octagon; respectful to all who came and fell before him, shy and reserved in his position atop the organisation's pecking order.
But ever since he lost to a bloke from Crumlin, the Brazilian has absolutely lost the arse of himself.
Speaking to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, the 29-year-old claimed he remains the UFC featherweight champion in spite of his devastating defeat to McGregor at UFC 194, while once again reiterating that the counter-left hand which took him out inside 13 seconds was fortuitous:
I still feel like I'm the champ,
he said.
It was a lucky shot that connected, and I'm still the champ.
Perhaps McGregor would have been less lucky if Aldo hadn't amateurishly flung his head in the way of his opponent's trademark shot.
'Luck', of course, plays little to no part in combat sports. McGregor's left hand counter, for example, didn't take a wicked deflection on its way in. Aldo betrayed his world class ability in a rare moment of unhinged anger and was duly punished, the same way his conqueror was put away when he took Nate Diaz to the deck in a moment of panic at UFC 196.
When the former featherweight king tweeted a somewhat jubilant reaction to McGregor's defeat earlier this month, the Irishman was strangely candid in his response. He declined the opportunity to trade the typical, profane barbs, instead saying:
That's the sign of a loser. That's the sign of a runner-up, that's not the sign of a champion.
But speaking to Yahoo, Aldo maintained he wasn't celebrating McGregor's humbling on the MGM canvas.
I knew that was what was going to happen,
he said.
That's what happens when you go up two weight classes and you fight a guy who is bigger than you and better than you. It was inevitable. He should stay in the lighter weight division if he wants to win anything. But I wasn't celebrating. I just knew he was going to lose. Diaz is better than him and they fought at a higher weight. Of course I knew Diaz would win.
Aldo will now face Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the Interim featherweight title - the very same belt he mocked McGregor for winning when he stopped Chad Mendes last July.
The Manaus native, however, is content with his own matchup at the landmark UFC event, and says the battle for silver suits all parties if it leads to a shot at McGregor:
Right now, this fight [between Edgar and myself] that is happening, I feel it makes both parties happy. They're giving me the shot and they're giving him [McGregor] the rematch with Diaz.
Being interim, it means there's just one more thing I have to do on the way to regaining the title.
What a difference a few months has made to both José Aldo's career and the UFC landscape as a whole.
But in terms of legacy, the long-reigning featherweight kingpin would do well to park the 'lucky shot' notion before fans begin to perceive him as a mere 'runner-up', when the reality is that he's always been worth so much more as a fighter.
H/T: Yahoo Sports
