ALDO THE KILLER

By Ben Miller

Jose Aldo is a killer. Maybe it’d be nice to add some poetry to that sentence. Maybe it could be made more flowery and light. In the end, it matters not. Jose Aldo showed at WEC 44 that he is a prototype of a modern mixed martial arts fighter; and that everyone else in the 145-pound weight class should be fearful.

That Jose Aldo rose to the WEC featherweight championship Wednesday night at The Pearl at the Palms was not wholly unexpected. He entered the ring right around even money at most sportsbooks, thus making him a slight underdog to Mike Brown. Many astute observers predicted the victory after seeing the blur of fists and knees that was his WEC career entering the fight.

Still, it’s hard to explain just how good Aldo looked. Everything Brown offered was countered perfectly. A big left hook? Aldo would slip in a jab. A double-leg shot? Aldo would give Brown a forehead full of knee and thigh. For every action, a counter. And even more disconcerting for his opponents, this was the rare show of restraint from Aldo. The prevailing criticism of the phenom entering the fight was that he might fall victim to over aggressiveness like former champions Faber and Torres have in recent times.

It was a tremendous victory for Aldo. A couple big questions come from it, however. Question 1: Can Aldo draw? Question 2: Where does Aldo rank among the elite in other divisions?

The prospect of Aldo drawing well is a longshot at first glance. He’s Brazillian and he’s small.

Brazillians have had trouble drawing in North America at the level of other elite MMA fighters. Lyoto Machida’s first title defense drawing just 475,000 buys – the lowest figure for a light heavyweight championship match since Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell III in February, 2006 – was the latest reminder that even dominant looking Brazillians have a harder time separating fans from their money.

Small fighters have also struggled. While B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre II drew over 800,000 buys, it fell below expectations and it remains the only show headlined by 170 pound fighters to ever exceed 625,000 buys.

Even with these built-in disadvantages, turning Aldo into a star could well happen. The guy has charisma. Part of it is that awesome scar on his face. Part of it is the fact that he strikes like a cobra. At 23 years old, Aldo is also young. Long winning streaks in MMA are exceptionally rare, especially when working for a company like Zuffa that loves big matches. Still, can anyone imagine Faber stopping him? Or Brown in a rematch? Or Bibiano Fernandes, Yamamoto Kid or any of the other Dream featherweights? If Aldo does keep winning he’ll build a fanbase.

And you never know. He’s Brazillian but there are a few Brazillian stars like Wanderlei Silva who have become draws. He’s small but there may be a day when MMA fans become like boxing fans and start valuing skill over size.

As for the question of Aldo’s place among the pound-for-pound elite, that’s a question that is more difficult to answer. Pound-for-pound rankings tend to favor smaller fighters because they are naturally more capable of showing quickness, flexibility and elusiveness. (Point for Aldo.) Unfortunately, Zuffa’s 145-pound division is more watered down than most of their other weight classes because of the talent overseas. (Point against Aldo.) While it can be said that only one or two of the world’s top ten fighters reside outside of Zuffa’s roster in most divisions, most people would admit that WEC may have as few as half of the top ten featherweights. Dominating wins over guys like Faber, Assuncao, Davis or Brown in a rematch could elevate him, but above St. Pierre? Above Penn? Above Anderson Silva?

Time will tell whether Aldo reaches stardom and the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. Maybe that makes patience the best policy here. But for anyone who follows boxing and sees the glamour and excitement surrounding their best at a similar weight, it’s easy to pine for a Jose Aldo fight that garners interest on the level of a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather fight.