WASHINGTON – Urijah Faber recalls the first time he cut down to 135 pounds and can relate to Jose Aldo’s current situation.
Faber, who bounced around between bantamweight and featherweight early in his career, ultimately decided to stick with 135 and has been competing at that weight class for the past nine years.
And like most people, Faber also has concerns over Aldo’s cut and how drained he’s looked in photos ahead of his fight vs. Marlon Moraes on Saturday at UFC 245.
“Aldo, in my opinion, is one of the best fighters to ever grace the sport,” Faber told MMA Junkie. “Seeing him make this weight cut, I know that he’s mentally tough enough to do it. I don’t know if it’s going to be the best for his body. I remember the first time I did (135), I was over-cutting because I was nervous about how it was going to go, so I was getting too small too early. I think he might be doing the same thing. I don’t think it’s going to be good for him. Hopefully he’s able to perform to the Aldo that we all know, but only time will tell on that one.”
Faber will share the same card as Aldo, when he takes on Petr Yan at UFC 245. Should Faber prevail, the former four-time UFC bantamweight title challenger will find himself back in 135-pound title contention and could cross paths with Aldo.
The two fought in 2010 for the WEC featherweight title, where Aldo was able to unleash an array of brutal leg kicks, en route to a unanimous decision win to retain his title.
While Faber is not too concerned about a rematch, he’d be happy to face Aldo if the stars aligned.
“I’m not trying to fight everyone in the division,” Faber said. “I’ve got a couple of key fights. I’ve got one right now that I’m focused on. If that’s a fight that the people want to see, absolutely. But one fight at a time and I’ll fight whoever.”
