Jose Aldo's next fight opponent Chad Mendes believes he holds a psychological advantage. "Money" also claims that brash Irishman "The Notorious" Conor McGregor is a "bigger draw" than the current champion.
Jose Aldo's next fight is scheduled for UFC 179 on October 25, in his home country of Brazil, to defend his title for the second time against Chad "Money" Mendes. And for the challenger, he believes he holds a psychological advantage over the champion.
"For me it's basically me thinking I'm in his head, man," Mendes said in a report by MMA Fighting. "We've never seen Aldo do this with any opponent. I think he feels threatened in his head, which is right where I want to be. When you get into a stare-off and the guy shoves you or pushes you, it's kind of funny to me."
The tension prior to Jose Aldo's next fight had exponentially grown, after a brawl almost broke out between him and Mendes during the ceremonial media day in late August. Coincidentally, it happened right after the highly publicized scuffle between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier in their own pre-fight media obligation.
The said incident between Mendes and Aldo drew speculation from fans regarding its authenticity, but for "Money", what happened was real, without question.
"[Aldo] lost his temper, he lost his cool and that's never happened before," Mendes continued. "So he's trying to backtrack and cover that up, like, we were just trying to sell the fight. If that was the case, if you were trying to sell the fight, you wouldn't come out and say that afterwards."
Fellow featherweight contender Conor McGregor is currently in the cusp of a title shot, according to Dana White. The brash Irishman even issued a challenge to Chad Mendes as he heads to Brazil for the fight. And for "Money", fighting a "bigger draw" like McGregor is something he is interested in as well.
"If I go out there and beat Aldo I would rather fight a bigger name like Conor," Mendes claimed. "Not necessarily a bigger name, but a guy with a bigger draw like that. Like you said, that's going to be a ton more money. It's going to be a way bigger recognition fight."
