Daniel Cormier: There may perhaps be not any recognize for ‘smaller dudes’ Conor McGregor, Max Holloway if it weren’t for Jose Aldo

Daniel Cormier credit rating Jose Aldo for giving the lighter weight divisions legitimacy.

Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) returns vs. Jonathan Martinez (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 301 (Pay-per-watch/ESPN/ESPN+) co-well-known tournament at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Aldo, a dilapidated WEC and UFC featherweight champion, had a dominant reign within the octagon with seven title defenses before sooner or later opting to tumble down to bantamweight. Cormier praised Aldo for drawing people in with his performances.

“I didn’t recognize dinky guys to that degree before Aldo,” Cormier mentioned on his ESPN account for “Proper Guy/Spoiled Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “So there may perhaps be not this kind of thing as a Max (Holloway), Conor (McGregor), or any recognize for the smaller dudes if Aldo didn’t paved the kind with his performances. The 2nd that I actually known his superstar used to be when he fought Chad Mendes. When Chad’s within the abet of him, he’s bought a lock on the waist, Jose turns, affords him a knee, puts Chad down, jumps over the octagon, rushes to the crowd in Rio and he’s maintaining the flag.

“They’re choosing him up, jumping. It used to be a mob scene. I believed to myself, ‘Wow, if I’m able to be pleased one 2nd, correct one 2nd to actually feel what this man is feeling merely now, my total athletics career may perhaps well perhaps perhaps be total.’ One 2nd to actually feel what he felt, after watching his joy, his pleasure, and the kind he inspired a nation, the kind he inspired his city. I wished it one time, bro. That’s what Jose Aldo used to be.”

Aldo used to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Popularity after retiring in tumble of 2022. On the opposite hand, it didn’t grab prolonged for “The King of Rio” to receive the itch to compete again as he is decided to total the closing fight on his UFC contract vs. Martinez.

For extra on the cardboard, consult with MMA Junkie’s tournament hub for UFC 301.