Font Vs Aldo: Post Fight-Day Thoughts

[Mahony]

I just feel compelled to say after the criticism Aldo faced last night in overcoming a tough test that I do find the contingent of this forum complaining about Aldo grappling last night plain dumb. This is MMA. He showed a complete game to win last night, just like Max did against Yair. Some of you need to go watch boxing or Glory. Do you guys even know what you're watching?

Even funnier is Aldo either dropped or hurt Font in four of those five rounds last night and he's still getting shit for out-grappling him last night and continuing to work to pass despite being in top control.

MMA fans are the worst.

Also as an aside, how crazy is it that these guys have almost 15 years of tape on Aldo and how he fights and they still have issues with his style. Him mixing it up is enabling him to win these fights despite injuries and mileage almost completely removing his kicks. The tools are sharper despite the athleticism, durability and reflexes obviously fading. What a legend.

WAR Font for bringing out the best in Aldo by the way. That guy is a really good fighter. Anyone giving him shit doesn't realize how good Aldo still is despite being shop worn.

Don't pay attention to those JBG zealots, it was an awesome fight

 

[JSN]

I just feel compelled to say after the criticism Aldo faced last night in overcoming a tough test that I do find the contingent of this forum complaining about Aldo grappling last night plain dumb. This is MMA. He showed a complete game to win last night, just like Max did against Yair. Some of you need to go watch boxing or Glory. Do you guys even know what you're watching?

Even funnier is Aldo either dropped or hurt Font in four of those five rounds last night and he's still getting shit for out-grappling him last night and continuing to work to pass despite being in top control.

MMA fans are the worst.

I think the driver there is that Aldo was so passive in terms of striking on the ground, that one can make a reasonable case that it was the lower % move to maintain control at all costs vs to try to punish his opponent when he had the advantage. A fight like Volk-Ortega comes to mind where Volk was mostly finding a slight edge in striking but really dished out punishment when he was on top.

That changed the complexion of that fight more than winning any round on top position alone could. It probably didn’t matter in this case because turns out Aldo was able to find the chin in every round, but it may not be Aldo fighting to his best advantage.

Who knows though he clearly has some physical limitations he’s disguising well. Someone said in another thread that one of his feet or super fucked up from a motorcycle accident.

 

[MCS]

I don’t think I can co-sign that. The shots Font took were hard and flush. The only guy I can recall walking through shots like that were Max, who has a retardedly good chin, I think took fewer per round anyway, and was tagging Aldo more in the process.

IMO the effect those punches were having speak more to Font spending too much time standing where he shouldn’t have been standing and lack of secondary defense while doing it.

Defense is part of it, also how much Font was hurt going into the 2nd round, but if I had to point at one thing that made the difference it was Aldo hurting Font about 5 times in the fight, when Font looked to mostly be in control. I think there is a difference, if you look at Aldo's last 5 fights before this. It's also looking at the Munhoz and Lineker fights for Font, along with this. The durability.

 

[Dorkman]

I know this has been said at nauseam, but if Aldo was in someway able to start mixing in those leg kicks on a more frequent basis he could honestly contend and possibly win another title. We saw it last night, as soon as Aldo threw a few leg kicks on Font the whole trajectory of the fight changed..

Jose is an elite leg kicker he really needs to make that a more regular attack in is arsenal..

I don't think he can like he used to. His legs have taken crazy damage over the years firing the missiles he used to throw with them. He started to kick one of those rounds but by mid round backed off again even though they were dropping font. I think his legs get easily damaged now from the years of beating and he just can't sustain it as long as pain likely starts setting in for him.

 

[ConditFan]

I know this has been said at nauseam, but if Aldo was in someway able to start mixing in those leg kicks on a more frequent basis he could honestly contend and possibly win another title. We saw it last night, as soon as Aldo threw a few leg kicks on Font the whole trajectory of the fight changed..

Jose is an elite leg kicker he really needs to make that a more regular attack in is arsenal..

It's risky. Aldo knows better than anyone on this board. Throwing alot of leg kicks as hard as Aldo does could hurt his foot (again). Against wrestlers(Frankie) it gives them opportunities for tds. Against strikers it gives them opportunities for counters (Max).

I feel the best mix is 2-3 hard kicks per Rd. Not enough to time them but enough to get the opponent thinking about it.

 

[Substance Abuse]

I think the driver there is that Aldo was so passive in terms of striking on the ground, that one can make a reasonable case that it was the lower % move to maintain control at all costs vs to try to punish his opponent when he had the advantage. A fight like Volk-Ortega comes to mind where Volk was mostly finding a slight edge in striking but really dished out punishment when he was on top.

That changed the complexion of that fight more than winning any round on top position alone could. It probably didn’t matter in this case because turns out Aldo was able to find the chin in every round, but it may not be Aldo fighting to his best advantage.

Who knows though he clearly has some physical limitations he’s disguising well. Someone said in another thread that one of his feet or super fucked up from a motorcycle accident.

He wasn't throwing but he was constantly moving to improve position. Aldo rode out top control but he was working to half, full and mount consistently. You can say he was stalling but if that was the case, it was some expert level stalling because he didn't just lay there.

Also has broken his foot in a motorcycle accident which also really fucked up his back and then broke it in the KZ fight. Injuries have also changed Aldo's game. He's reticent to kick. His corner correctly implored him to do so last night and he seemingly did it begrudgingly.

 

[Franklin U.]

Aldo is a first tier goat. Theres only one fighter ( other than jose)that has logged in (and still current) more straight years as an elite fighter as we're on top of 2022. If Aldo was still doing this at 145 , I'd have him top 3 all time. Nevertheless, hes in my 1st tier top 10 goat.

 

[bobgeese]

If you watched Aldo from the beginning, that was a hard fight to watch.


Father Time is a motherfucker...

 

[Substance Abuse]

If you watched Aldo from the beginning, that was a hard fight to watch.


Father Time is a motherfucker...

Yeah it was. Very tense.

 

[JSN]

He wasn't throwing but he was constantly moving to improve position. Aldo rode out top control but he was working to half, full and mount consistently. You can say he was stalling but if that was the case, it was sold expert level stalling because he didn't just lay there.

Also has broken his foot in a motorcycle accident which also really fucked up his back and then broke it in the KZ fight. Injuries have also changed Aldo's game. He's reticent to kick. His corner correctly implored him to do so last night and he seemingly did it begrudgingly.

He was constantly fighting to better position but the only significant thing to come of it ( other then the positional advantage in and of itself) was that close RNC attempt at the end.

But he had long moments where he had really nice 3/4 Mount, full mount, back mount, and never through a single ill intentioned strike. What was the end goal, to eventually crawl up so he was standing on Font’s head and bow to the crowd?

All I’m saying is that if he had even made measured attempts to hurt Font on the ground, that he would have been better served.

 

[Substance Abuse]

He was constantly fighting to better position but the only significant thing to come of it ( other then the positional advantage in and of itself) was that close RNC attempt at the end.

But he had long moments where he had really nice 3/4 Mount, full mount, back mount, and never through a single ill intentioned strike. What was the end goal, to eventually crawl up so he was standing on Font’s head and bow to the crowd?

All I’m saying is that if he had even made measures attempts to hurt Font on the ground, that he would have been better served.

I get your point. Mine is that he was winning in those positions so it doesn't necessarily matter and the criticism isn't really warranted.

So on my end, to summarize, haters gonna hate, lol.

 

[JSN]

I get your point. Mine is that he was winning in those positions so it doesn't necessarily matter and the criticism isn't really warranted.

So on my end, to summarize, haters gonna hate, lol.

Yeah agreed if they’re saying it shouldn’t count.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Yeah agreed if they’re saying it shouldn’t count.

 

[JosephTessaro]

I know this has been said at nauseam, but if Aldo was in someway able to start mixing in those leg kicks on a more frequent basis he could honestly contend and possibly win another title. We saw it last night, as soon as Aldo threw a few leg kicks on Font the whole trajectory of the fight changed..

Jose is an elite leg kicker he really needs to make that a more regular attack in is arsenal..

I thought this same thing about the leg kicks, but also about his ground work. On the feet his punches look good, but if he started with leg kicks in round 1 Font would have been guessing. Mix in a takedown but use ground n pound, man it looked like Aldo was in a few really good positions, even mount at the end and could have reigned down shots but didn't. Maybe he was gassed, I don't know.

Then I thought IF he did this...leg kicks, body shots, takedown, ground n pound, he could be champ again but then I realized there is this guy named Yan that is a fucking killer in the division.

 

[JSN]

Defense is part of it, also how much Font was hurt going into the 2nd round, but if I had to point at one thing that made the difference it was Aldo hurting Font about 5 times in the fight, when Font looked to mostly be in control. I think there is a difference, if you look at Aldo's last 5 fights before this. It's also looking at the Munhoz and Lineker fights for Font, along with this. The durability.

In that case you’re saying that anyone who doesn’t have a prime Mark Hunt chin has durability issues. Font caught super hard strikes as flush and poorly positioned as you could get and remained game throughout. That doesn’t strike me as a fighter with durability issues, but rather defense ones.

 

[13Seconds]

I just feel compelled to say after the criticism Aldo faced last night in overcoming a tough test that I do find the contingent of this forum complaining about Aldo grappling last night plain dumb. This is MMA. He showed a complete game to win last night, just like Max did against Yair. Some of you need to go watch boxing or Glory. Do you guys even know what you're watching?

Even funnier is Aldo either dropped or hurt Font in four of those five rounds last night and he's still getting shit for out-grappling him last night and continuing to work to pass despite being in top control.

MMA fans are the worst.

Also as an aside, how crazy is it that these guys have almost 15 years of tape on Aldo and how he fights and they still have issues with his style. Him mixing it up is enabling him to win these fights despite injuries and mileage almost completely removing his kicks. The tools are sharper despite the athleticism, durability and reflexes obviously fading. What a legend.

WAR Font for bringing out the best in Aldo by the way. That guy is a really good fighter. Anyone giving him shit doesn't realize how good Aldo still is despite being shop worn.

I was relieved when Aldo decided to grapple him and rest on top. He always had limited cardio and im glad he knows what to do to not gas himself out in the heat of the moment.
Jose is a special ahtlete for this game. He beat a top guy in Nougeira in 2008, and 13 years later he’s still beating top 5 guys.

For comparison Brock was heavyweight champ, Jon Jones had one UFC fight, McGregor had one MMA fight, Holloway had 0, Poirer had 0, Yan wouldn’t have a pro fight for 6 years, Font for 3 years.

And he’s still beating top 5 guys in dominant fashion.

As far as Mr. Font, dude was unreal last night, did it perfectly but just kept getting caught. He looked so good in the first round and had his moments in almost every round.

 

[TimeisNOW]

my honest thoughts are font is one year younger than aldo.

 

[Substance Abuse]

I was relieved when Aldo decided to grapple him and rest on top. He always had limited cardio and im glad he knows what to do to not gas himself out in the heat of the moment.
Jose is a special ahtlete for this game. He beat a top guy in Nougeira in 2008, and 13 years later he’s still beating top 5 guys.

For comparison Brock was heavyweight champ, Jon Jones had one UFC fight, McGregor had one MMA fight, Holloway had 0, Poirer had 0, Yan wouldn’t have a pro fight for 6 years, Font for 3 years.

And he’s still beating top 5 guys in dominant fashion.

As far as Mr. Font, dude was unreal last night, did it perfectly but just kept getting caught. He looked so good in the first round and had his moments in almost every round.

People don't even know who Alexandre was, lol.

I agree with every point you made. It's crazy he's still doing this.

I also echo your sentiment with Font.

 

[MCS]

In that case you’re saying that anyone who doesn’t have a prime Mark Hunt chin has durability issues. Font caught super hard strikes as flush and poorly positioned as you could get and remained game throughout. That doesn’t strike me as a fighter with durability issues, but rather defense ones.

I think for Font going forward he can't do much about shot absorbing, but can get better defense or how he closes distance with strikes. 34 isn't young, but he's not had that many miles, at least compared to Aldo. Thought in the 5th round in the clinch position he could've put Aldo away by opening up, so a killer instinct thing as well, which he's shown more in the past.