I agree with everything you said. So I just want to ask....why? What changed? Were his injuries between 2010-2014 just a bigger deal than we thought at the time?
The other argument (that UFC competition is just more fierce, so he dominated less) is a legit theory...but if that is true it takes away some of the force of your argument.
The UFC had no featherweight division back then, the competition was essentially the same. UFC bought WEC and transferred its roster into its own, with very few additions from other orgs and some fighters dropping from higher weightclasses.
But regardless, the level of one's opponent will obviously play a role in one's performance. But I feel there was more to it than that, with Aldo's change. I have a hard time putting words into it, so to illustrate what I feel in a quicker way, let's break it down to a simpler metaphor. Imagine a guy who has a heck of an overhand right, for example, and he's fighting in a regional org. He's fast and accurate with it, and he times it well, so he's destroying everyone with that overhand, in a matter of minutes, seconds sometimes. But then the guy gets scooped up by some legit org and all of the sudden he's fighting worldclass opposition. So he tries that overhand, he's still good with it, but his opponents see it coming now, or just move faster, and our guy misses, gets countered, his setups don't work as well as before, he still lands some but with lesser impact, etc. You get the grift. The thing is, UFC Aldo didn't even threw the overhand.
I think what changed the most was his mental. WEC Aldo was fighting for food and for a roof, UFC Aldo is fighting for a little more financial comfort, pride and legacy. The injuries and motorcycle accident obviously took their toll aswell, and even without them, training and fighting at such a high level so young makes fighters fade early, more often than not (he fought his first top 5 opponent at age 23, and hasn't stopped since, barring the Chito fight).
Maybe he was on "supplements" back then, too. That's a possibility. Regardless of the reason why, he didn't fight the same way in the UFC, with the same confidence in his physical abilities. To me, that's very clear to see. But it has benefits too. More composed, more patient, more measured.. But WEC Aldo fought to destroy.
