8 things that you may not know about Jose Aldo Jr.

Jose Aldo Jr. the man is as interesting a study, if not more, as the fighterBefore the dust has even settled surrounding Ronda Rousey’s head kick knockout at the hands(or should i say feet?) of Holly Holm at UFC 193, fight fans around the globe have been afforded little leeway to catch their breath, given that the hugely anticipated clash between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor at UFC 194 is only around the corner.While UFC 193 was as assertive, a confirmation as one could hope to receive about the utter unpredictability of MMA, perhaps in hindsight, it was indeed a blessing in disguise that the fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor did not come to pass at UFC 189.That being said, while the fanfare and hype surrounding the build-up to their encounter has been second to none, it still beguiles as to how exactly Conor McGregor has been listed as the odds-on favourite for the fight ahead of the reigning, defending UFC Featherweight Champion of the World, Jose Aldo.Regardless, for anyone who has seen Jose Aldo fight, the laid back attitude and soft-spoken nature that he displays outside of the octagon merely serves as the perfect foil for his uncontained explosiveness inside it.Ranging from highly debilitating leg kicks to blitzing flurries of combinations, Aldo has been proving himself as a fighter par excellence for the last decade but Jose Aldo the man hardly advertises himself unlike his upcoming opponent.With that in mind, here are 8 things that you may not know about Jose Aldo Junior, the human being behind the champion.

#1 Rags to riches

Jose Aldo today is an inspiration to many kids in Brazil – a true rags to riches story that gives them hope

Without being cliched, Jose Aldo’s life story could just as easily have been lifted off a movie script, and quite rightly is taking the form of one in Brazil given his meteoric rise from the impoverished streets of Manaus into global superstardom.

Borne of a father who grappled with his drinking problems and a mother who left home when he was just 14, unable to bear the abuse, Jose Aldo’s journey from obscurity into being considered as one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world has not been without its overt share of challenges, but also stands testament to the man’s ability to embrace the grind.

Growing up in a neighbourhood where travelling to the capital of the country, Rio de Janeiro, was considered to be a dream that was realistically out of reach, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to single out Jose Aldo as a true inspiration to the kids littering the streets of Brazil.

Too often have fighters been described as inspirations, but Jose Aldo’s story can genuinely and rightfully stake its claim; after all, a true tale of rags to riches in every sense is painstakingly rare in today’s world.

#2 Football was his first love

Jose Aldo is a self-confessed football fanatic and supports Flamengo and Chelsea FC

While MMA fans may make the natural association between Brazil and Jiu-Jistu, many other people over the world would ideally connect the country with the overload of footballing talent that it is customarily reknowned for.

Growing up in the streets of Manaus, Jose Aldo was no different as his first love and passion was indeed the beautiful game. Like troves of other children who hone their skills playing street football in Brazil, Aldo’s love affair with the game began early and could have blossomed further had fighting not interceded and diverted the course of his destiny.

By his own admission, he played football for quite a few schools and clubs in Brazil and was fairly successful at it, until he realised that the fights that used to arise from footballing rivalries were his true subject of interest. Sure enough, his coach coaxed him away from football and towards a career in fighting, and the rest as they say, is history.

#3 From Capoeira to MMA

Despite displaying a heavily Muay Thai influenced style of fighting, Jose Aldo’s roots are still formed by his expertise in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

While his initial foray into martial arts was through his taste of the dynamic and exuberant art form of Capoeira, the strings of passion that he developed for fighting was truly tugged by the chess game that is Jiu-Jitsu.

Despite being reknowned as a lethal striker, his uncompromising mastery of the ground game is what earned him a black-belt in Jiu-Jitsu and actually kickstarted his MMA career.

Much like how collegiate wrestlers follow through into MMA in the USA, mastery over Jiu-Jistu generally translates into a career in MMA in Brazil and Jose Aldo’s route was no different.

After winning notable national Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, he made the journey to the country’s capital in the hope of training in one of the premier light-weight dojos in the world run by Andre “Dede” Pederneiras, the Nova Uniao gym, and hasn’t looked back ever since, honing his skills and abilities in Muay Thai and Luta Livre as well.

#4 Came to Rio only armed with a dream

Jose Aldo training by the ocean side in Rio de Janeiro – something that was once little more than a dream

Echoning Martin Luther King J’s iconic words, albeit in a wholly different sense, Jose Aldo’s rise to the top began with just a dream.

Often dismissed by his mother as a child’s whimsical imagination, Aldo’s intense desire to one day stay in Rio de Janeiro, overseeing the ocean, finally blossomed into reality when he managed to charter his way to the capital through flight, but an acute constraint of funds meant that he even had to walk to the dojo from the airport.

Often relying on his friends’ charity for food in his initial days there, Aldo spent his youth training under Pederneiras and living at the dojo, until an opportunity arose to move into the infamous favelas or slums of Brazil.

Although regularly wrenched into wakefulness and lulled into sleep by the sound of bullets and gunfire, Aldo still claims he was living the dream in Rio; the evidence of which was presented to his mother in the form of water from the ocean and sea shells from the shores – the boy from the streets of Manaus had finally realised his dream.

#5 Met his wife in the gym

It is certainly noteworthy that the love affair between Aldo and Vivianne started off in the gym

For a man who is as dedicated to his goal as Jose Aldo, it offers little by way of surprise that he met his wife while training at the dojo in Rio. Also not a native of the capital, but instead hailing from Anderson Silva’s hometown of Curitiba, Vivianne Perreira had likewise sought out the dojos in Rio in the hope of elite training in her discipline, Muay Thai.

As the story goes, Jose Aldo who had been living in the Favelas when they started dating, was asked to move in with her into her home only to be rain checked by Vivianne’s father, who insisted on them getting married before sharing the same roof.

After watching his mother leave due to his father’s ill-treatment of her, Aldo’s conviction that he would never drink or hit his wife has held firm till today, Vivianne confirms. Not only that, he also steers clear from partying, smoking or drugs, a pitfall many MMA fighters fall prey to upon the behest of the slightest bulging lump in their pockets.

#6 Pedro \'The Rock\' Rizzo was his inspiration

Here Jose Aldo is seen training his kicking technique with retired UFC veteran and Brazilian legend Pedro Rizzo

Like Royce Gracie was one of the earliest adverts for BJJ, Pedro ‘ The Rock’ Rizzo was one of the first knock-out machines that Brazil produced who went on to inspire a long line of devastating strikers who then graced the UFC from the South American nation.

Jose Aldo was one such product, as he borrowed belief from a man to whom he was privy to from close quarters, who used to go on and knock people out for fun in the post-early UFC days.

Even the greatest of champions need a source of inspiration to draw from, and without a shadow of a doubt, Pedro Rizzo and his exploits in the UFC served as exactly that for Jose Aldo in the seeking of his own destiny.

Perhaps as Aldo would suggest, he always held a firm belief that he would one day be champion, but there is no mistaking the striking similarity, forgive the pun, in the way both fighters throw their lethal leg kicks.

#7 Scarface

The story behind the patented scar still begets a few questions.

When he signed for WEC in 2008, the president of the company had little reservation or doubt in establishing Jose Aldo’s nickname as “Scarface”, but the story as to how he obtained the scar in itself is in itself not quite as cut and dry, to put it midly.

According to the man himself, he had been precariously placed in a box right next to a barbecue grill during a football World Cup party held in 1986, and happened to be inadvertently introduced into the pit by his two sisters who were playing around.

Believable on all acounts, especially since Aldo has consistently stuck with the story throughout his career, excepting for a disturbing caveat that places the scene of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico during the months of May and June, while it is officially recorded that Jose Aldo was born only in September of that year. Intruiging, to say the least.

#8 Has been undefeated for over 10 years!

In spite of his dominance for over a decade in the Featherweight division, Conor McGregor likely poses Aldo’s most legitimate threat thus far

This November 26th 2015, marked the 10th year anniversary of Jose Aldo’s undefeated streak. To put that into perspective, Conor McGregor had not yet even braved his first MMA bout when Aldo’s undefeated streak began.

While this fact underscores McGregor’s expeditious rise to fame, it also lends much credibility to the magnitude of the challenge that lays before the Notorious one come December 12th.

Any champion who is undefeated for a considerable period of time tends to either get complacent with each fight, like Anderson Silva betrayed in the first fight with Weidman, or even more intensely guarded of their legacy as in the case of Floyd Mayweather.

Looking past all the marketing that has gone into this fight, thanks primarily to McGregor’s antics, their bout also juxtaposes two inherently different stories of success, yet one as compelling as the other.

Will the boy from Manaus with dreams too big for his destiny prevail in what could be his sternest test till date, or will the hype train of Conor McGregor run riot through the heart of Brazil? Only time, and not too long mind you, will tell.