Jose Aldo’s Coach Says Aldo Was Dealing With a Leg Injury Prepping For UFC 212

Jose Aldo’s coach says that the former UFC featherweight champion’s lack of leg kicks at UFC 212 were the result of a leg injury while he was training for the fight. Andre Pederneiras during an interview on the FOX Fight Club Facebook page (via MMAjunkie) that Aldo was unable to kick during training due to the injury.

“Many people ask why he didn’t throw kicks – Aldo had a leg injury, so he couldn’t do any kicking throughout the camp; he couldn’t run, do any of that,” Pederneiras said. “Not that it takes away from Max Holloway and his win – we’re not saying that at all – but many people asked why he didn’t kick. It’s funny, because every round, I’d step down (from the octagon) and the crowd would be like, ‘Tell him to kick!’ and I’d say, ‘OK, hang on’ and I’d turn around and only us in the corner knew. We were really avoiding the kicks because of this injury. We were afraid (the muscle) would tear there.”

He continued, “So we spent the entire camp working on boxing, takedowns and the ground. Since Aldo felt good in the first two rounds with the boxing – he won the first two – he said he’d keep it going there until a point in which he could take (Holloway) down, without worrying too much about taking him down then. But then a punch landed, and then it all fell apart.”

Pederneiras noted that he wasn’t making excuses for Aldo’s loss to Max Holloway and congratulated the latter for the win, noting that they expect to get a title shot sooner rather than later.