Aldo: "It Was The Easiest Weight-Cut I've Had"

The former UFC and WEC featherweight champion José Aldo has claimed that he has had very little issues in cutting weight ahead of his UFC 245 showdown with Marlon Moraes.

José has historically had a difficult cut to contend with - especially during his long run as the greatest featherweight on the planet - something that makes seeing him about to debut at bantamweight that bit stranger.

Marlon Moraes, though defeated by Henry Cejudo in his last outing, could well be the most dangerous finisher in the weight-class and with such a major test in front of him for his divisional debut, there have been some concerns raised about Aldo's suitability for this move.

Photos showing a very drained and gaunt version of the veteran ace flooded into circulation during the ongoing UFC 245 fight-week and while it's hard to know if José's performance will be affected, history will tell us that brutal weight-cuts rarely help.

We weighed up Aldo's chances next to his fellow WEC legend Urijah Faber in a piece that can be read here.

Speaking during a recent media-day interview with TheMacLife, Aldo claimed that his cut down to the 135lbs - at the time of the interview - was going better than he ever could have hoped.

“I feel great. The weight cut went the easiest [I could have] thought. I feel the strongest, fastest, most explosive [than] I’ve ever felt before. I’m professional. I’ve always made weight. There’s not even a question.”

“It was mostly my sensei Andre Pederneiras. I was just kind of fighting to fight and then he presented to me the idea to drop a weight class. It was a struggle for me to make 145 but I never had a nutritionist before."

The decision that led José to his upcoming 135lb debut was one that truly left the MMA community in a state of collective shock.

For years, especially during his reign as the featherweight king, there was a considerable amount of speculation tying Aldo to a move up to the lightweight division.

As a fighter on the larger side of the featherweight spectrum for most of his run, the speed and power possessed by the Brazilian - when coupled with his stellar grappling and takedown defence - saw many peg him as a potential problem at 155lbs.

As you would expect, the news that he would be fighting at 135lbs against his countryman Marlon Moraes was something of a shock.

Not to be perturbed by public reaction, Aldo doubled down on the fact that he had little issue altering his body - to such an extent that bantamweight is no longer out of the question.

Making his desire to achieve UFC championship gold clear, the legendary featherweight expressed his confidence in getting the job done on Saturday night.

"I believe in my coaches, I believe in him. I contemplated the idea and it was the easiest weight cut I’ve ever had and I’m ready to be here.

“There is no question about it. Tomorrow I start my path towards the 135-pound world championship.”