Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz face off on Saturday in a bantamweight showdown for the co-main event of UFC 265 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Jose Aldo is one of the best fighters in UFC history but he has been a whole lot more inconsistent as of late. Aldo comes into this fight with a 29-7 record overall but he has lost three of his last four fights. The one win during that stretch for Aldo was in his last start against Marlon Vera in December of 2020. In that fight, Aldo was actually outstruck by two significant strikes, but he was still able to come away with the victory. Jose Aldo during his UFC career is averaging 3.45 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.52 significant strikes per minute. Aldo is averaging 0.57 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 56 percent of his takedown attempts. Aldo at times has looked slow, and in this fight, he needs to be a lot better early.
On the other side of this fight is Pedro Munhoz who sits with a 19-6 record overall and he has lost two of his last three fights. The last win for Munhoz came in his last fight against Jimmie Riveria, in February of 2021. Munhoz outstruck his opponent 94-65 and that led to the victory for Munhoz. The two previous fights were losses, including a fight against Frankie Edgar. Munhoz is averaging 5.60 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 5.87 significant strikes per minute. Munhoz has 0.60 takedowns every 15 minutes, but he is successful on 21 percent of his takedown attempts. Munhoz is also stopping 80 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.
I don’t trust Jose Aldo especially when he is a favorite. In this fight, Munhoz is going to have some strong output early and that will be the difference as he cruises to the victory. Back Munhoz to pull the upset.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
