Acclaimed best MMA fighter of the 2010 season (by GRACIEMAG, too), José Aldo will finally make his UFC debut. The black belt’s first effort defending the featherweight belt he won while still a part of the WEC will be a tricky one, as hometown boy Mark Hominick comes into the bout riding a five-fight win streak.
Despite his broad popularity, most of the 55 thousand paying crowd in attendance will be against the Brazilian. That’s why Aldo went to great lengths to be sure he would be at his best for the challenge. His immediate goal of defending and keeping his belt is part of a greater plan to have a second title defense, but at home, at the August 27 UFC Rio show.
The GRACIEMAG.com team is already on the ground in Toronto, but before taking off it got to check out some of the champion’s preparations for the occasion, at the height of intensity of his training camp. Check out some of his prep work in the video and photos below, and find out his thoughts in an exclusive interview with the Nova União fighter (in Portuguese).
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Confira o card do UFC 129:
UFC 129
April 30, 2011
Toronto, Canada
Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields
José Aldo vs. Mark Hominick
Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill
Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida
Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson
Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald
Brian Foster vs. Sean Pierson
Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin
Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts
Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia
Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen
John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson