Video: Jose Aldo’s Training Partner Mimics Conor McGregor

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo continues his preparation for UFC 189 on July 11th, as he is set to square off against Conor McGregor with the 145-pound strap on the line. The two have shared a heated rivalry, typical of anyone that ‘The Notorious’ has faced since joining the UFC in 2013. The anticipation builds, with a fair amount of believers in the challenger’s abilities, and a lot of that is due to his silky smooth style and size.

It looks like Nova Uniao may have found the answer to that part of the riddle though, as the champion’s camp has brought in Jonas Bilharinho to spar with Aldo. Check out the video posted to the 6-0-1 two-weight champion’s Youtube page above, and here are some quotes from Bilharinho via MMAJunkie.com:

“I was so excited, I can’t describe what I felt. Jose Aldo is No. 1 in the world. It’s an amazing opportunity, to do this for him, and it’s unique. And after that capoeira,” Bilharinho said. “After that ninjitsu, boxing, muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, wrestling – I always liked to experience different ways of fighting. My mom would say to me, ‘This way, you’ll never get good at anything.’ But she didn’t know that some day I would use all of this in one art: MMA.”

A southpaw, just like the Irish sensation McGregor, the Brazilian says that it was easy to mimic the UFC 189 title challenger, but doesn’t agree with McGregor’s games outside of the octagon:

“I’m already left-handed, and we’ve got some similar tools in our game, so it’s easy to emulate Conor McGregor for me,” Bilharinho said. “We’re a little bit similar. Some of the strikes he delivers, I like those – but not all the game-playing.”

“I want to fight in the UFC, man,” he said. “There’s no other way I see myself going. I was the bantamweight champion in Jungle Fight, and then I moved up to featherweight and got that title as well. I don’t know what else I can do in Brazil. I want to go to the UFC. I want to be tested.”

So on to the prediction for the fight, and obviously Bilharinho is backing his new training buddy and champion ‘Scarface’:

“Jose is going to chop his head off,” Bilharinho said. “I think McGregor will drop with the first hand that Jose puts on him.”

It’s important to have accurately copied sparring partners when facing an unorthodox fighter like ‘The Notorious’, but what they won’t be able to emulate is the atmosphere in the octagon. McGregor brings with him a world of noise and intensity, though that may not necessarily phase the iron-willed champion. Aldo or McGregor? Place your bet at WilliamHill.com