Jose Aldo's pre-fight introduction lasted longer than his actual bout at Sunday's WEC 41 event.
And though his stunning, eight-second flying-knee knockout of Cub Swanson gave him his eighth straight victory and a perfect 5-0 record in the WEC, Aldo isn't necessarily guaranteed the next title shot with current featherweight champ Mike Brown.
Aldo (15-1 MMA, 5-0 WEC), though, feels his body of work has earned him a shot at the belt.
Soon after his victory in the night's co-main event, he was asked the possibility.
"I'm sure I deserve the title shot right now," he said.
Good luck trying to prove otherwise. Since joining the WEC in June 2008, the Nova Uniao fighter has fought five times – three times in 2009 already – with five victories via knockout, the past three in the first round.
So is it safe to assume that's worthy of a title shot?
"It's not safe to say," WEC General Manager Reed Harris told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I actually need to sit down with our matchmaker, Sean Shelby, and he'll ultimately make that decision."
Aldo's title shot certainly seems likely, though. With Brown's unanimous-decision win over former champ Urijah Faber on Sunday's card (and Brown's initial victory over then-champ Faber in late 2008), a third matchup won't happen anytime soon (especially considering the broken hand Faber suffered in the first round of the fight). The WEC's 145-pound division is one of the most stacked in all of MMA, but few, if any, contenders boast the resume Aldo has assembled over the past 12 months.
Harris actually spoke to Aldo immediately following his victory over Swanson. The discussion wasn't about title shots or his future, though. Harris simply offered the youngster some words of advice before his post-fight celebration went too far.
"Jose Aldo is a young kid," Harris said. "He's very excited. He's a complete badass. I wasn't concerned at all. I just told him to calm down because in California, the commission is strict. The commission had announced at the (rules) meeting that if anybody jumped up on the cage, they could be suspended. I just didn't want to see Jose do that. He was under control. He smiled at me. He wants to do flips and all that.
"If I won a fight in eight seconds, I'd probably want to do flips, too."
And though his stunning, eight-second flying-knee knockout of Cub Swanson gave him his eighth straight victory and a perfect 5-0 record in the WEC, Aldo isn't necessarily guaranteed the next title shot with current featherweight champ Mike Brown.
Aldo (15-1 MMA, 5-0 WEC), though, feels his body of work has earned him a shot at the belt.
Soon after his victory in the night's co-main event, he was asked the possibility.
"I'm sure I deserve the title shot right now," he said.
Good luck trying to prove otherwise. Since joining the WEC in June 2008, the Nova Uniao fighter has fought five times – three times in 2009 already – with five victories via knockout, the past three in the first round.
So is it safe to assume that's worthy of a title shot?
"It's not safe to say," WEC General Manager Reed Harris told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I actually need to sit down with our matchmaker, Sean Shelby, and he'll ultimately make that decision."
Aldo's title shot certainly seems likely, though. With Brown's unanimous-decision win over former champ Urijah Faber on Sunday's card (and Brown's initial victory over then-champ Faber in late 2008), a third matchup won't happen anytime soon (especially considering the broken hand Faber suffered in the first round of the fight). The WEC's 145-pound division is one of the most stacked in all of MMA, but few, if any, contenders boast the resume Aldo has assembled over the past 12 months.
Harris actually spoke to Aldo immediately following his victory over Swanson. The discussion wasn't about title shots or his future, though. Harris simply offered the youngster some words of advice before his post-fight celebration went too far.
"Jose Aldo is a young kid," Harris said. "He's very excited. He's a complete badass. I wasn't concerned at all. I just told him to calm down because in California, the commission is strict. The commission had announced at the (rules) meeting that if anybody jumped up on the cage, they could be suspended. I just didn't want to see Jose do that. He was under control. He smiled at me. He wants to do flips and all that.
"If I won a fight in eight seconds, I'd probably want to do flips, too."
