Pedro Munhoz knows a thing or two about Jose Aldo and Rob Font.
The experienced bantamweight has shared the octagon against both UFC Vegas 44 headliners in the past, and discussed the Dec. 4 clash on this week’s episode of MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca.
Munhoz, who submitted Font in 2017 and lost a three-round decision to Aldo this past August in Texas, gives the edge to his fellow Brazilian in the main event of Saturday night’s Fight Night show at the UFC APEX.
“They both deserve to be in the position they are,” Munhoz said. “I thought Jose Aldo was really strong, one of the strongest fighters I’ve faced in the bantamweight division, and I already expected that because he dominated the [featherweight] division. He fit really well in the division.”
Aldo switched weight classes in 2019 and lost his first 135-pound bouts to Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan before earning decisions over Marlon Vera and Munhoz. Font, on the other hand, has gone 5-1 losing to Munhoz in Brazil.
“I’ve always watched Jose Aldo’s fights and always saw qualities in him, but he had better performances in his past two fights,” Munhoz said. “I believe he’s getting better in the technical aspect. He’s moving more since the Petr Yan fight and knew how to use his strategy better against me, and that didn’t surprise me because I knew it would be a tough fight.
“Font is also a very technical and versatile guy, a dangerous guy with long reach. Jose Aldo also has a long reach, but I believe Jose Aldo [wins] because he’s more resilient and powerful. He’s stronger and knows how to dictate the pace in his favor. I wouldn’t be surprised by Jose Aldo winning.”
Aldo said during a recent episode of Trocação Franca that he’s feeing “like a boy again” since he began training with the Brazilian Navy and wants to conquer the UFC in a second weight class. Munhoz, who has fought current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and trained with interim titleholder Yan in the past, wouldn’t be surprised by that either.
“I believe there’s a huge possibility [Aldo becomes champion],” Munhoz said. “I had the opportunity to train with Petr Yan here at American Top Team and he’s a great guy. He showed how skilled he is in his last fight against [Cory] Sandhagen, but, when we talk about strength and power, Jose Aldo has the edge.
“Yan is younger and can take a punch better than Aldo, [but] Jose Aldo didn’t move in that fight [again Yan at UFC 251]. Petr Yan was landing a lot. But you can see [Aldo] was moving way better against me. I’ve seen some interviews with [Aldo] saying he’s doing some specific work with the Brazilian Navy, and ‘Dede’ [Pederneiras] is such an excellent coach.
“We learn in defeat as we do with the wins and I think he started moving better on the outside since that fight. It was hard to find him. With this new skill now, I believe that fight between [Aldo] and Petr Yan would be a show.”