Aldo himself ‘lost the fight’ against Bautista at UFC 307

TJ Dillashaw thinks Jose Aldo has only himself to blame for his loss to Mario Bautista.

Aldo (32-9 MMA, 14-8 UFC) was knocked out by Bautista (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in a split-decision loss at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City last Saturday. Although he wasn’t knocked out in the fight, fans were left frustrated after Bautista pinned Aldo against the cage in round 3, with little to no activity.

Dillashaw was surprised to see Aldo just let Bautista hold him down and believes the former UFC featherweight champion should have shown a sense of urgency to free himself from the cage.

“My frustration comes from, how the hell does Aldo not know how to get out of the cage?” Dillashaw said on the Jaxxon Podcast. “It’s almost like he wants to relax here because he doesn’t want to get tired. He can come out so easily. (Bautista) has put his wrong leg forward, so he has to use the right underhook and his right leg will be forward.

“That’s the easiest thing to get out of the cage every time. I’m surprised a world champion doesn’t get out of the cage with these kinds of techniques. (A lot of people) thought Aldo should have won. To be honest, I don’t know. He kept himself here. I’m not that angry. He himself lost the battle.”

Dillashaw thinks Aldo’s strategy was to reserve energy, but if he fails to break free from the cage, it will look bad for the judges.

“You just take a chance,” Dillashaw said. ‘You give it to this judge – he forces me against the cage, instead of taking every chance, to circle around the cage. The same mentality I have in every fight is you gotta fucking kill me. You’re not going to stop me, you’re not going to hold me against the cage. I’m going to do what I want to do.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s events hub for UFC 307.