UFC
Jose Aldo thinks move to featherweight may be best for teammate Renan Barao
Aug 4, 2015 - 12:00:04 PM Jose Aldo thinks move to featherweight may be best for teammate Renan Barao

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

With Renan Barao once again suffering a loss to T.J. Dillashaw, there's a renewed call for him to move up in weight, and his friend and teammate Jose Aldo believes that's for the best.

Speaking to reporters in Brazil on Saturday, Aldo said he'll support Barao with whatever he decides, but thinks coming up to featherweight may be the right move.

"We have to see what's best for Barao," Aldo said (via Guilherme Cruz at MMAFighting.com). "He suffers a lot to make weight. He's kind of strong for the division. I hope he moves up, yes. I will root for him no matter what, no matter where he is, at 145 [lbs.] or 135 [lbs]. I hope he can fight well at featherweight, that he moves up well.

"He has a good head and will bounce back, at my weight or at bantamweight."

Penick's Analysis: It's been thought for some time that both fighters would eventually move up, but while Aldo remains at featherweight for the time being, it certainly may be time for Barao to try something else. He's run into a stylistic nightmare for him in Dillashaw, and he's clearly had issues in his weight cut. It's hard for his frame to get down safely to 135 lbs., so taking away that significant of a cut may be highly beneficial. We'll see soon enough what he decides to do, but with friends and teammates backing the move, that may be what we see from him.