Eventually Jose Aldo has to look old. He can't keep winning at the highest while being a few years away from an AARP card. If you watch his last fight, he didn't really seem to skip a beat. He seemed fast, clean and ready to work his way through the division. But what we also saw was Jonathan Martinez be gun shy and seemingly afraid to fight. I feel like Jose's last performance was aided by Jonathans hesitancy and Mario won't be that guy. I am going to pick Mario because i do think age will finally matter and think Mario will be just a tiny bit fast and a tiny bit cleaner. Mario is the pick but I can't bring myself to bet on this.
Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo is the greatest 145lb fighter of all time and he reminded of us of that fact when he came out of retirement earlier this year to beat Jonathan Martinez. Style wise he is great counter striker with very technical muay thai, great BJJ and very good wrestling. His leg kicks and counter striking are a nightmare for almost everyone and he might have the best takedown defense of all time. He is definitely old at a listed 38, when in reality he is over 40. His only loss in in the last 4 years was to current champion Merab Dvalishvili.
Mario Bautista
Mario Bautista is a high volume, get one to give one style striker. He sets a nice pace and is always plotting forward while being light on his feet. He has been steadily evolving in his last few fights and is now on a 6 fight win streak. While he is primarily a striker, he has worked in 12 takedowns in his last 6 fights. He is coming off the one sided win over Ricky Simon where he looked great moving forward and landing combinations.