He needs all the help he can get, apparently.
José Aldo insists he will flaunt the UFC’s plans to ban fighter rehydration through intravenous drips.
The featherweight champion [although he shares that honour with Conor McGregor] made the declaration at a press briefing at the Nova Uniao gym, in Brazil, that he trains out of.
At present, fighters trying to shed pounds before UFC weigh-ins may use IV drips to quickly hydrate their bodies.
The UFC will ban the practice from October onwards in an attempt to stop fighters dropping dangerous amounts of weight over short periods of time.
Aldo and McGregor are tipped to meet in a unification bout on December 5, in Texas, with a January 2 date in Las Vegas another viable option. And, as far as Aldo is concerned, he will be using an IV drip.
He told reporters, ‘Just say you’re feeling sick and go to the hospital and they will rehydrate with an IV anyway. They can’t say ‘oh, come back later’.
‘But I don’t know about that yet. As an athlete, it’s hard to not use IV because that’s the best way to rehydrate.
‘They came here saying oral rehydration is better, but I don’t know how they came up with that. Any sick people that go to a hospital, the first thing they do is an IV.’
Aldo’s tirade was more so directed at the United States Anti-Doping Authority than his employers at the UFC. Even still, he came across as someone willing to put it up to the powers that be.
The Brazilian added, ‘I will continue to do IV, I don’t care. I’ll tell them I’m going to eat and do it instead.
‘They won’t take me out of the f***ing fight, so I don’t care. They can say whatever they want, but it’s scientifically proved the best way to rehydrate. Only if they put security guard with me 24 hours a day. I don’t care. That’s what’s going to happen.
‘I will do it anyway, or someone else will do it for me. I will go to a friend’s house, to a different hotel room. I don’t f***ing care about them. They won’t take me out of the fight anyway. They can’t take me from the fight. It’s not doping. They will say they will test me.
‘How are they going to get IV rehydration from my urine, brother? Only if they got new techniques. They are ninjas. They are f***ing stupid.’
H/t MMAFighting
