Photo | Jose Aldo is looking absolutely shredded ahead of UFC 251 title fight with Petr Yan

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is looking absolutely shredded for his upcoming bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 251.

UFC president Dana White gave Aldo the title shot over the other top contenders at 135lbs including Aljamain Sterling, and fans and media have been critical of that decision by the UFC. Despite being a legend of the sport, Aldo has lost his last two fights to Marlon Moraes and Alex Volkanovski, so for Aldo to get a crack at the belt over the other top contenders in the bantamweight division is certainly a controversial decision from the organization.

That being said, it’s nice to see that Aldo is taking his training for this fight against Yan extremely seriously as we can tell by his photos just two weeks ahead of the fight. Take a look at the photo that Aldo’s training partner Leo Santos — who also competes on Fight Island — posted on his Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB8-Rf-BbYY/

The countdown for UFC 251 – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. ⠀ Today it was a great sparring day! Thanks to @dede_pederneiras and @josealdojunioroficial Oss I’m coming! TIME FOR FIGHTING!! #leosantosteam #leosantos

Getting back to Aldo, White recently explained why he gave him the title shot over the other top contenders at 135lbs.

“I’ve pretty much said a million times how I feel about that (fight with Moraes). A lot of people felt he won the fight. Jose Aldo’s one of the toughest (fighters). That’s the kid that Cejudo wanted. He was next in line for the title shot, how do we go back now and tell him Cejudo retired, so you don’t get the fight?” White said.

“If people disagree with that fight, you know my point of view on that, don’t watch it. Don’t watch the fight if you don’t like it. Aldo’s been around forever, the guy’s a warrior, and to say Aldo doesn’t deserve anything is ridiculous.”

White also spoke about what Aldo meaning a second UFC title would do for his legacy.

“It’s huge,” White said of Aldo winning a second belt. “I guess everybody would be wrong then, wouldn’t they, that he didn’t deserve the title shot. If he goes in (against Yan) and he gets absolutely dominated and its a one-sided fight and Aldo gets destroyed then they were right and we were wrong. You know, it happens.”

Do you think Jose Aldo has what it takes to beat Petr Yan at UFC 251?