Aldo's keys to victory

Jose Aldo Jr. has taken the featherweight divison by storm. Undefeated for five years, the young Brazilian champion has knocked out his last six opponents in brutal fashion. In his last fight, Aldo mugged feared champion Mike Brown without breaking a sweat. Now he faces the toughest test of his young career in Urijah Faber. These are his keys to victory:

1. Control the center of the cage: Jose Aldo's main attribute is his devastating striking style. He will look to keep the fight standing and explode on Faber when he sees the opportunity. In order to do this, the champ must establish his power early and often. The longer Faber survives on his feet the more confident he will become. Take the center of the cage and make Faber fight your fight. Lure the hometown hero into exchanges and keep away from the cage.

2. Don't be overconfident/Don't underestimate Faber: Big shiny belts have a reputation of making people cocky and comfortable. Riding a six fight win streak must be pretty nice, and to be honest if I was Aldo, I would probably be feeling really confident walking into the cage. It is ok to be confident, but Faber is dangerous. The California Kid is hungry for that belt and is fighting in his hometown. Faber is looking for redemption and will not go down easily. Jose cannot underestimate his opponent's unorthodox style. Faber has the ability to do major damage from almost every position. He has a good chin, world class cardio, heavy hands, and a big heart. Also, Urijah is well rounded enough to stand and bang or take it to the mat.

3. Press the action: Don't lay back and wait. Press forward and pressure Faber with strikes.

4. Use BJJ pedigree only as a last resort: Avoid going to the ground with Faber. Although Aldo is a world class BJJ black belt, Faber is a gorilla on the mat and has submitted many top notch black belts. I believe that Faber is also physically stronger then Aldo and has better wrestling. In a pure BJJ contest Aldo would most likely win, but MMA is much different. Faber is a master of ground and pound and is unorthodox and quick in his scrambling abilities. If Aldo finds himself on his back he should stay busy and look for an opportunity to explode back to his feet.