UFC analyst Kenny Florian questions Jose Aldo’s will: ‘Are you still motivated to fight?’

Florian: “We’re gonna find out pretty quickly what Jose Aldo is all about.”

It’s no secret that, despite being one of the best fighters in the world, Jose Aldo has seemed a little disinterested in MMA as of late.

‘Scarface’ said he wants to finish his UFC contract so he can pursue a professional career in boxing, and former opponent Kenny Florian, who now works as a UFC commentator and analyst, wonders if Max Holloway ‘broke him mentally’ in their featherweight title unification bout earlier this year.

“That’s the big question for me, because although he was winning the majority of that fight against Max Holloway, early on especially, as the fight went on it seemed like it was the Jose Aldo that kind of loses interest in the fight,” Florian said on The Anik & Florian podcast, per MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew. “It seemed like maybe he was a little bit bored or didn’t want to work as hard as he normally does during the fight. He didn’t have that same kind of pep in his step and Holloway just took it to him, kept pressuring him backwards and Holloway just broke him mentally and then took him out with skill. It was a beautiful thing to watch.”

Aldo, 31, started off strong against ‘Blessed’ but was overwhelmed and battered in the third round, succumbing to a barrage of ground and pound and losing his featherweight title. The Brazilian also lost his belt to Conor McGregor in 2015 but rebounded with a decision win over Frankie Edgar last year.

Aldo will look to rebound once more against Ricardo Lamas, who he previously fought and beat at UFC 169 in 2014. Florian, however, isn’t sure if the former champ is still motivated to fight.

“For Aldo, this is an interesting fight to see, are you still motivated to fight?” Florian said. “Are you still out there to win and put out your best performance? Especially against a guy he already beat, we’re gonna find out pretty quickly what Jose Aldo is all about and if he truly wants to get back to the top of this division.”

Aldo will rematch Lamas at the upcoming UFC on FOX 26 card, which will see Robbie Lawler square off against Rafael dos Anjos in the main event. UFC on FOX 26 takes place on Dec. 16 at the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.