Jose Aldo has undergone a drastic transformation in the public eye over the last several months ... albeit outside of the cage.
Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) pound-for-pound best and current Featherweight champion was a key cog in what was expected to be an enormous title defense against then No. 1 contender Conor McGregor at UFC 189 in Las Vegas, Nevada, last month.
And for someone who has openly complained about fighter compensation, Aldo sure missed out on a pretty hefty payday, too.
Aside from the antics of "The Notorious," "Junior's" toughness was discredited and torched after he bowed out of his highly-publicized bout with the Irishman, later prompting him to threaten legal action against his naysayers and employer.
Now, about six weeks after the fact, Aldo reports that he is on the upswing and almost ready to throw down.
"My ribs are great," Aldo said at a UFC 190 Fan Q&A in Brazil (via MMAjunkie). "I’ve already come back to practice. It’s now just time to wait for UFC to set the fight."
This after his head coach at the Nova Uniao fight camp Andre Pederneiras also confirmed his pupil's health status and readiness for a potential December title unification bout with the recently crowned interim 145-pound champion McGregor in the lavish AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas (more on that here).
While it may have appeared that McGregor got inside the Brazilian's head multiple times in the build-up to their nixed title fight at UFC 189, Aldo maintains that his strategy will remain the same heading into his impending tilt with the boisterous "Dublinatior," despite the latter's second-round shellacking of late replacement Chad Mendes in July.
"I already had a strategy, the strategy was ready," said Aldo. "We only canceled the fight two weeks before. The strategy is ready. I think everything we practiced, we saw in Chad’s fight it would work. We have the path set for us and now we just have to enhance it."
Fans have yet to see an emotional Aldo inside the cage. There is no telling how, and if it will, affect him.
All of the outside noise he has garnered for pulling out of UFC 189 is valid and warranted. Regardless of which side of the coin you happen to fall on, Aldo has pulled out of five Octagon fights with injury.
Certainly not a good look when you are arguably the most unstoppable force in UFC.
However, fighting with injury can be a serious "risk," just ask two-time UFC title challenger Kenny Florian.
Still, despite his issues with injury, Aldo and his team have done all the scouting they need and know that when fight day comes, he will be ready for whatever McGregor throws at him.
"Everything he has shown since he came to UFC was already expected," Aldo said. "When we’re in the Octagon I will beat him."