Aldo and Patrícia / Photo: personal archive
UFC featherweight champion José Aldo carries on reaping the fruits of his success. This Tuesday the black belt lived out a dream. Aldo was paid tribute at club Flamengo, the soccer team for which he is a fanatic. The fighter was welcomed by team president Patrícia Amorim, who didn’t discard the possibility of opening the club’s doors to MMA.
Aldo was given a number 10 jersey with his name on it.
“If Ronaldinho gets hurt, we’ll send you onto the field,” joked Patrícia in a statement made to Sportv channel, before trying on the UFC title belt.
The fighter was also awarded a flag, a red-and-black diploma, and a commemorative plaque with his photo on it.
Team Nova União at Flamengo / Photo: personal archive
Interested by MMA and the international exposure of the sport, Patrícia also left open the possibility of striking up a partnership with Nova União, the team where José Aldo trains.
“Why not? Let’s have a down-to-earth talk about it later. Today, Flamengo is wants to thank you for the affection; it is important to us. It’s a privilege to have our brand appearing internationally. If we can contribute anything, it will be great,” she said.
“All this means a lot to me; it’s a dream come true. I’ve been a hardline Flamengo fan since I was a kid; I’d always cry and get sad when Flamengo would lose. It’s an unexplainable passion. To meet Patrícia, who is an idol to me, to have that honor – I don’t know what to day. It’s been marvelous,” said an overjoyed Aldo.
André Pederneiras, head honcho at Nova União, was pleased with the possibility of partnering up with Flamengo.
“We’d have to sit down and talk to find out how to fit Flamengo in. I feel the growth (of MMA) would be much quicker (with a partnership), mainly because of the masses of soccer fans already out there. That would make MMA explode,” he said in analysis.
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