Jose Aldo Credits Gray Maynard for His Preparation Against Chad Mendes

Jose Aldo believes that preparation is key to having a successful career in mixed martial arts.

The UFC featherweight champion has been training for his upcoming bout against Chad Mendes at UFC 142, and the Brazilian is working on his wrestling, one area he considers his weakness, in hopes of preventing the bout from hitting the ground.

And to help him prepare, Aldo has invited UFC lightweight Gray Maynard. Maynard is a former amateur wrestler with a decorated background, and the Brazilian felt the American brought a certain set of credentials that he would benefit from in order to prepare for Mendes' wrestling skills.

"We've been training wrestling for some time, but I needed a guy well-versed guy who's been training wrestling his whole life to kind of clear up things," Aldo told MMAJunkie.com. "I felt like Gray coming down in these past few weeks really gave me a lot of pointers and helped me out for this fight, where I am facing a wrestler."

In his UFC debut against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, Aldo was able to dominate his opponent with his dynamic striking, but he showed an inability to defend the takedown during the championship rounds. However, Aldo came into his bout with Hominick suffering preexisting injuries, which he said had affected his performance. 

While his apparent lack of wrestling might potentially serve as a blueprint for the challenger, Aldo isn't concerned with Mendes' game plan—he is only focused on being prepared for next weekend.

"I feel I've been able to find a few things, and I'm working on that," he said. "But really, I can't focus on that. I've got to go back to training and do what I've done."

"We'll have to see on the 14th," he added.