UFC 129: Jose Aldo Is Injury-Free for His Title Bout vs. Mark Hominick

Call it a case of mistaken identity, but in his last two title defenses, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has fought with injuries, but has looked nearly unstoppable in the process.

"There were two things that were bothering him," Aldo's translator, Derek Lee explained during a UFC 129 conference call earlier today.

"The first was on his neck—the C5 and C6, he had a little bit of pain on his discs. But really, the main injury was on his right shoulder."

Aldo competed in the WEC prior to the company's merge with the UFC, and he captured the featherweight title along the way, defeating Urijah Faber and Mike Thomas Brown. From there, the Brazilian would successfully defend his title against Faber in a rematch and Manny Gamburyan. 

Aldo was expected to defend his title last month at UFC 128 against Josh Grispi, but was forced to pull out due to his shoulder injury. Aldo, through his translator, says he tried to remain positive despite the setback.

"There's really no frustration because he knew he was in the UFC and he was going to be fighting soon," Aldo said through his translator.

And now Aldo insists he is injury-free and he is looking forward to defending his title against Mark Hominick in front of 55,000 fans. 

"He feels really good going into this fight," Aldo said through Lee.

"It's his first fight in the UFC, so he's got his belt on the line already. That's not a problem for him. In his mind, this is just another fight. This is his job, and this is what he's got to do like he's always been doing in his career."