Mark Hominick on UFC Champion Jose Aldo: He’s Never Faced Anybody Like Me

Mike Brown. Urijah Faber. Manny Gamburyan.

The list of Jose Aldo’s victims is well documented, but one fighter he hasn’t faced yet with a whole different skill set will challenge the champion at UFC 129 with the featherweight title on the line.

Mark Hominick proved at Saturday night’s UFC Fight For The Troops 2 that not only is he the real deal, but he could be the first striker that Aldo has faced with equally dangerous hands and feet.

Match-up wise, Hominick respects all of the work that Aldo has done to become one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, but he believes it’s all been against a different level of striker than he will be in Toronto on April 30.

“He’s been making wrestlers look like poor strikers, and a lot of times that’s not too hard, but he’s not going to do that to me,” Hominick said about Aldo’s run of late. “I know he’s the best in the world, but he’s never faced anybody like me.”

The confidence that Hominick shows is a big part of his swagger leading into the title fight. Everyone has approached Aldo with a certain level of awe of what he’s able to do in the cage. Hominick respects him, but will not back down from him.

“One thing against Jose Aldo, I think he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter, fantastic striker, but he’s never faced anyone with my striking capability. We’ll see how he does against that,” Hominick stated with confidence.

Throughout his career, Hominick has been known as one of the most dangerous strikers in the world. A phenomenal kickboxing background built up on a daily basis by famed coach Shawn Tompkins, and Hominick has become a well oiled machine over his last several fights.

The win Hominick picked up over George Roop was the 20th of his career, and as far as experience goes, he’s got the edge over Aldo in that department.

On April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Hominick is looking to pick up No. 21.

“This is huge, but the thing with me I’ve been fighting professionally for 10 years and I’ve went through the bottom and I’m finally getting the chance to go against the top, the best of the best. Those are the guys I’ve always wanted to face,” Hominick said.

The Aldo vs. Hominick match-up is expected to co-headline the UFC 129 fight card in Canada, alongside welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against Jake Shields in the main event.

Source: mmaweekly.com

Jose Aldo Confirmed for Fight at UFC 129

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will compete at UFC 129, the promotion confirmed Thursday.

The 24-year-old, who was forced out of a scheduled New Year's Day match with a neck injury, is set to go for the UFC's April 30 debut in Toronto, though his opponent won't be known for at least a few more days.

Canadian Mark Hominick has been promised the title shot if he can defeat George Roop at Saturday night's Fight for the Troops 2 event at Ford Hood, Texas.

The UFC gave no indication of who might step in and face Aldo if Roop upsets Hominick.

One potential candidate, Josh Grispi, is off the table after losing to Aldo's UFC 125 replacement, Dustin Poirier.

Another possibility is the UFC waiting to see if the winner of the upcoming UFC 126 fight between Chad Mendes and Michihiro Omigawa emerges healthy. Either one would be considered a worthy challenger. A win over the respected veteran Omigawa would make Mendes a perfect 10-0, while Omigawa is in the midst of a five-fight win streak as he readies for his UFC debut.

Aldo's fight would serve as the co-main event. Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre's title defense against Jake Shields will headline the Rogers Centre spectacle.


Source: mmafighting.com

Mark Hominick Welcomes the Pressure of Winning To Get Shot at Aldo

UFC president Dana White brought a whole new level of pressure to the upcoming UFC Fight for the Troops 2 card this weekend when he announced that if Mark Hominick defeats George Roop, he would then fight Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 129 in Toronto.

Nevermind the fact that Hominick has been gunning for a shot at the 145-pound belt, but Toronto also just happens to be near his hometown of London in Ontario, Canada.

Hominick was actually asked to fight Aldo earlier this month, but the timing wasn’t right, and now if he’s successful on Saturday, he could have the biggest opportunity of his career awaiting him in his native land.

“I got offered the fight with Jose Aldo for Jan. 1 and I still had the cast on my hand, so it would only give me about three weeks to train for him, and you only get one shot at the title, so it was not a smart fight to take,” Hominick told MMAWeekly Radio.

“Things in life happen for a reason. It’s panning out that way and I truly do believe in that. You’ve just got to keep training hard and keep focused on the prize, and get the win on Jan. 22.”

White’s announcement could rattle some fighters simply because of the extra pressure to win and get the title shot. Others could see it as a distraction to hear that kind of news just a few days before their next fight. Hominick sees it as neither.

“Not really,” he answered when asked if the announcement affected him negatively. “I treat every fight like a world title fight. Especially if you are there, or you’re next in line or whatever it is, the pressure’s going to be on you for that fight, and you could argue for every single fight. Added pressure, I think, is a good thing. If you can’t get through anybody, then you don’t deserve to get the title shot.”

Of course leading into his bout against teammate George Roop this weekend, Hominick knows that everybody is going to be asking about Jose Aldo and the pending title shot, but as he tells it, none of that matters if he doesn’t win this weekend.

“It’s tough when you’re fighting next week and that’s your priority, but it’s great news and this is why I’m in the sport,” said Hominick. “This is an individual sport and there’s one person at the top and you’re always gunning for him, so when you finally get that opportunity, it’s close on the horizon. I’ve just got to get through George Roop. He’s a serious opponent and I take him serious.”

Hominick takes Roop seriously because beyond being a very tough fighter in his own right, the two have trained together for several months under famed coach Shawn Tompkins in Las Vegas.

Roop left the camp for this particular fight because Hominick and Tompkins have roots going back several years, but the Canadian understands just how tough his friend and teammate is inside the cage.

While it has rarely happened in the UFC, a teammate will fight a teammate on Saturday night with a title shot, at least for Hominick, on the line.

“It’s part of the game. We’re in the same division and we’re both gunning for that title shot prize, so whoever’s in line that’s who you’re going to have to fight. We’re friends before, we’ll be friends after, but we’re going to be competitors in the cage,” said Hominick

The featherweights will square off at this weekend’s UFC Fight for the Troops 2 in Fort Hood, Texas.

Source: mmaweekly.com