• UFC 129

Aldo open to fighting team-mate Diego Nunes

Jose Aldo trains with Diego Nunes © Getty Images

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Andre Pederneiras, the leader of Jose Aldo's Nova Uniao team, insists the UFC featherweight champion will fight his team-mate if Diego Nunes becomes No. 1 contender.

Aldo and Nunes both train at Nova Uniao, and they could be months away from facing each other if victorious in their next outings. Nunes is heading for a No. 1 contender clash with Kenny Florian in the summer, while Aldo is expected to take on Chad Mendes.

A win for Nunes would undoubtedly make him the No. 1 challenger to Aldo's crown, and Pederneiras insists that will be no problem when the time comes.

"I think it will be against Chad Mendes," Pederneiras said of Aldo's next fight to Sherdog. "But Diego and everyone from Nova União knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.

"I just don't know how we would manage it, but they know they're fighters and it's their job. If the boss orders it, we'll work on that situation. They'll fight against whoever they're matched with."

Commenting on Aldo's performance against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, which saw the Brazilian excel and frustrate in equal measures, Pederneiras spoke of the toe problem that forced Aldo to take antibiotics.

"He suffered a cut on his toe [on April 23] and it got infected with bacteria," said Pederneiras. "He went through heavy medical treatment with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pills from Sunday to Tuesday. He took the heavy dosage so that he wouldn't have to take more drugs closer to the fight.

"I can't say whether [the fact Aldo took antibiotics] affected his performance. I'm not a doctor," said Pederneiras. "I prefer to give credit to Hominick's effort for taking the fight that deep, rather than saying if the medicine affected him or not."

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