Jose Aldo has had a tumultuous time this last couple of years. Among other things he was the object of speculation when it came to possible doping after this exchange was shown:

But regardless of that Aldo has never tested positive. He weighed in on the situation of fellow Brazilians failing – Junior Dos Santos, Anderson Silva and Antonio Nogueira. Aldo told mmafighting:

“It’s hard to say what happened,” Aldo said when asked about Silva’s recent suspension. “He’s an icon of the sport, he’s an idol for me and for MMA fans. Man, I don’t know, I can’t say much about it because I don’t know what happened.

“But with Junior ‘Cigano,’ no,” he continued. “Junior ‘Cigano’ and I have the same doctor, we come from the same lineage, so I don’t believe he took anything that enhances the performance or something like that. I think he’s more innocent than guilty.

“And I don’t know what happened with ‘Minotouro.’ I think athletes today make the mistake of trying to self-medicate sometimes without asking their own doctors, and that can hurt you. USADA and WADA change a lot the components that are doping, we receive e-mails all the time saying what is and what is not, but sometimes you make a mistake and it happens.”

And as for Silva, Aldo added:

 “I think many fans and MMA journalists today say that Anderson was the champion he was because he doped,” Aldo said. “That’s a problem, that dirties his career. I make sure I take precautions, I do exactly what has to be done. Before I start a camp, I e-mail WADA and USADA saying what I will take, and we start the camp when they say it’s ok. I think this is a precaution that every athlete should take because you’re subject to this.

“Like I said, he’s an idol for us, but fans have a different image of him after he got caught twice. If it was only one we could say something, but twice can convict him. I think it hurts him, dirties his career, which for me was one of the best.”