Aldo says he had spies in Edgar's camp before UFC 200

Jose Aldo is giving credit where credit is due for his masterful performance at UFC 200.

The newly crowned interim featherweight champion was in top form in his rematch with Frankie Edgar on July 9, looking as good, if not better, than he did in their first fight. Both meetings ended in a unanimous decision win for Aldo.

Facing a powerful wrestler, Aldo wasn't taken down once, and he revealed what inspired the key strategic change that led to his success at a media session in Brazil on Wednesday.

"If I kicked, he'd take me down," Aldo said, according to MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz. "We had a few spies from the other side, people that were training with him the entire week, and they always came and talked to us. So I had to stop kicking and my left hand, because he would counter on that."

While it might be considered unsportsmanlike, that didn't stop Aldo from clarifying that he did indeed have spies over on Edgar's side. And it doesn't sound like it's the first time he's done this in a 12-year career that has seen him win 26 of 28 fights.

"Of course I had. Otherwise, why wouldn't I kick? That's my instinct," Aldo said. "So we always have a spy. We send someone to be a part of that training (room) and then they give us information. We get that information and know what they are training."