Jose Aldo will be returning, but when he does, it won’t be at the whim or request of a certain Conor McGregor. Instead, Aldo wants a title shot.
The Irishman was originally scheduled to face Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, the events plans were thrown into disarray when Dos Anjos injured his foot in training. The UFC attempted to find McGregor a replacement opponent, and according to UFC president Dana White, they went to Jose Aldo first.
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Appearing on ESPN, White said that when they did, Aldo had turned down the opportunity.
The Brazilian drew criticism for his decision, having said in December on an Instagram post following his title loss, that he would face McGregor any time “at any time, anywhere.”
Today, the former Featherweight champion appeared on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour to discuss just why he decided to turn down the rematch with McGregor at UFC 196, and when he anticipates he’ll be fighting next.
Aldo said that he hadn’t been training, or at least not to the level he’d require to be ready for a fight.
“Any professional needs time to train,” Aldo said (via a translator). “It’s not a cockfight where I go there and put my rooster to fight. It’s a high-level sport, I’m going there to do my job. When I have time to train, it can happen at any time, anywhere.
“In order to put on a great show or a great job, I needed more time to train, to be ready.”
Asked if he did want the McGregor rematch, Aldo instead voiced a preference for a title shot. Much like Frankie Edgar, another UFC roster member who has felt hard done by with McGregor’s weight division shifting, Aldo said that the belt is what matters. With the belt, after all, probably comes the Irishman. In line with that thinking, Aldo made it emphatically clear that he intends his next appearance to be in a fight for the belt. Any other proposed bout likely won’t suffice.
“I can’t speak for others, and I don’t care what they say. I know I deserve an immediate rematch,” Aldo said. “People who say I don’t [deserve a title shot], I don’t care about them. The important is what the UFC thinks and what we think. We came to the conclusion that we’re having an immediate rematch.”
Again, you have to imagine Edgar won’t be happy with the former champions claims. Having felt like he’s the rightful number one contender for some time, especially with a first round KO victory over Chad Mendes in December, Edgar has been very vocal regarding how unhappy he is with not having received a title shot.
Also appearing on The MMA Hour, Edgar spoke about how McGregor should rightfully vacate the Featherweight title, so Edgar (and potentially Aldo) can fight for it next.
“You can’t just hold this weight class up hostage like that for that long,” Edgar said. “The rumors are he probably can’t make 145 again. I mean, the guy cut a boatload to be the biggest guy in there. And now, if you can’t make the weight, it’s not his problem. He’s too big. Just let it go, and maybe we’ll meet at 155 down the road. Who knows?”
It’s unlikely the UFC will strip McGregor of his belt anytime soon. Not while he has the potential of being their first ever two-division champion, at least. Yet with McGregor heading up to 170lbs, and with how hard the weight cut is to his previous division of Featherweight, Edgar may have a point that the champion won’t be returning to defend his belt.
Dos Anjos’s pulling out has really scuppered a potential phenomenal run of fights for the UFC.
Had McGregor beaten Dos Anjos and become the Lightweight champion, he would have likely challenged for a third title (Welterweight) at UFC 200. In doing so, he’d have potentially been a three division champion, something that has never been attempted in the sport before. At that point, he could have vacated the Featherweight belt, safe in the knowledge that his simultaneously holding three titles was safe in the record books.
Now, with Dos Anjos pulling out, and McGregor fighting at Welterweight before he’s even appeared at Lightweight, it looks like that narrative has been destroyed. With McGregor constantly looking for the bigger fight (and larger paycheque), it’s hard to say where the Featherweight title stands in all of this.
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