UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will defend his strap against Gilbert Melendez before the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about a potential superfight with Jose Aldo.
In an interview with Brazilian media outlet SporTV, “Showtime” scoffed at the notion he was ducking the UFC featherweight titleholder, noting some naysayers he’s silenced in the past (translation per Bloody Elbow).
I have never ran away in my life. Everybody that said that, I finished in the first round. “Cowboy” Cerrone got knocked out in the first round. Ben Henderson, he got finished in the first round. Joe Lauzon, he got finished in the first round. Jose Aldo can talk and say what he wants, I will not let that affect me. When the fight happen, it will be the biggest fight of lightweight division in history.
Pettis, who captured the lightweight title when he submitted Henderson at UFC 164 in August, also noted that he thinks a superfight with Aldo makes more sense at lightweight because “Scarface” has already cleared out the 145-pound division.
Many fans and analysts would tend to agree with that notion, since Aldo is currently riding a 17-fight win streak and already defeated the likes of Cub Swanson, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar.
As a matter of fact, the Brazilian champion rematches Mendes at UFC 176 on August 2.
While their first bout at UFC 142 in January 2012 ended with a devastating first-round knockout, Mendes has rallied back since then with five victories in a row (four knockouts).
Meanwhile, Pettis has won four matchups in a row, with his sole loss inside the Octagon being when he was outwrestled by Clay Guida back in June 2011.
Pettis will coach Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Melendez before squaring off with the former Strikeforce champ at the UFC’s annual year-end pay-per-view.
Is Pettis vs. Aldo inevitable for 2015 or more wishful thinking than anything else?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com
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