Dana White: ‘There’s no way’ Jose Aldo could make 135

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UFC president Dana White has shut down the idea of former UFC featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo dropping down to the bantamweight division.

Dana White said earlier this week that he likes Jose Aldo “in any weight class,” but the UFC president has seemed to have ruled out the option of Aldo dropping to 135 pounds.

Aldo, a former UFC featherweight champion, said last week that he wants to move down to the bantamweight division for a fight with champ Henry Cejudo. Years ago, Aldo was in talks to move up to the lightweight division for a superfight with Anthony Pettis and has historically had a difficult cut down to 145 pounds. But Aldo has never missed weight at featherweight.

White wants none of it, though.

“There’s no way that kid can make 135 pounds,” White told reporters at Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday in Las Vegas (via MMA Junkie). “There’s no way. No way. Do you remember when he was the champ, how hard it was for him to make 145 pounds? And he’s not any younger.”

White said Aldo texted him about his hopes to go to 135 pounds, but that is as much as they’ve talked about it. White said he hasn’t really taken Aldo’s request “seriously.”

“I love Aldo, and I want to do what he wants to do, but I don’t think I want to see him try to cut to 135,” White said. “I don’t think that’s going to be good for him.”

Aldo responded to White on social media Wednesday, claiming that him wanting to move to bantamweight is more than just talk.

“When I talk about something I’m talking seriously and for real,” Aldo wrote on Twitter. “I already made a test and I can make this weight!”

In his last fight, Aldo lost to top featherweight contender Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 237 in May. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak, which included knockouts of Renato Moicano and Jeremy Stephens.