Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo hopes for a spot at the upcoming UFC 231 card, in Canada.
Jose Aldo wants to go back to Canada. During a media scrum in Brazil, the former UFC featherweight champion told MMA Fighting he hopes to make his lightweight debut at UFC 231, in Toronto, and that Nova Uniao head coach, Andre Pederneiras, turned down a fight against Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 137, in Sao Paulo.
“Right after the (Jeremy Stephens) fight, Dana talked about the big possibility of fighting on Dec. 8, in Canada again. I’ve had already asked for that fight, I said I wanted to be on that event. I really enjoyed fighting in Canada, where I made my UFC debut, and I hope to fight there again. It’s up to ‘Dede’ now, he’s looking into that and talking to Dana and Sean to get my next fight done.”
Although many pundits suggested Aldo could take on Anthony Pettis in next outing, a fight that was supposed to take place back in 2013, Jose says the bout was never truly in the works.
“Pettis was a request from fans, I got many messages saying he would be a great fight for me next. They also asked me to fight in Sao Paulo, but there was not enough time to get it done at lightweight. They even put me to fight Cerrone, but it wasn’t done. I’m waiting for ‘Dede’ now, talking to him, and when he finds a good name and they agree to it, we’ll fight.”
“When Glover pulled out (of UFC Sao Paulo) and they had no main event, they asked if there was a possibility for me to fight. We accepted, depending on the opponent, and they offered Cerrone right after, and he had already agreed, and ‘Dede’ didn’t think it would be good because there wasn’t enough time. We needed some time to rest before we started another camp again, so it didn’t happen.”
For now, the only certainty is that Aldo would like to perform at UFC 231, a card that will be headlined by a title fight between featherweight champion, Max Holloway, and challenger Brian Ortega. Other than that, the 32-year-old claims it doesn’t matter if it’s at featherweight or lightweight, although he also states he wouldn’t go back to 145 unless it’s for a title shot.
“That fight between Holloway and Brian is booked, and I hope it happens. I hope Max is okay and can put on a great fight and let the division move. To me, I don’t care if it’s at featherweight or lightweight, what matters is fighting at that card. I had already asked for it before that fight was booked, so for me it’s great because we know that if anything happens, we can fight for the belt, so I will get ready. No matter the weight, 145 or 155, I’ve earned a title.”
“I can’t say there’s an ideal guy at featherweight because they’re all behind me, they are all trying to promote themselves to get to a title fight, and they all know I’m ahead of them. Especially if Brian wins, if he wins there’s no other option. That’s what we’re waiting for. There’s no reason for me to fight (them) now. In the future, yes, I want to fight them all because that’s how I have always was, fighting the best. If they are the best, I want to fight the best.”
Most recently, Jose Aldo (27-4) defeated Jeremy Stephens via first round TKO back in July. The win snapped a two-fight losing skid with losses to current to the current featherweight titleholder, Max Holloway.