This week, news arrived that the rumored Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor welterweight rematch was confirmed for the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 card from the all-new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A bit more surprising, however, was that longtime former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will face Frankie Edgar for the interim title to decide the next challenger for McGregor’s 145-pound belt, which will inauspiciously sit on the pine while the Irishman sorts out his differences with Diaz at 170 pounds.
After Aldo and Edgar campaigned fervently for the match-up with McGregor after he lost to Diaz by submission at March’s UFC 196, the belt remained stagnant when a rematch that many feel is beyond unnecessary was made a reality. Aldo and his team aren’t exactly happy about it, but his longtime manager and coach Andre Pederneiras recently spoke to MMA Fighting about his star pupil’s mindset heading into the interim rematch with ‘The Answer’:
“We were expecting the fight with Conor, but we can’t live to mourn. Aldo has a date and a fight booked, and it’s for the interim belt, so let’s work to win this title and fight Conor again.”
Aldo, who lost his title in a shocking 13 seconds to McGregor last year, famously outlasted Edgar by decision in a heated match at 2013’s UFC 156, a bout where ‘Junior’ controlled much of the early action with his trademark low kicks before Edgar bounced back with a late push. Regardless of the result there, Pederneiras believes both fighters have changed and it will be quite the different affair:
“Both fighters have evolved a lot (since UFC 156),” he added. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they both prepare for each other in this new fight.”
Pederneiras did reaffirm his belief that Aldo should be fighting for the true featherweight title right now, but the Nova Uniao head man also seemed to be at peace with the interim championship up for grabs:
“Of course! Our goal is the title. Like we made clear previously, we would only fight for the title, and that’s what’s happening now.
Moving on to one of the many topics of the hour in MMA this week, Pederneiras touched on the pending Diaz vs. McGregor match.
Read on to the next page to find out his thoughts on the controversial rematch…..
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