It was announced last week that former long-time 145-pound champion Jose Aldo would take on former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at July 9’s UFC 200 for the interim featherweight strap.
Why is there an interim title on the line, you ask?
Well, that’s because reigning champion Conor McGregor will once again be squaring off with Nate Diaz, the man who submitted him last month (March 6, 2016) in a welterweight scrap in the evening’s main event.
Aldo isn’t too happy with how things have played out, recently saying that he deserved a rematch with the Irishman, who shockingly knocked him out in just 13 seconds last December at UFC 194.
Despite not being pleased, “Scarface” is confident that he will once again take out Edgar on his way back to the top:
“He will be fighting at the same night in a different division, in a rematch that means nothing,” Aldo said during a recent media scrum in Rio de Janeiro (via MMAFighting.com). “We asked for a rematch. For everything I’ve done, all the years as champion, I deserved a rematch, but what can I do? I had to accept. We’re not the ones making the call. We’ll go there and win. I respect Frankie Edgar, but it’s our first step towards the belt.
“It’s a bit frustrating, of course, because we expected the title fight, but it’s kind of what they said they would do, that we would fight Frankie Edgar for the belt, but it’s not the undisputed belt. But what can I do? We’re hired to go there and fight.”
Regarding the “prize” on the line, Aldo went as far as to say that the interim belt means ‘nothing’ to him, as it’s just a label for the media and fans. At the end of the day, the Brazilian is simply focused on recapturing the hefty gold belt he carried around for years:
“It means nothing,” Aldo said. “I want the victory so I get the belt next. That’s the first step we’re taking. Interim belt is made for media and fans, not for me. I want the undisputed belt. I respect Frankie Edgar, but I’ll get there and win. This lit that fire again, this desire to go there and win.”
Do you see Aldo finally receiving his chance at redemption after UFC 200?
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