Plus, Aldo says he and UFC officials have come to an agreement that he will get an immediate rematch against “Notorious.”
Jose Aldo had an unexpected chance to get his much-desired rematch against Conor McGregor at UFC 196 on March 5, 2016, after Rafael dos Anjos bowed out of the event with an injury.
Unfortunately, “Junior” had to decline the offer because he wasn’t in shape and wouldn’t have enough time to properly train for a fight against the Featherweight champion.
During a recent interview on “The MMA Hour,” Aldo further explained his decision to decline the fight, saying that he needs proper time to train for such a pivotal bout. Because at the end of the day, he’s a professional fighting in a legit sport and not some desperate scrub.
“Any professional needs time to train,” Aldo said via MMA Fighting. “It’s not a cockfight where I go there and put my rooster to fight. It’s a high-level sport, I’m going there to do my job. When I have time to train, it can happen at any time, anywhere.”
McGregor initially knocked out Aldo in a mere 13 seconds at UFC 194 in Dec. 2015 (see it again here). Since that fateful night, Aldo has proclaimed that he would not return to be cage unless it was an immediate rematch against Irishman.
It’s a sentiment the Brazilian bomber still holds onto, one with which Aldo also says UFC officials seem to finally be on board.
“I can’t speak for others, and I don’t care what they say. I know I deserve an immediate rematch,” declared Aldo. “People who say I don’t, I don’t care about them. The important is what the UFC thinks and what we think. We came to the conclusion that we’re having an immediate rematch.”
If true, that’s going to make Frankie Edgar very upset.
In addition, Aldo said he isn’t keen on a potential rematch against Edgar to see who deserves next crack at the 145-pound strap, preferring to vie for the title at UFC 200.
“I want to fight at UFC 200,” Aldo said. “It’s a historical edition, a great event. I would like to be part of it.”
After both Aldo and Edgar were forced to decline the fight, Nate Diaz stepped up to face McGregor on 11 days notice in a Welterweight bout that will headline this weekend’s (March 5, 2016) pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more on that bout click here.