Jose Aldo is set for a bantamweight title shot despite the fact he came up short in his divisional debut against Marlon Moraes. The Brazilian knockout artist is set to face off against surging contender Petr Yan according to UFC president Dana White.
The previous bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo retired in the octagon after beating 135lb great Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 earlier this month. In the past week he has reiterated his desire to walk away from the sport, and to display his seriousness has relinquished his title.
Speaking on social media Cejudo made his retirement official and thanked long-time boss White, his team, and fans for helping him on his journey to the top of MMA, he wrote.
“Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle @danawhite I will forever be grateful. Thank you for taking a chance on the sport that people thought would never make it. To all my coaches and fans it been a wonderful ride. Triple C is out Microphone #retiredontop”
Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle @danawhite I will forever be grateful. Thank you for taking a chance on the sport that people thought would never make it. To all my coaches and fans it been a wonderful ride. Triple C is out
#retiredontop pic.twitter.com/ZoHa3asoDU
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 25, 2020
Cejudo was originally set to face Aldo at UFC 250 on May 9. Unfortunately, the ongoing global pandemic and subsequent travel issues meant that fight was called off and Cruz stepped in.
Speaking to SportsCenter the UFC boss confirmed former featherweight champion Aldo will still be getting his bantamweight title shot and will likely face Yan for the belt vacated by the recently retired ‘Triple C’, White said.
“Cejudo has retired. We’re talking right now about Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant title. We don’t have a date or a place set yet,” White said.
As of right now, it is unclear exactly when or where the two bantamweight contenders will meet. What is clearer is who the next 135lb champion will make his first defence against. Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen will throw down at UFC 250 and the winner will have more than earned his shot at UFC gold.
Is Jose Aldo vs. Petr Yan the right fight to make for the vacant bantamweight title?