UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson headlines UFC on FOX 7 this weekend against Gilbert Melendez, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped to think about his next opponent yet.
In an interview with Fighters Only magazine, Henderson said he’s keen on a matchup with UFC featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo next.
Jose Aldo is a very tough fighter and he is welcome in this weight category. I had the opportunity to see him fight countless times in WEC. I have no problem regarding a fight. He is a great fighter and deserves this chance, if it happens … I would like to fight for the Brazilian fans. I would like to fight Aldo in Brazil.
Aldo has teased a move to lightweight before, though it seems inevitable now as UFC president Dana White said that with a win over Anthony Pettis, “Scarface” would have the next title shot at 155 pounds (via MMA Junkie).
Aldo and Pettis are set to headline an August 3 pay-per-view with a venue still to be determined.
The feared Muay Thai striker, who also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has won 15 bouts in a row. That includes six successful title defenses between the WEC and UFC.
Coincidentally, Aldo’s only loss came at lightweight under the Brazilian regional promotion Jungle Fight. That was all the way back in November 2005.
After losing the WEC lightweight belt in his final appearance (which was the 2010 Fight of the Year against Pettis), “Bendo” has been on a tear in the UFC, racking up a perfect 6-0 record in the Octagon.
A win over “El Nino,” the final Strikeforce lightweight champ, would mark Henderson’s third successful title defense.
Henderson sounds confident that he and Aldo are on a collision course to face one another.
I hope Aldo beats his next adversary and that I get past Melendez for us to make this dream bout. I want it badly, I would like it to happen in a soccer stadium in Brazil for 100,000 people! It would be wonderful and it would be such a pleasure for me.
After White recently shot down Henderson’s request for a superfight with UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre (via MMA Fighting), is Aldo vs. Henderson the match to make before the end of the year?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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