Jose Aldo made some pretty big statements when taking part in a media scrum in Brazil recently.
Aldo spoke about his decision to turn down the short notice offer he received to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 196 when Rafael dos Anjos pulled out. According to Aldo, he turned the fight down because it was offered on short notice and was going to be a non-title fight at 155 pounds.
Additionally, Aldo made a pretty big claim regarding Conor McGregor and performance-enhancing drugs.
“The fight was not at featherweight. Why would I rematch him in a different weight class with no belt? Now, to make this fight at 155, where he was full of juice in his body, where he hides and nobody tests him, only when he gets to Las Vegas, a week before the fight, and then it’s way easier for you to clean the body and fight. They offered the fight knowing that I wasn’t trained at all. I can’t say anything. I can train, beat Frankie Edgar and then know that I’ve earned my fight for the title again.”
Also continued, explaining how frustrating it was not to be able to get a hold of Dana White or the UFC when first looking to secure a rematch with McGregor after their fight at UFC 194.
“We called and texted him every day (asking for the rematch) and nothing. There was no talk for a month. I waited for a call from Dana (White) for three weeks, and when he texted ‘Dede’ (Pederneiras) I was doing a charity soccer match in Manaus, and he talked about replacing Rafael. He knew I wasn’t training because I was coming back from (medical) suspension. They already had in mind who to put against Conor. That’s the path they try to follow, and it’s kind of dirty to me. There’s no negotiation. We ask, and not always we get a response. When they respond is like that, and then they say they love us. It’s a bit weird. But what can I do?”
The former UFC 145 pound champion also spoke about his belief that UFC is showing favortism to Conor McGregor because he makes the company a lot of money.
“If I think so? I’m sure. Not only in this situation, but it’s like that since he showed up. Like I said, it involves money, but you have to respect the other side because you can’t make money alone. They treat him differently, doing this rematch that means sh*t. Nate said he wanted rematches with fighters he lost before, and never got one. This rematch means nothing. I think it’s weird, but what can I do? They make the call.”
As far as the future is concerned, Aldo is convinced that McGregor will have no choice but to return to featherweight, as he won’t be able to achieve real success in either the welterweight or lightweight divisions.
“He will come back. I don’t know if right after this fight, but he will. I don’t see how he gets too far even at lightweight. He won’t do well at lightweight either.”
Finally, Aldo gave his prediction on who he feels will win the McGregor-Diaz II fight at UFC 200. It should come as no surprise that the Brazilian doesn’t like McGregor’s chances in July.
“Nate wins again. He’s used to this weight. It’s really hard to move up in weight and continue winning. It’s going to be different now that Nate will be more prepared. He can do his thing, anything he wants, from start to end. He can slap him, anything, because he will win. It can be faster this time. Nate will prepare, will have enough time, and it can be faster this time.”
Jose Aldo made some pretty big statements when taking part in a media scrum in Brazil recently.
Aldo spoke about his decision to turn down the short notice offer he received to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 196 when Rafael dos Anjos pulled out. According to Aldo, he turned the fight down because it was offered on short notice and was going to be a non-title fight at 155 pounds.
Additionally, Aldo made a pretty big claim regarding Conor McGregor and performance-enhancing drugs.
“The fight was not at featherweight. Why would I rematch him in a different weight class with no belt? Now, to make this fight at 155, where he was full of juice in his body, where he hides and nobody tests him, only when he gets to Las Vegas, a week before the fight, and then it’s way easier for you to clean the body and fight. They offered the fight knowing that I wasn’t trained at all. I can’t say anything. I can train, beat Frankie Edgar and then know that I’ve earned my fight for the title again.”
Also continued, explaining how frustrating it was not to be able to get a hold of Dana White or the UFC when first looking to secure a rematch with McGregor after their fight at UFC 194.
“We called and texted him every day (asking for the rematch) and nothing. There was no talk for a month. I waited for a call from Dana (White) for three weeks, and when he texted ‘Dede’ (Pederneiras) I was doing a charity soccer match in Manaus, and he talked about replacing Rafael. He knew I wasn’t training because I was coming back from (medical) suspension. They already had in mind who to put against Conor. That’s the path they try to follow, and it’s kind of dirty to me. There’s no negotiation. We ask, and not always we get a response. When they respond is like that, and then they say they love us. It’s a bit weird. But what can I do?”
The former UFC 145 pound champion also spoke about his belief that UFC is showing favortism to Conor McGregor because he makes the company a lot of money.
“If I think so? I’m sure. Not only in this situation, but it’s like that since he showed up. Like I said, it involves money, but you have to respect the other side because you can’t make money alone. They treat him differently, doing this rematch that means sh*t. Nate said he wanted rematches with fighters he lost before, and never got one. This rematch means nothing. I think it’s weird, but what can I do? They make the call.”
As far as the future is concerned, Aldo is convinced that McGregor will have no choice but to return to featherweight, as he won’t be able to achieve real success in either the welterweight or lightweight divisions.
“He will come back. I don’t know if right after this fight, but he will. I don’t see how he gets too far even at lightweight. He won’t do well at lightweight either.”
Finally, Aldo gave his prediction on who he feels will win the McGregor-Diaz II fight at UFC 200. It should come as no surprise that the Brazilian doesn’t like McGregor’s chances in July.
“Nate wins again. He’s used to this weight. It’s really hard to move up in weight and continue winning. It’s going to be different now that Nate will be more prepared. He can do his thing, anything he wants, from start to end. He can slap him, anything, because he will win. It can be faster this time. Nate will prepare, will have enough time, and it can be faster this time.”
When the news broke on April Fool’s Day that Daniel Cormier had pulled out of the UFC 197 rematch against Jon Jones scheduled for later this month, many fans had hoped it was only a joke. Unfortunately for D.C, the situation is all too real.
Cormier…
When the news broke on April Fool’s Day that Daniel Cormier had pulled out of the UFC 197 rematch against Jon Jones scheduled for later this month, many fans had hoped it was only a joke. Unfortunately for D.C, the situation is all too real.
Cormier took to his official Instagram page on Saturday to explain his decision to pull out of the scheduled UFC 197 main event:
“The decision to not fight on April 23rd was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. I’ve been scheduled to fight 18 times and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title. This truly saddens me, but as with everything else in life, it goes on. The recovery should not take very long and I can’t wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support, I appreciate each and every one of you. DC”
As reported earlier this weekend, Jones issued an open challenge to all light heavyweights and heavyweights to keep the UFC 197 main event allive. In the end, UFC decided on a Jones vs. Ovince St. Preux fight for the interim 205-pound UFC title, which will now serve as the new UFC 197 main event.
UFC 197: Jones vs. St. Preux is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on 4/23 for the best UFC 197 live results coverage on the web!
After issuing an open challenge to all light heavyweights and heavyweights in an attempt to save the UFC 197 main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones has a new opponent and the UFC 197 mai…
Well, we have our new main event.
After issuing an open challenge to all light heavyweights and heavyweights in an attempt to save the UFC 197 main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones has a new opponent and the UFC 197 main event is in fact saved.
It was announced on Saturday evening that Jon Jones will fight Ovince St. Preux in the new UFC 197 main event. The Jones-OSP fight will be a five round bout and will be for the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Of course the winner of the interim title fight will then go on to fight Daniel Cormier to unify the 205-pound titles whenever D.C. is able to return.
UFC 197: Jones vs. St. Preux takes place on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to UFC President Dana White, not only is former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey able to eat apples again, she is also once again finally “ready to fight.”
White appeared on TMZ Live this weekend and spoke about the upcoming …
According to UFC President Dana White, not only is former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey able to eat apples again, she is also once again finally “ready to fight.”
White appeared on TMZ Live this weekend and spoke about the upcoming return of one of the biggest stars in the UFC. He claimed that Rousey will return to the Octagon in November or December and that the door is open for a potential third fight against Miesha Tate for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
Rousey last appeared inside the Octagon at the record-breaking UFC 193 pay-per-view event from Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on November 15, 2015, where she lost her first professional MMA fight in devastating fashion by being knocked out by a head kick from Holly Holm in the second round of their main event fight.
Holm would go on to lose the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in her first title defense, a fight she pushed to have instead of waiting for Rousey to return for an immediate rematch of their historic first encounter.
Longtime career rival of Rousey, Miesha “Cupcake” Tate, choked Holm out in the co-main event of the UFC 196 pay-per-view in March to become the new UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
As noted, the belief is Rousey will return to challenge Tate for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship upon returning to the UFC, which as White noted, is expected to be in November or December of this year.
Whether or not Rousey’s return takes place at UFC’s debut event at Madison Square Garden in New York, which is also expected to take place near the end of the year, remains to be seen.
Jon Jones may have appeared to be the “bad guy” heading into the original UFC 197 main event, but he is certainly looking more and more like the “good guy” as we sit and wait to find out if we have a new UFC 197 main event.
“Bones” Jones took to his…
Jon Jones may have appeared to be the “bad guy” heading into the original UFC 197 main event, but he is certainly looking more and more like the “good guy” as we sit and wait to find out if we have a new UFC 197 main event.
“Bones” Jones took to his official Instagram page on Saturday afternoon to post a video of himself extending an open challenge to keep the UFC 197 main event alive.
Jones stated the following in the video, which you can watch below:
“Hey, y’all know I’m not into taking last-minute fights. It’s not the way me and my trainers do things. But this last year has been real crazy, and I feel like I owe my fans so much. So, UFC, whether you’ve got a heavyweight, light heavyweight, it doesn’t matter. Let’s keep this main event going. Send them my way.”
UFC 197 takes place on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jon Jones has finally broken his silence regarding the unfortunate news that Daniel Cormier has pulled out of their scheduled rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at the UFC 197 pay-per-view scheduled for later this month.
The news was…
Jon Jones has finally broken his silence regarding the unfortunate news that Daniel Cormier has pulled out of their scheduled rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at the UFC 197 pay-per-view scheduled for later this month.
The news was broken on Friday that due to an “undisclosed injury,” Cormier was forced to pull out of the Jones rematch at UFC 197 on April 23rd.
It had been feared that due to Jones’ ongoing legal issues, he would force a cancellation to the highly-anticipated Jones-Cormier rematch, however in the end, it was the return of the “injury bug” that forced the fight to be scrapped.
On Saturday, “Bones” Jones took to social media to comment on the fact that Cormier pulled out of their fight.
“I don’t wish injuries on anyone,” wrote Jones on his official Twitter page. “I hope you have a healthy recovery Daniel. Enjoy that belt.”
UFC 197 takes place on Saturday, April 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I don't wish injuries on anyone, I hope you have a healthy recovery Daniel. Enjoy that belt
