Chael Sonnen: I don’t think the UFC is going to be in a big hurry to bring Jose Aldo back

Three-time UFC title challenger, retired fighter and ESPN MMA analyst Chael Sonnen takes nothing away from Jose Aldo’s accomplishments. But he still believes the UFC featherweight champion missed a career-making opportunity – one that could even hurt his career down the road.

“I don’t think the UFC is going to be in a big hurry to put Jose Aldo back in the ring,” Sonnen today told MMAjunkie Radio. “He is the champion, so per the competitive architecture, they’re going to have to. But – he burned them five times. As quick as you can get that belt off Aldo and not give him a shot to get it back, not only has he burned you five times, but he is the worst drawing champ of all time.”

Harsh words, indeed, for Aldo, who this past week suffered a fractured rib while in the final stretch of preparation for a meeting with Conor McGregor at next week’s UFC 189, which has been promoted as one of the biggest events of the year and is expected to break box office records. It was the fifth time an injury prevented him from defending his UFC belt, including previously canceled bouts at UFC 125, UFC 149, UFC 153 and UFC 176, though his level of activity is comparable to other champions on the UFC’s roster.

Several doctors, including MMAjunkie’s own medical consultant, say the champ’s injury is serious enough to eliminate any thought of Aldo competing. It’s unclear why UFC President Dana White said the fighter had been cleared to fight on July 11. But like White, Sonnen questions why the champ was ever in the position to be injured.

As previous reports indicated, Aldo suffered a rib fracture when a new sparring partner, Alcides Nunes, caught him with a spinning back kick during practice. The strike is one McGregor frequently executes in the cage, but Sonnen believes it’s too high risk in training, especially with a new partner.

“You’ve got to have training partners you can trust,” Sonnen said. “I could be sparring with a guy and he forgot his mouthpiece, it wouldn’t matter. I’m not going to loosen his tooth, ever. If he goes with me, he’s going to leave in the same condition that he showed up in. He can trust me. Those are the kind of guys that you want to be working out with.

“Accidents happen. This could have been an accident. But it was a spinning kick to the midsection. That’s a very hard strike to control – it’s the same reason we don’t throw elbows in practice. They’re just too hard to control, and if one gets away, even a light one, it can cut your opponent and he’s going to need stitches. There are some things you just don’t do on a partner; you save it for the heavy bag. I’m very confused as to how this even happened 10 days before a title fight.”

While Aldo’s (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) injury prior to UFC 176 caused the cancelation of the pay-per-view, the promotion, which reportedly spent millions promoting the headliner between the champ and McGregor (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), is moving ahead with McGregor opposite two-time title challenger Chad Mendes (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC). McGregor reported Wednesday that 2,500 Irish fans are headed to Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. White said the event is expected to earn $7 million at the box office. The UFC executive also has said UFC 189 will break the one million mark in pay-per-view buys, though that prediction came prior to Aldo’s withdrawal.

Sonnen agrees with McGregor that the headliner’s new prize, an interim UFC featherweight belt, should be switched to the undisputed title.

“I couldn’t imagine pulling out of a fight, ever, for any reason, let alone a title fight, and he’s done it five times,” Sonnen said. “You can call it an interim championship – I guess that’s what you have to do. If I’m in charge, we strip him.

“The whole thing is weird. Jose Aldo’s sitting around talking about moving up to 155 (pounds), his coach (Andre Pederneiras) is talking about no longer coaching him, or anyone else for that matter, and his training partner, who hurts him, is doing a media tour the very next day and tells the story of how he hurt him, and how he threw this kick and the champ was rolling around on the floor, crying – almost trying to put himself over. It was just really weird.

“I couldn’t imagine working out with a guy throwing kicks hard enough that he could break my ribs; I would not work out with the guy twice. And if the guy went on a media tour the very next day, putting his own name out there and describing how he did it and how I was rolling around in pain on the floor and I couldn’t get up, that’s not much of a teammate. They have a lot of success out of that gym, but it’s a disaster with the things you read.”

Despite his opinions, Sonnen wouldn’t hesitate to vote Aldo the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. After all, the featherweight champ remains undefeated in the octagon, defeating seven of the best 145-pound fighters in the UFC’s roster. As a fighter, Sonnen said, the Brazilian is the real deal.

But as a promoter, he added, Aldo leaves a lot to be desired.

“Conor did everything right – Jose did everything wrong as he always does,” Sonnen said. “He’s the worst drawing champion in the history of the UFC. Numbers don’t lie; he is the worst draw with the belt. He’s never made a pay-per-view bonus because he’s never met a minimum threshold.

“As much as these sound like insults to him, they’ve got him ranked as the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and if I was on that ranking crew and got a vote, I would support it. But what makes him tick and what makes him go out there, I don’t know. It’s certainly not money. You would think (it was), because every interview he does all he does is bitch about money. He was staring 3.5 million dollars down the barrel and all he had to do was make weight, put his mouthpiece in and walk out when his music hit. And he elected not to do it, and I can tell you that a rib injury is about the most painful thing you can go through. I think it was a matter of him being tough enough and walking out there and giving his best performance on that night.”

Aldo is expected to be sidelined at least six to eight weeks as he recovers from his injury, after which a new champion will populate the UFC’s roster. A McGregor victory could set up a unification fight in another possible blockbuster for the UFC. A Mendes win would mean a third fight with the champ, who is 2-0 against the Team Alpha Male fighter.

Whenever Aldo does return, he will try to reassert his position as the undisputed champion and most dominant in his weight class as well as the sport’s pound-for-pound best. But, according to Sonnen, his title won’t have the same luster.

“This was his opportunity,” Sonnen said. “It was a lot like with me and Anderson (Silva) – Anderson was a terrible-drawing champion, and then he had a challenger that came along and made him interesting. I think Aldo’s world would have changed next Saturday, win or lose. I think he was going to win, but even if he lost, he would have been on the map. And now he’s missed that opportunity.”

For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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