Champ Jose Aldo explains why he doesn't need to maintain 'good boy status' ahead of UFC 212

RIO DE JANEIRO – Jose Aldo appears to have learned a thing or two about the art of fight promotion during his rivalry with Conor McGregor.

Although Aldo’s fight with McGregor in December 2015 didn’t go as planned when he was knocked out in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 to see his 10-year undefeated streak come to an end, he gained some crucial knowledge from what was one of the most anticipated fight build-ups in UFC history.

Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC), now the UFC featherweight champion once more after McGregor was stripped of the gold, will apparently utilize that knowledge in the lead-up to his UFC 212 title unification bout with interim 145-pound champion Max Holloway (17-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC). The event takes place June 3 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, with the main card on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

“Scarface” has previously attempted to carry himself with the utmost professionalism and bring a traditional martial arts mentality of respect and honor toward his opponents into fights. The way in which McGregor operates has completely altered common practice, though, and while Aldo wasn’t pleased with it at first, he’s come to understand that’s now how the sport works.

“I think (trash talk is) great,” Aldo told reporters through an interpreter at Tuesday’s UFC 212 news conference in Rio de Janeiro. “That’s what sells fights. That’s what brings us money. We’re in a generation that’s totally different from when I began in the sport. When I started in the sport, with the athletes and fighters, there was honor and respect among us – the whole fight philosophy. There’s high-end fighters, and then there’s real fighters. Today, if you don’t talk and provoke, you’re not going to fight anyone. You’re just going to stay in the end of the line because the rankings are no good.

“What really gets you somewhere is to talk about your opponent and sell your fight. That’s what matters today. I think that’s totally normal. My fight (against McGregor), I made a lot of money, so that’s what I think about today. I think about being the champion I always was, having this honor and respect in all these things I’ve learned, but I don’t need to maintain this good boy status. I need to get in there and talk trash.”

Although Aldo, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, and No. 2-ranked Holloway were largely cordial toward each other at the news conference, the points Aldo is trying to make still stand.

The term “closed mouths don’t get fed” is truer in the current UFC landscape than at any point in the organization’s more-than-20-year existence, and Aldo said it’s an important lesson to learn for not just himself, but all athletes involved in the sport.

In the past, becoming a prominent figure could be accomplished largely through winning. That’s not entirely the case anymore, though, and even a fighter like Holloway can attest to as much. “Blessed” speaks his mind openly, but still the Hawaiian was forced to put together a 10-fight UFC winning streak just to get a chance to compete for the undisputed championship.

Some choose not to alter their course of action to better their opportunities, but Aldo said it’s essential to do so.

“The athletes are really the matchmakers these days,” Aldo said. “If the athletes go out and talk trash, the fight’s going to happen. I think it’s valid. I think it’s normal. When the fight is over, we each go our separate ways, but we’re going to have our pockets full, and that’s all that matters.”

Aldo hopes a victory at UFC 212 will open up many opportunities for his own career. He is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 in July and is looking to get off to a strong start in his second reign as UFC champion by halting the momentum of Holloway.

What comes after that remains to be seen, but Aldo clearly already has some ideas in mind. There was some talk of him moving up to the lightweight division for an interim title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson earlier this year, but neither matchup came to fruition. Lightweight is still on Aldo’s mind, but more than anything he wants the biggest fights that will produce the biggest paydays.

“I need to fight this fight, and once I win, I’m thinking of taking another path,” Aldo said. “I think this division is a little bit stopped, but also the lightweight division. We tried to close a fight (at that weight) but it didn’t happen. Right now, I’m focused on my next fight, and once we win, I already have a few fights in mind I would like to make happen.

“I want super fights. I want to challenge other athletes. You can be sure that once we win, I have it all planned in my head.”

For more on UFC 212, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.