Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has criticised the company for giving the title’s current incumbent, Conor McGregor, too much influence.
Aldo was unbeaten for a decade before he was sensationally knocked out by McGregor in 13 seconds at UFC 194. The build-up to the bout was a bitter process, and it seems as though some of that ill feeling remains.
Aldo thinks the UFC has handed McGregor "too much power” in letting him challenge for the lightweight title while retaining the featherweight strap, and says he is currently “calling the shots more than the others.”
The Brazilian told PVT (h/t James Edwards of the Daily Mirror):
When we signed the contract, the intention was that the winner would fight at lightweight, but we would need to abandon the featherweight belt.
That was the plan, that’s what they told us. If we fought at lightweight, win or lose, and then had the opportunity to fight at featherweight again, it would be for the title immediately.
Aldo is referring to McGregor’s quest to become the first man in the brand’s history to hold two titles from different weight classes simultaneously. He’ll get a chance to achieve this feat pretty quickly too, as it was recently confirmed the Notorious will face lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 197 on March 5.
As Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie noted after McGregor’s win over Aldo, given the gravitas he now has, the Irishman probably could have gone in any direction he wanted:
Man does Conor McGregor have options or what? There are money fights left, right and centre for him. Featherweight and lightweight.
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) December 20, 2015
McGregor will be allowed to keep the featherweight title, despite Aldo's aforementioned claims of an agreement to relinquish.
UFC President Dana White told UFC Tonight (h/t Michael Kelleher of Sky Sports) the Irishman wants to "fight four times a year and defend both belts" and that he's "interested" to see whether he can pull it off.
It could have been Aldo with these options and the chance to make history. But the Brazilian’s ability is beyond dispute and he feels that despite his loss at UFC 194, he’d fare much better in a rematch:
I want a rematch with (McGregor), of course, especially because there was no fight. None of us fought, it was just a punch that he was able to connect and won the fight. Okay, congratulations, but it wasn’t what everyone expected. …
He doesn’t deserve to be where he is. I’ve always respected all the merits, but he had more luck than merits.
A rematch isn’t something which should be completely ruled out in the future. Aside from a non-title fight with Frankie Edgar, there’s little left for Aldo at featherweight and, as is evident by the aforementioned quotes, the Brazilian was pondering a move to lightweight. If McGregor can beat Dos Anjos, perhaps Aldo will hunt him down for the title.
Alternatively, if the Irishman was to lose to Dos Anjos, he’ll likely return to featherweight as champion to either face Edgar or Aldo once again. As Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter notes here, McGregor has put himself in a very strong position:
It’s really a win win for McGregor. A loss and he’s still FW champ with big fights against Edgar and Aldo. A win and he makes history.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) January 8, 2016
It’s easy to see why the UFC may allow McGregor a little more leeway than a lot of their fighters. Not only is he a promotional dream, a wonderful talker and an absorbing fighter, the featherweight champion backs up what many have considered to be excessively bullish comments. In combat sports, that kind of blend is rare and when it comes about, should be cherished.
Perhaps Aldo remains a little miffed at the defeat and maybe even envious of the widespread reverence of McGregor, especially after he had a vice-like grip on the division for so long.
The Brazilian remains one of the finest competitors the UFC has seen, though, and many fans would be happy to see him get a shot at his nemesis once again.
