In spite of the comprehensive and prompt nature of their initial meeting, plenty of fans were of the opinion that Jose Aldo was deserving of an immediate rematch against Conor McGregor.
Aldo was previously the only man to have held the UFC featherweight title and hadn’t lost in a decade so offering him the chance at instant redemption was argued quite vociferously by hardcore fight fans.
The Brazilian’s was the loudest voice in that argument but he was ignored and McGregor’s traversing of weight classes was given the green light by the UFC brass.
‘The Notorious’ fought Nate Diaz on two occasions, before lifting the lightweight title with a stunning victory over Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205, and his return to featherweight looks a world away.
Aldo is continuing to chase his second crack at McGregor, with reports of a move up to 155lbs for a shot at the interim belt emerging this week, and the Brazilian has revealed how his Irish rival’s insistence on avoiding round two with Aldo.
“The first thing we did after my fight with McGregor was ask for the rematch, and it should have happened,” Aldo said during an interview with Ariel Helwani. “We’ve tried to make that fight a lot of times, as has the UFC.
“When I sat down with Dana, and explained to him all the reasons why I was frustrated as a fighter, he said to me, ‘I’ve tried to make the fight. [Conor] doesn’t want to fight you. I can’t force [Conor] to fight you. You and I, Jose, we want this rematch to happen. But he’s not saying yes.’
“We’ve been trying, but the problem isn’t on my side of the equation. Conor is two-faced and he doesn’t want to fight me. He wants to talk a big game to the press. He doesn’t to step up and take the fights to prove he’s a real champion.”
McGregor prides himself on his willingness to fight all comers on short notice and his lack of fear when it comes to moving up weight divisions in the pursuit of higher-profile fights and more gold.
But Aldo believes that is nothing but a front and that McGregor actually ducks fights frequently.
“He’s two-faced,” Aldo continued. “He says a lot of stuff to the press, but behind-the-scenes, he turns down fights left and right. He picks opponents, he picks events.
“He’s not willing to face challengers the way a champion should be ready to face challengers. That’s not a true champion. He spent a year without defending the belt, so his math doesn’t add up when he says, I was the champion for less than 12 months.
“He wasn’t the champion at all. He never defended the belt. He wanted to stall an entire division. That’s not being a champion. I’ve never seen Conor as the featherweight champion. He’s not the champion now. I’ve never stopped being the featherweight champion.”
