There’s no doubt about it, Jose Aldo misses being the undisputed king of the featherweight division.
In the main event of UFC 194, Conor McGregor ended Aldo’s decade of dominance in just 13-seconds. The stunning victory was enough to convince the UFC to let the Notorious try to make history, by giving him a 155 lb title shot without forcing him to vacate his belt.
Aldo’s coach, Andre Pederneiras, revealed in a media scrum in Rio de Janeiro that despite the fact that he’s not going to get an immediate rematch, Scarface will only return to the Octagon for a title fight. MMA Fighting report that he’s even willing to sit on the sidelines for over a year to get his shot.
“What I can say is that that’s our idea right now. It might change tomorrow, but that’s our idea right now.”
Pederneiras explained that Aldo believes going over 10 years without a blemish on his record has earned him the right to at least have a shot at reclaiming his title. He stood by his fighter, adding that he too believes Aldo should be granted the chance.
“Aldo believes he has this right, and so do I. He will only fight for the belt. The champion he was, undefeated for 10 years, he thinks he has the same right others had. Some fighters are getting rematches they deserve less than Aldo. If it’s going to be soon or in 10 years, he thinks he deserves a title fight.”
Pederneiras expects to meet with UFC officials “soon” to negotiate Aldo’s next fight, and admitted that he isn’t too keen on the idea of McGregor being allowed to move up to the lightweight division without vacating his featherweight belt. However, he confessed that he is powerless to change their decision.
“I wouldn’t let (McGregor) move up and take the belt with him, but it’s the UFC’s call, I can’t do anything about it. I have to accept it. I can’t say I’m happy with it, though. I’m not, and Aldo is not happy about it either. But we can’t do anything about it.”
“When you fight for a company, you have two options: leave the company, or accept the condition and wait, try to negotiate what’s better for you, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
