José Aldo has a scheduled return to MMA. (Photo: Instagram/UFC)
About to return to the octagon after spending the last 20 months with his MMA gloves hanging up, José Aldo guarantees that he has no resentment towards his last tormentor in the octagon, Merab Dvalishvili, against whom he lost in August 2022, days before announcing his retirement. On the contrary, the Brazilian declared that he is rooting for the Georgian to become UFC champion.
In an interview with journalist Brett Okamoto, from the North American 'ESPN', José Aldo he assured that the defeat to Merab had nothing to do with his desire to return to the octagon and declared his support for his former rival to become the next bantamweight champion (up to 61,2 kg).
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“The fight against Merab Dvalishvili is passed on to me. I don't think about it anymore. Losing to Merab has nothing to do with my desire to fight again. It had a lot to do with my desire to take time for myself and realizing that I needed time for my body, my mind and everything else. I support him and I hope he becomes champion, because then I will only have lost to champions”, said the 'King of Rio'.
Merab Dvalishvili he should in fact be the next challenger for the category belt, which currently belongs to Sean O'Malley. In Aldo's opinion, the Georgian is fully convinced of prevailing in a duel against the current champion.
“Sean O'Malley has all the hype and promotes himself very well, but in a fight between him and Merab, I think Merab is a great striker who plays very well at close range and I believe he will come out on top”, he analyzed.
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