'I don't believe Ronda will fight again', says José Aldo

Aldo (left) and Ronda (right) meet on the blonde's last visit to Brazil. Photo: Disclosure/UFC

Immediately after the crushing defeat of Ronda Rousey for Holly holm at UFC 193, last Saturday (14), the MMA world began to ask itself one thing: when would the two face each other again? However, in the opinion of the featherweight champion and current leader of the UFC pound-for-pound ranking, José Aldo, this rematch will never get off the ground, as Ronda is unlikely to fight again.

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“I think it's very difficult for her (Ronda) to fight again. Her career took a completely different direction. If I made a lot of money making movies or anything like that, I would go in that direction too. Am I going to ruin my face by taking punches? Are you crazy (laughs)? In my opinion, I don't believe she will fight again,” said Aldo, who compared Ronda's case to that of former Strikeforce champion Gina Carano, during a chat with the press in Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday. (18).

Despite his opinion, however, Aldo believes that, if he returns, Rousey is fully capable of regaining the title. “If she comes back, of course she can win back the title. She was always a fighter, but if I were her, I would never go back. I think the legacy that Ronda will leave is that of someone who changed women's MMA. She put the sport where we never imagined it, where even Dana White said it could be, and she got there. This is her legacy. She did a lot for women’s sport”, he assured.

Despite the praise for Ronda and women's MMA, Aldo said that fights featuring women are still a technical level below those fought by men. “Ronda is (was) a great champion, I respect her, but I think men's MMA is a level above. Male athletes are not divided by just one martial art, for example, 'I'm a judoka and I lift arms'. Athletes have to be good both at striking and on the ground nowadays, they have to be good wherever the fight happens, and that's what I try to do. I like watching women's MMA, more than men's, because they always have the best fights on the card”, he pondered.

Aldo faces McGregor on December 14, in Las Vegas (USA), in the main fight of UFC 194, in a duel valid for the unification of the Ultimate featherweight belts.

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