Aldo revealed that he should compete for the interim lightweight belt. Photo: Harry How/Zuffa LLC
A week after announcing that he would face Max Holloway at UFC 208, an event scheduled for February 11, in Brooklyn, José Aldo stated that the duel should no longer happen. As a bonus, he revealed that he should compete for the interim belt in the lightweight category (up to 70kg), a weight range in which he has never played in the UFC and has his rival Conor McGregor as linear champion.
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“No (I think there will be a fight), the fight in Brooklyn is not happening. Now, I hope and believe that I will fight in early March. Day 3 or 4, I can't remember (UFC 209 takes place on the 4th, in Las Vegas). I believe they will soon announce an interim lightweight title fight with me. They have been trying to find an opponent and – surprise, surprise – at least one has already turned down the fight against me. I'm waiting to see who they will meet”, said the fighter, in an interview with the website 'MMA Fighting' (USA), which he concluded by saying that he still cannot reveal who his next opponent will be and accusing Holloway of being “running away” from a duel against him.
“You have to ask the UFC about this (about who refused). They asked me not to say anything. I won't say who it is because it's a surprise. One guy we never thought would quit turned it down because his dad didn't think he was any good. I'm tired of people turning down fights. I want to put some pressure on them to fight. There's a lot of s*** now being talked about by Holloway, saying I don't show up. This couldn't be further from the truth. There are a lot of people turning down fights against me in Brooklyn, and Holloway is one of them.”
Aldo clarified that the deal to fight at UFC 208 had already been agreed before Holloway even won Anthony Pettis at UFC 206. According to the Brazilian, the Hawaiian is looking for justifications to avoid the confrontation.
“This fight has been established. We had told the UFC that we wanted to fight on that date. For us, it was set. The UFC said “OK” and they asked not to discuss it further before UFC 206. I was told that the winner of the fight between Max Holloway e Anthony Pettis would be my opponent in Brooklyn, and I understand that Holloway and Pettis said the same thing before their fight. Afterwards, Holloway said a bunch of different things. First, I heard he sprained his ankle and wouldn't have time to recover. Then I heard he had a trip booked to Disney with his kids and wouldn't be able to reschedule. Then I heard that his gym is closed during the holidays and he wouldn't have enough time to train. So he basically goes around talking a bunch of trash, saying a bunch of nonsense and acting like a punk. He’s just talking s***,” he concluded.
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