Manager: Aldo will wait a year for title fight
“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.”
Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has a condition for his return to the Octagon – title fight only. Aldo won’t rule out sitting out an entire year if the next title shot at featherweight goes to Frankie Edgar. Aldo’s manager Andre Pederneiras explained the reasoning in a recent media scrum in Rio de Janeiro.
“What I can say is that that’s our idea right now,” said Pederneiras, as transcribed by Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting.com. “It might change tomorrow, but that’s our idea right now.”
“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.”
“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.”
The manager said he expects to meet with UFC brass “soon” to decide Aldo’s next fight.
