Jose Aldo calls meeting with UFC 'productive'
Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo met with UFC leadership to discuss plans for his future and whether or not he will continue fighting.
The UFC is experiencing an uptick in fighters openly criticizing the promotion. Jose Aldo is one such competitor that isn’t pleased with his current position in the company. Aldo traveled to Las Vegas to meet with the leadership with the UFC, and while the meeting was described as “productive,” it may not have changed his hardline stance of never fighting again.
Aldo drew the line in the sand when he stated that he no longer wishes to fight for the UFC. This came after the major announcement that Conor McGregor will challenge Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205 in November. Aldo, the current interim featherweight champion, expected to finally get his shot at revenge against McGregor, but that was once again cut short due to other promotional plans. Initially, Aldo mentioned that this meeting was meant to reiterate his point of leaving the promotion and sport as a whole, but he described it differently after.
“I didn’t come here just wanting to cancel my contract,” Aldo said as reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “I came here because I had a lot on my chest that I wanted to say. And that’s what was done. I will follow my own path and UFC will follow theirs. Time will tell what the future holds.”
Aldo was a dominant champion but his popularity waned, all the way up until his dramatic 13-second defeat at the hands of McGregor at UFC 194. Since that moment, Aldo has continued to push for the rematch, even defeating Frankie Edgar for a second time at UFC 200 to claim the interim belt. Instead of getting that shot, McGregor has bounced up to welterweight and now moves to lightweight, all the while holding onto the 145-pound belt. Aldo presented the idea that he’s done with not only the UFC, but MMA as a whole. After this conversation, though, that may not be happening.
“If I had no contracts, if I had nothing binding me or had no other negotiations going on, I still wouldn’t see myself fighting again. I think I have already done a lot for the sport and I have to go my own way,” Aldo said via the translation of his coach and manager, Andre Pederneiras. “Of course, I have a contract and I must respect that contract. Like I said, I came here to have a first conversation, start a dialogue, and speak face-to-face. It went really well.”
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