Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo believes Conor McGregor only won their highly anticipated fight at UFC 194 in December because he was "lucky" to land a knockout shot just seconds into the bout. He's also frustrated at the lack of a timely rematch.
According to ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto, Aldo said The Notorious could have been the one to go down in a hurry had he aimed his punch a little better: "Obviously, there was luck involved. He was lucky to get that shot in right away. If my punch would have landed a little lower, then he would have been the one on the mat. So there was definitely luck involved."
Aldo will fight Frankie Edgar for the interim belt at UFC 200 on July 9, while McGregor will try to avenge his recent loss against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March during the same event. The winner of the fight between Aldo and Edgar is expected to face McGregor next.
Aldo is not happy with the fact that he still hasn't received a rematch, per Okamoto:
Obviously, I'm not happy that I didn't get a rematch. It's disrespectful due to everything I've done. I'm deserving of a rematch, and it's not just me who says that. Everyone has been coming up to me, asking when the rematch is going to happen. But I'm an employee for the UFC, and this is what they decided. What can I do?
Conor is going to have to come back [to the division] to fight me. I expect that. Everybody expects that.
According to ESPN.com, Aldo ruled the featherweight division from 2011 until his shock loss in December, a fight that lasted just 13 seconds. He turned down the chance to fight McGregor in February after Rafael dos Anjos was forced to pull out of his scheduled bout against McGregor at UFC 196.
McGregor moved up to challenge Dos Anjos for the lightweight title after defeating Aldo, and the featherweight division has been in limbo ever since. Most believed The Notorious would easily beat Diaz, who replaced Dos Anjos, given the lack of camp for the 32-year-old entering the bout.
But Diaz shocked everyone by submitting McGregor in the second round of their fight, and with McGregor eyeing an immediate rematch, Aldo and Edgar have been forced to wait for their chances even longer.
Per ESPN.com, Edgar put himself in a position to fight for the title by beating Chad Mendes in December. Aldo hasn't fought since his loss against McGregor, but given his longtime dominance of the division and the fact their first fight lasted just 13 seconds, he too has a strong case for a rematch.
Bleacher Report's Mike Chiappetta fears that The Notorious has no plans of returning to the featherweight division, however:
USA Today's Chamatkar Sandhu reported that UFC President Dana White is adamant that McGregor will fight the winner of the bout between Aldo and Edgar no matter what happens in his rematch with Diaz.
All four fighters will come eye-to-eye during the lead-up for UFC 200, and MMAFighting.com's Shaheen Al-Shatti cannot wait:
After two bouts outside of the featherweight division, McGregor will have no choice but to return to the division and defend his belt if he wants to remain the champion.
If he does return, Aldo will finally have his chance to avenge the only loss he has suffered in the last few years, provided he gets past Edgar first.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
No comments:
Post a Comment