Jose Aldo wants to unify the UFC featherweight title, and he believes he’ll get his chance at UFC 205 in New York.
The Brazilian, who won the interim title belt at UFC 200, met with the media in Rio de Janeiro and said that the only way he’ll have a chance to have a rematch against Conor McGregor is if the Irishman loses his UFC 202 welterweight bout against Nate Diaz — a scenario Aldo guaranteed will happen.
“(McGregor) has to lose. Otherwise, (McGregor and Diaz) will do a third fight,” Aldo said, via MMAFighting.com. “I’m rooting for him to lose, of course … He has to lose. … He will lose. … If he loses (to Diaz), it’s highly likely that they put us to fight on November 12, at Madison Square Garden. The Irish community is big over there. But if he wins, I think they will do a third fight between them and ruin all my plans.”
McGregor, of course, is seeking to become the first fighter to hold two belts in different weight classes at the same time. A win against Diaz likely will put him in better position to fight for the welterweight belt in the future, but Aldo thinks Diaz is the superior fighter and that two losses in the welterweight division will send McGregor back to the featherweight class.
“From what I saw he’s way bigger, stronger, and he’s training,” Aldo said. “He got that fight on short notice and still was able to win. Well trained, it’s really hard for McGregor. If you look at (Diaz’s) fights, even when he’s getting beat, he finds a way to come back. If I had to bet, it would be Nate.”
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
