UFC 218 provides former dominant featherweight champion Jose Aldo with a chance to become a three-time champion in the promotion’s 145-pound division
For Aldo, he is thankful.
Frankie Edgar’s unfortunate facial injury which saw him pull out of his own first crack at the featherweight title opened the door for Aldo’s chance to reclaim the belt he lost to Max Holloway at UFC 212 in July. The Brazilian is, on the other hand, also grateful that the man who dethroned him first, Conor McGregor, is no longer holding up the division:
“Thank God my division is moving,” Aldo said (via MMAFighting). It would be bad if it was stuck, but my division is moving. It’s hard, right? Every athlete dreams of becoming champion, fighting for the title, and the guy is holding up the division. But it’s up to the UFC to make the decisions.
“The UFC needs to do what has to be done: you take the belt away or make him defend it. I think everyone is waiting for that.”
While McGregor is unlikely to compete until 2018, Aldo believes that the man who ended his ten-year winning streak before eventually being stripped of the 145-pound title before gaining the 155-pound version may lose that belt also:
“Yes, this time is coming,” Aldo said, “He has to defend it, has to put his belt on the line in order to become champion. He only won the title. For me, Ferguson has great possibilities of becoming champion in the future.”
