Aldo up for UFC 208 fight; Holloway disagrees
Accepted accepts Holloway’s challenge from the ring, where he called him ‘Waldo’:
He’s saying ‘where’s Aldo?’, you have to talk to the UFC. About the fight in February, I already knew that, I only didn’t know who I would fight. It was between him and Pettis, whoever won the fight. It’s not something new. This fight will happen on February. 11.
But now Holloway now appears not to be so sure:
It’s news to me. I guess we found where Waldo is so I’m glad. It’s time to see what happens. We’re going to talk to the UFC, see what UFC says or see if he’s just trying to [expletive] start some shit. Like I said, I’m not planning on giving up Christmas and my son’s birthday for something that’s going to be booked and Feb. 11 comes up and we’re going to be [expletive] looking at where’s Jose Waldo. That guy is crazy. I just looked and it’s eight weeks out already. That’s why that motherf-cker wants to fight. He wants me to be all drained out from two training camps in a row but that shit ain’t going to happen.
Aldo wants McGregor rematch, says interim belts are ‘bullshit’
Also calls out McGregor:
I want to get a fight with Conor, but as he is running from the fight, I want to see how things are going to be in the division. But we will fight at lightweight. I don’t want to fight him at featherweight. I’m the champion, and I’ve been beating everyone. I want to fight in another division, too, since this is possible now. It is not possible just for one guy. I will ask for a fight and I will also deny fights if I want to. Since [Dana White] said that he doesn’t force anybody to fight… This is me right now…This interim belt is bullshit. Even when I won it [in July at UFC 200] I said that. It is just a fu–ing excuse that someone created to save events.
Aldo: McGregor is ‘two faced’, ‘a clown’
In an interview with Helwani, Aldo talks about McGregor’s claim to be the real featherweight champ.
First of all, I never stopped being the champion. When I lost to Conor, he should have rematched me right away. Like I’ve always said and done, the champion is the guy who defends the belt against all challengers. Guys who run from title defenses are not champions. All Conor did was he beat the champion. But he never did what he had to do to become the champion. He’s never been the champion of the featherweight division…He’s two-faced. He says a lot of stuff to the press, but behind-the-scenes, he turns down fights left and right. He picks opponents, he picks events. He’s not willing to face challengers the way a champion should be ready to face challengers. That’s not a true champion. He spent a year without defending the belt, so his math doesn’t add up when he says, I was the champion for less than 12 months. He wasn’t the champion at all. He never defended the belt. He wanted to stall an entire division. That’s not being a champion. I’ve never seen Conor as the featherweight champion. He’s not the champion now. I’ve never stopped being the featherweight champion. I went to bed one night believing the UFC was going to announce my rematch with Conor McGregor and I woke up to read the news that they booked Eddie Alvarez instead. My conversations with the UFC were, ‘It’s happening. We’re booking it.’ And then literally overnight something changed without my participation. The bottom line is, Conor doesn’t want to fight me. There’s nothing else I can do. I don’t think there’s anything else the UFC can do. If he keeps saying no and keeps running away, he’s going to keep running away. He’s a clown.
Aldo expects interim lightweight title fight, wants McGregor rematch
Despite being current featherweight champion, Aldo says he expects his next fight to be for the interim lightweight after Max Holloway refused to fight him at UFC 208.
No, the Brooklyn fight is not happening. I now expect and believe I will be fighting in early March. Either March 3 or March 4, I can’t remember. I believe they will soon announce an interim lightweight title fight with me. They’ve been trying to find me an opponent, and surprise, surprise at least one has already turned down the fight against me. I’m waiting to see who they will find.
He says he will go after McGregor in the lightweight division.
I’m flexible about my opponent. I even said, ‘Why don’t I go up in weight class and fight the No. 1 or No. 2 contender and start setting up a rematch with McGregor?’ There was some enthusiasm for that idea, but my understanding is, some fighters turned down that fight.
Coach: Aldo not lying about McGregor fight
Pederneiras, Aldo’s coach says the UFC should confirm that Aldo is going to fight McGregor.
I think it’s time for the UFC to say something and back up everything we’re saying. It sounds like we’re just saying stuff, but throughout all of this I’ve received messages, e-mails with proposals, everything. On our end, Aldo is in no way a liar. I think it’s time for people to know the truth, and that’s the truth. You can ask [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby if there’s a single lie in everything I’m saying. Our intention was always to defend the belt. Because a champion who doesn’t defend at least once doesn’t really stamp his championship belt. [Aldo] himself said it: I won my belt, I’ll defend it now – this in a conversation between us – and we’ll go after Conor. When Sean Shelby told me the fight wasn’t happening on Feb. 11, I said, ‘Sean, we’re now in a complicated situation. Our plans for this year would be this fight, challenging the No. 1 [lightweight] challenger, which would be Khabib – we want to get the toughest guy in the division, who everyone, say, runs from – and then, after that, Conor, who’s pregnant and will only fight after that. Both Sean Shelby and Dana White thought it was a brilliant idea, sensational. So that Aldo could be at a situation in which there was no way Conor could sit and say, ‘I won’t fight him’. The only request that I have is that, humbly, either Khabib or Ferguson take the fight.“In case both have injury issues that I don’t know of, which I understand, that the fight is directly with Conor
Garbrandt calls out Aldo, McGregor, wants ‘money fight’
Despite initially saying he wanted a rematch with Dominick Cruz, Garbrandt now says he wants to go up against Aldo.
I need to sit down with [UFC bosses] and find out the biggest money fight for me. I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo. You know, he has wins over my teammates, he’s a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard, I’m just getting started. And I also know the biggest fight’s with Conor [McGregor]. I can easily go up like my homie Nate Diaz, and choke him out and I can’t believe he’s the number 2 [pound for pound] when he got choked out…I’ll fight anybody, but to be honest, I truly believe I’m ready to fight…and I’m a draw. And I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think I saw that Jose Aldo would like to fight me, I would like to test his chin. Whatever benefits me, I’m the champ.
Garabrant outlines next opponents
Garabrant talks about his next opponents.
TJ Dillashaw is someone I really want to fight. He was never the champion. He held a fake title. He’ was walking around as a fake champion. So that’s what I’d like to get back for everyone on the team…There’s Jose Aldo. He’s a legend in the sport and a great match up stylistically. And there’s Conor. Conor’s still out there whenever he wants to come back. There’s a lot of fights for me. I want to defend my title…Whether it’s Aldo or Conor McGregor. Might even be Jeremy Stevens. I’ll slap the shit out of him…Here’s how I have it planned: TJ next cos’ Dominick doesn’t want to do the rematch. I offered it it to him right after the fight…but he respectfully declined, for reasons. TJ looks next, but after I dismantle TJ, Dominick might get back confidence and want to challenge me.
Aims to start boxing career
Aldo says he wants to start a boxing career.
I think about having a career in boxing, but I want to start from the bottom, start from zero. I want to get ranked and one day fight for a belt. I don’t want to fight just to fight, for money, to go after big fights and challenge a great champion. I respect every boxer, but I want to start from the bottom. I want a career in boxing. That was my biggest dream, to one day become champion in MMA and boxing. That is my biggest dream.
Aldo: ‘I hope Conor gets f-cked’
Aldo claims he doesn’t care about McGregor.
I hope Conor gets f-cked, that’s what matters to me. I don’t give a damn about him. I’ve already said he’s shit, so what he does or doesn’t do, I don’t care. I worry about myself. I’m training to defend my belt. I want to fly higher.
Aldo: McGregor ‘doesn’t have a chance’ against Mayweather
Aldo says McGregor cannot beat Mayweather.
First of all, we don’t know if it will happen or not. there are a lot of things involved, mainly McGregor has a contract to follow so it’s hard to happen, but if it happens, I don’t think he has a chance. Mayweather has the experience of competing for years in the sport of boxing, so I don’t see how. Of course, it’s a fight, but it’s hard for us MMA fighters to go to a different world challenging one of the best in the history. I don’t see a result different than a win for Mayweather.
Aldo-Holloway set for June 3 in Rio
Also vs Holloway will take place at UFC 212 on June 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Just taped 5ive Rounds with guest @danawhite. He told me Aldo vs. Holloway is a done deal … but couldn't remember the date.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 10, 2017
Aldo: McGregor-Mayweather fight cannot happen without UFC permission
Aldo says McGregor cannot fight Mayweather without the permission of the UFC.
It will never happen. This will only happen if the UFC wants to. It could be against Mayweather or anyone else, if a fighter has a contract with the UFC, nobody can go over the UFC.
He also says McGregor is not as well liked as he thinks.
McGregor’s reputation is already bruised. The only ones who like him are the Irish people, no-one else. If you ask in Brazil or in any other country, nobody cheers for him, no one considers him a champion, they always consider him a piece of shit.
Aldo: McGregor-Mayweather won’t happen
Aldo says McGregor will not fight Mayweather, because of UFC contract rules.
We have a contract with the UFC, every athlete does, and everything has to go through the UFC. It’s hard for Mayweather to accept a fight with [McGregor] being a UFC fighter. He does boxing events, so it’s 80 percent for him and 20 percent for the rest. It’s the opposite in the UFC. The UFC makes 80 and athletes make 20. That’s what happens. That’s the real story. So it’s not about Conor signing the contract or not, it’s Mayweather accepting to make less, or make his event.
He also says he will never fight McGregor again:
Never. Never. I think it was close once. Today, with this fight between the UFC and him, from both sides. The UFC has tried to do this fight, and he didn’t want it. He’s running. He won’t accept it. But we’ll see. I don’t know if this fight happens. I don’t think about McGregor today. I couldn’t care less what he’s doing. Like I said, I want to remain champion, I want big fights. If one day I fight him, great. If not, I’ll continue my life, continue being champion, continue being the same person, fighting and winning. I don’t think about Conor today. I only talk about Conor because you ask. F-ck him.
Kavanagh: McGregor wrote list of things he did wrong after winning Aldo fight
In an interview with The Irish Mirror, Coach Kavanagh says McGregor wrote him an essay on everything he did wrong after knocking out Aldo for the world featherweight title.
When I meet someone in sport or business I’m always interested to find out, how did they get over their biggest loss? I’ve had plenty of losses and failures but it’s about what you do with them. You don’t see a loss or a failure as a reason to quit you see it as an opportunity to learn. Conor and I have done that since day one. We’ve had plenty of losses in the cage but we use them to improve ourselves, come back and have plenty of wins too. Certainly at the beginning if Conor had a loss he would treat it as a reason to quit and I’d have to drag him down from his house. But that doesn’t happen anymore. You see him at his last loss, as soon as the fight was over he was analysing what he did wrong. He was humble in defeat. We got back in the gym, got ourselves a four- month plan and showed the world what we can do with a loss. If I have a fighter and after a win they go on a bender for four-and-a-half weeks, I forget about them. They’re wasting my time. I always use this story that when Conor beat Aldo to unify the 145 level, he argues it was an 11- second fight but it was 13 seconds on the record book, one punch and it was over. But he’s the most self-critical fighter I’ve ever met, and that night we went out for a bit and when we came home he wrote me an essay on everything he’d done wrong. It was only a 13 second fight.
Aldo follows McGregor’s trash-talking style
At a press conference for his upcoming fight against Holloway in UFC 212, Aldo says he is now willing to trash talk his opponents.
I think that this rivalry [with Holloway] is great because it sells more and gives us money. We’re going through a new generation now that is completely different than when I started in the sport. When I started, athletes fought for honor, respect, philosophy. Today, it’s not a real fighter. It’s this joke. If you don’t talk, you fight for nothing, you’ll be left behind…Rankings mean nothing, you have to talk trash. What drives this [sport] today is money, and that’s super normal to me now. I made a lot of money [against McGregor], and I’m thinking about it now. I think about continuing being champion and having my honor and respect, but it’s not worth being the good guy anymore.
McGregor-Aldo corner audio released
Audio recordings from the corners of the McGregor-Aldo fight at UFC 194 are released, showing the contrasting attitudes of the fighters. While the Brazilian’s corner repeatedly tells Aldo to calm down, the fighter says:
Stay calm, go calm. You are the champion. That is you.
As Aldo enters the octagon, an Irish voice that is likely to be Coach Kavanagh says:
Welcome to hell…He doesn’t wanna be in here.
Diaz: Why is Aldo ‘crying’ about McGregor?
Diaz calls out Aldo for ‘crying’ about McGregor.
Aldo’s crying about McGregor? I’m like bro, it’s your fault, you took him on that f-cking ride around the world and let him punk you everywhere. You’re responsible, what the f-ck are you crying for? I don’t even know if he’s crying anymore because he got over it, he probably realised that. I’m like bro, you just made a star out of that guy! I wish I had somebody I could just run all around the country and slap around, You know what I’m saying, now I’m the most famous guy in the world and all I had to do was slap around this little f-cker all around the whole place. I don’t mean to disrespect Aldo, but let’s talk the truth here, this is the real hour.
Aldo: McGregor rematch ‘will never happen’
In advance of his June 3 fight with Max Holloway, Aldo says he doesn’t expect to get a second shot at McGregor.
Everybody says things today that I don’t even understand why. Conor was good for one side, let’s say, because he brought more attention to the division and to myself. On another side, to talk about the fight, man, that’s in the past…Everybody still asks me if I want or if I don’t want [to fight him again]. That’s not up to me. That’s up to the UFC, and we know it will never happen. I don’t even know if he will come back to fight. The UFC tried to do a [second] fight and he didn’t want it, didn’t accept it, because what happened will never happen again.
Aldo coach: Aldo wants to fight, even box, McGregor
Pederneiras, Also’s coach says that Aldo will fight McGregor in MMA or in boxing.
It was just difficult because after his fight with Frankie {Edgar], he wanted Conor. But Conor wouldn’t accept the fight, and after that, Aldo started to think about retirement…[Jose] wants to be a world champion in boxing. He thinks he can do it. He wants to fight Conor again, though. Maybe win the 155-pound championship. If Conor came back, he would need to fight [Aldo]. He was fighting at 145 pounds and Aldo won the interim title. Conor left and went to 155. If he was the champion at 155, would Conor leave for another division again? Leave the sport? I don’t know. If he goes to 170 pounds, Aldo says he will go to fight anybody at 170, to be the next contender for Conor. He just wants to fight Conor and that’s it…We want a fight with Conor McGregor. But it’s hard to get. We know that. We know he doesn’t ever want to fight Aldo again. Maybe in boxing. Maybe he’d accept a boxing match. When we were meeting with Dana, he told us, ‘Conor does not want to fight you. I tried everything to put him into a fight with you. I can’t put a gun to his head.’ That’s the word, from Dana to us. Dana told that to Aldo, directly.
Kavanagh: Holloway will defeat Aldo ‘convincingly’ this weekend
Coach Kavanagh says Holloway will have no trouble beating Aldo in the upcoming main event at UFC 212 to become the undisputed featherweight champion.
I’ve said it since Conor fought him: apart from Conor, Max Holloway is the second-best guy at 145 [pounds]. I think Holloway will win convincingly. There are a lot of similarities in both of their styles, in terms of being busy strikers who are used to guys trying to take them down. Max is maybe a little bit more dangerous when it comes to submissions. He’ll go for guillotines and stuff on takedowns, whereas Aldo is almost exclusively about defending the takedown. I think Max has grown a lot too. Even since Conor fought him he has improved. Aldo tends to do better against short, stocky wrestlers. He seems to have the perfect game for that. I don’t know if there’s somebody of that style who could possibly beat him. He’s almost perfect for that style. But here he is again, in against somebody he very rarely faces: a taller, striking-based opponent. We might see Aldo having to struggle and look for takedowns. I actually think that will be Aldo’s approach, that he’ll try to grapple. But I think Holloway will either defend them, make him uncomfortable with submission attempts, or else he’ll be able to keep it on the feet and win a decision. I think that’s how it’ll play out: Holloway by decision.