Jose Aldo had a bitter taste in his mouth after losing his featherweight title in 13 seconds to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 in December. He wanted his next fight to be for gold and he got his wish.
And he is bringing a belt back to Brazil after defeating Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) Saturday to become the interim featherweight champion at UFC 200. Aldo made very clear who he wants to fight next.
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"I have one goal and it’s to beat Conor Mcgregor," Aldo told Joe Rogan. "The next time I come here, I will beat him."
The fight began with Edagr trying to be the aggresor and Aldo trying to find his range and time out Edgar. The New Jersey native started to open up halfway through the round, doing a lot of feinting and confusing Aldo. Aldo started to find his grove in the last minute of the round, nailing with a hard, straight right hand and knee to the body. In the final moments of the round, Aldo landed a left hook to drop Edgar. Aldo looked to finish, but the horn sounded.
Edgar came out at the beginning of the second with a combination. Aldo looked more loose than he did in the first, but Edgar still was being the aggressor and controlling the octagon. Edgar kept trying for the takedown, but Aldo has fantastic takedown defense and would have none of that. With about 90 seconds left in the round, both fighters connected with combinations, but Edgar's seem to have more effect. At the end of the round, it appeared Aldo was starting to tire.
The third round had Edgar once again being the aggressor. Both fighters landed combinations at the same time to no advantage for either. Edgar had a cut under his right eye and a bloody nose. Aldo landed a heavy knee, but Edgar kept coming right at the former featherweight champion and trying to take him down to the mat to no avail.
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Both fighters were a little tentative to begin the fourth round. Edgar had a slight striking advantage even with Aldo controlling the octagon. With about two minutes left in the round, Aldo landed a hard combination, but Edgar tried for another takedown, only to be thwarted by Aldo. The Brazilian started to control the distance and pop his jab.
The final round started with Edgar trying to get at Aldo, but Aldo seemed to be reluctant to exchange, feeling he had the fight won. Aldo landed a hard right hand, but Edgar showed the heart of a champion and was relentless going at Aldo. Aldo made Edgar come to him and made him pay everytime he came at him. Edgar got frustrated at the end of the fight because of Aldo circling the cage and not exchanging.
Will we see Aldo vs. McGregor II next? Only time will tell.
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, The Fight Club Chicago, and subscribe on iTunes. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
