Coming off back-to-back losses, Jose Aldo has his sights set on his next opponent.
Looking For Redemption Against “Lil Heathen”
The former UFC featherweight champion told Brazillian outlet Revista Combate (via MMA Fighting) that the UFC initially approached him about a potential matchup against Jeremy Stephens in April. However the 31-year-old felt that timeline was too soon but is open to a potential featherweight showdown against Stephens on the UFC 224 pay-per-view event in Rio De Janerio on May 12.
“I asked to fight him, he asked to fight me, so it will be a great fight,” Aldo told Revista Combate. “I’m waiting for them to set it up.”
Aldo (26-4) will be looking for his first win since July 2016 when he defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision at UFC 200. At one point the Brazilian standout was riding a 18-fight win streak between 2006 to 2015 where he captured both the WEC and UFC featherweight belts.
Since being knocked out for the first time in his career against Conor McGregor at UFC 194, Aldo has dropped two of his last three fights. The Nova Uniao product lost his featherweight title to Max Holloway at UFC 212 last June, then suffered another TKO setback to the current UFC featherweight kingpin in a short-notice championship bout at UFC 218 in December. Regardless of who Aldo ends up facing next, it will be his first three-round fight since Sept. 2009.
Streaking Stephens
Stephens (28-14) is currently riding a three fight win streak including a controversial knockout victory over Josh Emmett last month in the main event of UFC on FOX 28. The win was overshadowed by what appeared to be an illegal knee thrown by Stephens the fight and Emmett is currently appealing the loss. With that said, it’s been a career resurgence for “Lil Heathen” who at one point was 2-5 in his last seven fights between 2014-2017. The Alliance MMA standout has since picked up wins over Emmett, Doo Ho Choi and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez. The 31-year-old hasn’t won four fights in a row since March 2007.
UFC 224 will take place at Rio de Janeiro’s Jeunesse Arena and is headlined by Amanda Nunes defending her women’s bantamweight title against Raquel Pennington.
Who do you think would win in a potential Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens matchup? Comment below and tell us what you think!
