Jose Aldo has offered an explanation for taking a fight with Marlon Moraes at 135 pounds.
Aldo is considered by many to be the best featherweight in MMA history. While some have already given that distinction to current 145-pound champion Max Holloway, no one can deny Aldo’s run from his WEC days to the UFC.
Despite always making weight for his featherweight bouts, Aldo’s weight-cutting struggles are well-documented. Still, he’ll be making his bantamweight debut on Dec. 14 against Moraes at UFC 245.
Jose Aldo Talks Accepting Marlon Moraes Fight
Aldo spoke to reporters during a media scrum ahead of UFC 245. During the session, Aldo explained why he took a bout with Moraes (via MMAFighting.com).
“It wasn’t a change of mind. If I could, I would obviously want to fight [champion Henry] Cejudo, Max Holloway, Khabib, only the champions. Everybody wants to fight the champions. But Cejudo had surgery now and wouldn’t be able to fight. I wanted to fight this year. Marlon asked for a fight and I accepted it.”
Aldo said he had plans to fight out of his previous UFC contract and dabble into the world of boxing. Instead, Aldo signed a new UFC deal but he still intends to box.
“First of all, I want to fight until I’m 40. I’m 33 now, so I have seven more years ahead of me. I still dream about boxing, and that will happen really soon. Rest assured that it will happen. But I’ll fight for some more time. This is my first fight at bantamweight until I’m champion again.”
