With the biggest event in the history of the UFC on the horizon, UFC 200, one of the best former pound for pound fighter Jose Aldo will begin his journey to try and reclaim what he believes is his, the UFC Featherweight Championship.
But there is one obstacle in his way, The Answer, Frankie Edgar.
The former UFC lightweight champion had demanded a title fight for a long time after securing a five-fight win streak. After a win over Chad Mendes last December, it was debated whether he is the next number one contender after Jose Aldo losing his title to Conor McGregor.
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The Notorious showcased one-punch knockout power when he rocked Aldo in 13 seconds setting a record. Ever since he was crowned as the champion he has been experimenting by putting his abilities to the test by moving to a higher division. He demanded a title fight against then-lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos and was granted the match.
Unfortunately, Dos Anjos was pulled out citing leg injury. To fill in the gap Nate Diaz stepped up taking the fight on ten days short notice. He successfully tapped him out and won the match. Ever since then, McGregor has been stubborn about having a rematch with Nate Diaz, keeping Aldo or any other contender away at the bay for a title shot.
As we are on the eve of UFC 200, Jose Aldo now will face Edgar for the Interim UFC featherweight title and the winner of the match will go onto face McGregor later on. But this will also depend on McGregor if he would want to fight for the lightweight championship. But he has stated few hours during a press conference that his next step after UFC 202 would be defending his featherweight title.
His rematch with Diaz at UFC 202 will be a huge super fight. Fortunately, for him, it will be a huge payday and also a safe non-title fight. So he has nothing much to loose.
Win or loose at the end of UFC 200 the Notorious will still be a champion. But this Sunday Jose Aldo is stuck in a different situation.
Jose Aldo was one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, in fact, was the number one pound for pound fighter at one time. So it made complete sense that he deserved an immediate rematch, but now due to McGregor wanting to fight Diaz, Aldo is put in the spot where he has to defeat Edgar in order to fight the Notorious again.
Let's say he loses the match with Edgar, then it would deteriorate his image and probably be hard to get another title shot. Even if he does, he would be coming off a loss to The Answer.
But if Jose Aldo wins the match he will have to face McGregor, which would be one of the most money generating matches of all time. But if Edgar wins the fight then he McGregor will have a tough time trying to out-wrestle him. But if the match turns to be a striking fight then he has a better edge at the victory
A fight between Edgar and McGregor would be a super fight as Edgar is a former lightweight champion and McGregor already is a featherweight champ.
The pressure is on Aldo, but Aldo has already shot down Edgar previously at UFC 156. So he already has the blueprint of the fight.
This match between Aldo and Edgar will be a history making event. If Aldo will win this match he would be the first fighter to win two featherweight titles. And if Edgar wins he will be the third fighter to win titles in two weight classes next to Randy Couture and BJ Penn.
The original plan for UFC 200 was Mcgregor vs Diaz, but the Notorious was scratched from the card when he refused to attend the press conferences. For a while, the fans were also expecting Jose Aldo to receive his rematch at UFC 200 but McGregor had plans for a lightweight title fight.
The most to benefit from this turn of events is McGregor. He would still have a match for the unification of the title, pocketing a lot of money on the way.
Both Aldo and Edgar now have a great opportunity to be a part of the biggest card in the UFC’s history, and also bagging a huge pay packet.
