Not so long ago Jose Aldo was adamant that he wanted to retire from fighting, but he appears to be more content now as he prepares to defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 212, and it seems he’s got big plans for his future beyond that.
“I need to fight this fight, and once I win, I’m thinking of taking another path,” Aldo stated at yesterday’ UFC 212 press conference. “I think this division is a little bit stopped, but also the lightweight division. We tried to close a fight [at lightweight] but it didn’t happen. Right now, I’m focused on my next fight, and once we win, I already have a few fights in mind I would like to make happen.
“I want super fights. I want to challenge other athletes. You can be sure that once we win, I have it all planned in my head.”
Aldo also claimed that he’s now looking to take a leaf out of his biggest rival Conor McGregor’s playbook by becoming more outspoken.
“What really gets you somewhere is to talk about your opponent and sell your fight,” Aldo told reporters. “That’s what matters today. I think that’s totally normal. My fight [vs. McGregor], I made a lot of money, so that’s what I think about today. I think about being the champion I always was, having this honor and respect in all these things I’ve learned, but I don’t need to maintain this good boy status. I need to get in there and talk trash.”
“The athletes are really the matchmakers these days. If the athletes go out and talk trash, the fight’s going to happen. I think it’s valid. I think it’s normal. When the fight is over, we each go our separate ways, but we’re going to have our pockets full, and that’s all that matters.”
