Following his dominant UFC interim featherweight title winning performance at UFC 206 against Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway made no secret of who he wanted to face next, calling out full title holder Jose Aldo at every opportunity he could. It didn’t take long for the Brazilian to respond as Aldo told reporters in Brazil Monday that he will be facing the Hawaiian this coming February at UFC 208.
“He’s saying ‘where’s Aldo?’ You have to talk to the UFC,” Jose Aldo said. “About the fight in February, I already knew that. I only didn’t know who I would fight. It was between him [Max Holloway] and Pettis, whoever won the fight. It’s not something new. This fight will happen on Feb. 11.”
Max Holloway took advantage of the physical struggles of former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, who failed to make weight by three pounds. He pressured Pettis throughout the fight, doing excellent work to the body that eventually crumbled his opponent to win via TKO in the third round – his 10th straight win in the UFC.
“Where’s Jose Waldo? Let me know when you find him,” Max Holloway said at the post-fight presser of UFC 206 about Jose Aldo. “Teamwork [makes] the dream work. If more of us look for him, we’re going to find him together. We’ll see what happens.” Adding, “I don’t want to give up my son’s birthday and Christmas for Feb. 11 and he doesn’t show up. This guy has a knack for not showing up so we’ll see what happens.”
After losing the featherweight title to Conor McGregor last year, Jose Aldo has been chomping at the bit to get a rematch with the Irishman. He even threatened to retire from the UFC when McGregor chose to have a rematch with Nate Diaz instead of defending the featherweight title. McGregor eventually “relinquished” his featherweight title after beating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to become the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight division champion. McGregor was the last man to beat Max Holloway in the UFC, winning a unanimous decision over the interim champion in 2013.
Source: Bleacher Report