Jose Aldo requests his release from the UFC

+1 to the above.

People saying Aldo deserves this and they have no sympathy for him are ridiculous. The guy was the featherweight division at one point.

He lost his belt in a flash knockout.

It's a rematch I've wanted since it happened and am so sick of this bullsh*t "money fights".

Who f*cking cares how many PPV numbers Conor v [insert joe nobody] does. I'd much rather seem the people who deserve a shot get a shot.

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Strange attitude Foxtrol, he was told he would get a rematch, no rematch, he was told to beat Edgar to earn a rematch, no rematch, he was told Conor would have to drop the belt unless he fought him, no fight, now Conor is still insisting he is not going to be dropping any belt and in his own words "will pick and choose who he decides to whoop"

You can't see why that would send a guy over the edge?

We won't even go into how ****ed up it is that a fighter gets to match make rather then fight.

I will say one thing though that is always impressive, in a brainwashing cult kind of way, McGregor has made people who have absolutely zero financial stake in the man or the company care about money and how much he makes, and the company make more then they care about the legitimacy of the fights or whether the belts in the sport even matter anymore. Heading nicely down that sports entertainment route, or possibly just the boxing route

How much money can get made by a fight is not supposed to be the most important reason a fight gets made, the number 1 contender should get title shots, the interim belt should be done away with at the earliest possible opportunity with a unification fight.

The other great bit of bait and switch that goes on is this idea that its fine that Conor doesn't feel very motivated to fight Aldo considering how the last fight went, well big whoop like! Who gives a **** if you want to do it or not, you are the division champion, he is the interim champion, it is your job to motivate yourself for a fight, it is not a reason to not fight someone.

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As has been said, this is Jose posturing really and letting everybody know exactly how pissed off he is with the situation but nothing is going to happen I would bet. He is not going to be released early from his contract just cause he throws a strop, he is putting pressure on, it would work better with more leverage.

He will get his shot at redemption early next year most likely, he should certainly not bother defending an interim title while the regular champ holds up a division. If Conor drops the belt put him in against Holloway for the FW title, if not he fights Conor next year with Holloway facing Pettis to get a shot at the winner.

StringerBell wrote: »

Strange attitude Foxtrol, he was told he would get a rematch, no rematch, he was told to beat Edgar to earn a rematch, no rematch, he was told Conor would have to drop the belt unless he fought him, no fight, now Conor is still insisting he is not going to be dropping any belt and in his own words "will pick and choose who he decides to whoop"

You can't see why that would send a guy over the edge?

Show me where that contract was signed, if not then he’s incredibly naive to expect that anything is guaranteed. In fact his stance is actually even more of a hypocritical joke when he had several contracts signed and didn’t compete.

We won't even go into how ****ed up it is that a fighter gets to match make rather then fight.

I will say one thing though that is always impressive, in a brainwashing cult kind of way, McGregor has made people who have absolutely zero financial stake in the man or the company care about money and how much he makes, and the company make more then they care about the legitimacy of the fights or whether the belts in the sport even matter anymore. Heading nicely down that sports entertainment route, or possibly just the boxing route

How much money can get made by a fight is not supposed to be the most important reason a fight gets made, the number 1 contender should get title shots, the interim belt should be done away with at the earliest possible opportunity with a unification fight.

‘The legitimacy of fights’ is in the eye of the beholder.

It’s not about who makes more money it’s about who people want to see. It is Aldo’s fault that he never made any attempt to make himself marketable, actually admitting that did the opposite.

If you go by your logic there should have been several different interim titles during Aldo’s reign and he should have lost it at least once. This is another example of Aldo’s hypocrisy. He had no problem holding up a division but god help someone does.

The other great bit of bait and switch that goes on is this idea that its fine that Conor doesn't feel very motivated to fight Aldo considering how the last fight went, well big whoop like! Who gives a **** if you want to do it or not, you are the division champion, he is the interim champion, it is your job to motivate yourself for a fight, it is not a reason to not fight someone.

Everyone does, everyone cares what he wants to do. That’s what happens when you gain leverage. If Jose spent less time as champion complaining about the money he was on and more time making some, he’d have leverage too.

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As has been said, this is Jose posturing really and letting everybody know exactly how pissed off he is with the situation but nothing is going to happen I would bet. He is not going to be released early from his contract just cause he throws a strop, he is putting pressure on, it would work better with more leverage.

He will get his shot at redemption early next year most likely, he should certainly not bother defending an interim title while the regular champ holds up a division. If Conor drops the belt put him in against Holloway for the FW title, if not he fights Conor next year with Holloway facing Pettis to get a shot at the winner.

Why should the interim champion not defend the title, why was he made interim champion then and not just number one contender?

No one cares how annoyed he is, his latest posturing will get him nowhere because he is not a main event level draw. Rather than having another moaning session he would have been better served taking a fight with one of the two at 205 taking some risks to finish them and get the fans excited about seeing a rematch.

Foxtrol wrote: »

Show me where that contract was signed, if not then he’s incredibly naive to expect that anything is guaranteed. In fact his stance is actually even more of a hypocritical joke when he had several contracts signed and didn’t compete.

What contract? Yes he is silly to take Dana at his word. Jumping through hoops means nothing to him.

‘The legitimacy of fights’ is in the eye of the beholder.

No it isn't.

It’s not about who makes more money it’s about who people want to see. It is Aldo’s fault that he never made any attempt to make himself marketable, actually admitting that did the opposite.

You are mixing two points here, but who people want to see and who make the most money tend to go hand in hand, people want to see McGregor fight, that means money. Also, if it isn't about money why do you always hear so much about it?

Its Aldo's fault he didn't make himself attractive enough enough to you? He is only the interim champ after all, achievement and ability may count for little to you, but for me they do. This is why I say the number 1 contender should get a shot, the interim belt should be done away with at the earliest opportunity.

If you go by your logic there should have been several different interim titles during Aldo’s reign and he should have lost it at least once. This is another example of Aldo’s hypocrisy. He had no problem holding up a division but god help someone does.

No that's bollix I'm afraid, you either don't grasp the logic or are lying, up to you which you want that to be. Oh and not fighting due to injury is ever so slightly different to not defending your belt 3 times in a row, while being very active pursuing other divisions - failing to at least acknowledge that shows you up for what you are tbh.

Why should the interim champion not defend the title, why was he made interim champion then and not just number one contender?

Because its an interim title, do you need that explained to you, honestly?

No one cares how annoyed he is, his latest posturing will get him nowhere because he is not a main event level draw. Rather than having another moaning session he would have been better served taking a fight with one of the two at 205 taking some risks to finish them and get the fans excited about seeing a rematch.

I am sure someone cares how annoyed he is, the fall back for you again is who is how big of a "draw" he is, not his talent, or the fact that he is the interim title holder. I think further discussion on it between us will prove rather pointless.

Like I said, some people now place way too much emphasis on draws, money, ppv buys etc instead of the actual competition and what the sport means. Of course if everyone was the same it would be a boring place eh.

StringerBell wrote: »

What contract? Yes he is silly to take Dana at his word. Jumping through hoops means nothing to him.

Exactly my point, there was no contract. At this point why would his feelings get hurt if he wasn’t naïve?

No it isn't.

I’m sorry if this hurts your feeings of self importance but I think it’s a perfectly valid opinion that a super fight between the current 155 and 145 champs is as legitimate as the 145 champ vs interim champ.

You are mixing two points here, but who people want to see and who make the most money tend to go hand in hand, people want to see McGregor fight, that means money. Also, if it isn't about money why do you always hear so much about it?

That’s exactly what I’m saying. You’re saying that people have been brainwashed into caring the UFC makes more money but that’s just a byproduct of the public getting the fights they want to see. The UFC are giving them what they want.

Its Aldo's fault he didn't make himself attractive enough enough to you? He is only the interim champ after all, achievement and ability may count for little to you, but for me they do. This is why I say the number 1 contender should get a shot, the interim belt should be done away with at the earliest opportunity.

Yes, it is totally his fault. I would not have paid $600 for a ticket to see him fight today because odds are very high he would pull out and if he did compete odds are that he would coast if he believed he was in front.

No that's bollix I'm afraid, you either don't grasp the logic or are lying, up to you which you want that to be. Oh and not fighting due to injury is ever so slightly different to not defending your belt 3 times in a row, while being very active pursuing other divisions - failing to at least acknowledge that shows you up for what you are tbh.

Aldo cried that he’d fight McGregor anytime, anywhere and when he was offered to step in when RDA pulled out he suddenly couldn’t. I’m sorry you don’t have Aldo’s fight pull out rate unless you a) pull out anytime you’re not 100%, b) pull out tactically, c) stupid enough not to change your training to match what your body could take.

I have less of an issue with someone being active outside a division than someone coasting their way through so they can clock up years served as champion. Even now McGregor will have fought 3 times to Aldo’s 1, if Aldo was champ we would have seen him fight once in the period where he now wants out of his contract.

Because its an interim title, do you need that explained to you, honestly?

It’s an interim title so it can potentially be defended if needs be, unlike a number 1 contendership which cannot.

I am sure someone cares how annoyed he is, the fall back for you again is who is how big of a "draw" he is, not his talent, or the fact that he is the interim title holder. I think further discussion on it between us will prove rather pointless.

Like I said, some people now place way too much emphasis on draws, money, ppv buys etc instead of the actual competition and what the sport means. Of course if everyone was the same it would be a boring place eh.

Fine, go watch Jake Shields hump someone to victory or when ‘UFC Jose’ actually turns up taking his foot off the gas when he believes he’s up on the scorecards and generally taking no risks to try to finish his fights.

I much more see ‘actual competition’ or the sport itself meaning a guy pushing himself to try to become a concurrent 2 division champion for the first time in history, not a guy who had many opportunities to challenge himself and push for the same when he had the division practically cleared but instead feared what a loss would do to his legacy so stayed perfectly happy being safe as a big fish in a small pond (until a bigger fish came up and put him to sleep).

100% each to their own but as I said already you do not have ownership the legitimacy of fights.

.ak wrote: »

Why doesn't Aldo just move to 155?

Khabib and Johnson to be for the interim lightweight title at UFC 205.

Aldo, the interim FW champ, moves up to fight the winner for the interim lightweight belt to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold both the interim featherweight title and the interim lightweight title. The rematch with McGregor writes itself then...

nomadchocolate wrote: »

Of course Aldo should have campaigned for the rematch. Campaigning drums up public interest which in turn stimulates PPV buys. Aldo should have come straight out and say that Conor was a fluke etc.

The UFC ranking and divisions is all a fugazi, a mirage. It doesn't mean anything. All they care about is selling PPV's, they are a private company after all, and Aldo has done nothing. He hasn't marketed himself. He hasn't done a tap.

Aldo did campaign for 25 minutes at ufc 200. He was to receive his title shot after he beat Edgar impressively & Conor rematched Nate. UFC caved they did what Conor wanted so did the Alvarez fight. Conor has had 3 fights since the title win so it makes the division look bad if they are pissing in the wind waiting for the champion to defend it (maybe). Only Aldo is there as a contender, Pettis beat Olivera after a losing skid.
They are holding up the women's division now for Ronda too with the hope she is bothered to come back. Doing that makes the belts look bad. Long term that won't help if all they seek is money fights as titles last longer than the people holding them.

The problem I see with the current situation is that these super fights, while hugely entertaining, are an extremely finite resource.

A fighters journey to the top of a division and finally winning the belt is something every real fight fan can get invested in. Wonderboy v Woodley has me seriously invested for this reason. The reason Conor's rise was so captivating was because Jose Aldo was always this dominating champion, looming over everything.

There has to be an underlying narrative to all this, a "bigger picture" reason these guys fight. For so long it has been to be the best, to be the champion. For this to matter, the belts need to be coveted, and they need to be important. If the FW champion can't be arsed with the belt, what dos it say about the guys in that division striving for the belt.

Before all the armchair business executives start trying to imply I'm unaware of the existence of money etc etc I totally understand that Conor will get to call the shots and I understand why.

Deleted User wrote: »

Anyway who's actually getting these big money fights? Nobody but McGregor and who ever he faces. Everyone else (bar Hendo vs Bisping) are fighting the top contenders.

This is the thing.

Literally no other division or belt is being "devalued".

It's just Conor who gets preferential treatment and it's fully deserved at this stage. Not only is he the biggest draw the company has ever seen but he puts on exciting fights and will literally fight anyone, even on short notice.

I do think if he beats Alvarez he will stick with the 155 division and Aldo will get the real 145 belt.

Personally it annoys me more the UFC didn't bend over backwards to keep a guy like Rory McDonald on the roster.