Aldo vs. Pettis No So Much a Super Fight
Jose Aldo the UFC Featherweight champion, a Nova Uniao, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, has won 17 fights in a row in cluding 8 title defenses. Accomplishing such a feet combined with knock out victories over the two top contenders Cub Swanson and Chad Mendes signifies as close to cleaning out a division I believe we can see. Cleaning out a division and like a GSP and Anderson Silva has done for some time is how talk of a Super Fight begins.
Possibly the new pound for pound top fighter in the world Jose Aldo wants to be a 2 division UFC title holder something only 2 other men have accomplished. Coming off a UFC 169 unanimous decision win over Ricardo Lams, reigning Featherweight king Jose Aldo (24-1) has set his sights on the UFC Lightweight title and therefor on champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (17-2).
Over the last 4 year Aldo has won and defended the once WEC now UFC Featherweight title 8 times defeating Mike Brown (TKO) Urijah Faber (UD), Manny Gamburyan (KO), Mark Hominick (UD), Kenny Florian (UD), Chad Mendes (KO), Frankie Edgar (UD), Chan Sung Jung (TKO), and Ricardo Lamas (UD).
For how dominate Aldo has been and at point he is at in his career this is the right time to make this move and attempt history. The thing that makes this not such a super fight is that for all the above listed accomplishments of Aldo his counterpart in this “Super Fight” Anthony Pettis is only on a 4 fight winning streak over the last 3 years and is yet to defend his UFC title. There is no current real number 1 contender at this time making this a good time for Aldo to get his title shot without pushing aside a fighter who has worked his was through the division. This is because Benson Henderon who Pettis defeated for the title, in the last 4 years has defeated 9 of the top lightweights in the world almost cleaning out the division.
Pettis did take the Lightweight title form Henderson with a huge exclamation point of an armbar at UFC 164. But it’s one thing to take his title, but it’s another to take his “Super Fight” as it is Henderson who has defeated the Lightweight division causing a lack of contenders.
As we sit here with the next logical move for Aldo being scheduling this move up to Lightweight, the actual finalization of this fight is still on hold because once again Anthony Pettis is sidelined by a knee injury. How can an injured title holder who has not defended hid title be positioned for a “Super Fight”. Pettis is ready for a “Super Fight” because of his marketability with Demterious Johnson, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, and Cain Velasquez; the other American UFC champions not being the most beloved fighters. The UFC sees a chance to have a American face of the promotion. Like how Brazil has Belfort and Silva, Canada had GSP, Sweden has Gustafsson, the UFC has not had an American facesince Lidell, and Couture.
For Aldo to take this Lightweight title opportunity the UFC wants Aldo to vacate the Featherweight tile which if you ask me makes no sense. Aldo is the undisputed Featherweight champion who again has knock out wins over both top contenders Cub Swanson and Chad Mendes. The title should be his to set up a champion vs champion match where if Aldo won he would have to vacate one of the titles. A president that was set up by the UFC for that to take place as it was a possibility when BJ Peen the then Lightweight champion fought the Welterweight champion George St. Pierre at UFC 94.
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