UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has grand plans for 2016. The Irishman intends to put pen to paper on a $100-million contract and conquer another weight class, with no immediate thought of rematching Jose Aldo.
In the time it takes most to update their Facebook status, McGregor dethroned the only featherweight champion the UFC had ever known at UFC 194.
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The 27-year-old prizefighter hoisted an orange, white and green flag into the air, celebrating his landmark championship victory in front of a passionate audience, who pelted beer toward the cage in celebration.
In the backdrop to McGregor’s victory ceremony, a disappointed Aldo slumped against the cage fence.
The dejected former champion had a cut over the bridge of his nose and stared into the distance, attempting to process his first defeat in over a decade.
Minutes later, the Brazilian fighter returned to his dressing room with a towel draped over his face. He sat on the ground, with his head in his hands for more than 10 minutes.
The 29-year-old’s teammates gathered around their fallen friend, one by one offering words of comfort and a hearty hug.
The following day, Aldo was still reeling from the heartbreaking loss but had already begun talks of re-capturing the featherweight championship.
“I want a rematch. I think I have that right. Not because I say so, but my career speaks for itself,” he told Brazilian news outlet Combate.
It’s an unwritten rule in combat sports that when a dominant champion loses, they are granted an immediate rematch.
Last month, former UFC women’s bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey lost her championship to ex-boxing titlist and unbeaten MMA fighter Holly Holm.
It took UFC president Dana White just a few weeks to confirm that Rousey will get an automatic rematch, with the bout heavily rumoured to take place next July on the UFC 200 pay-per-view.
It seems Aldo won’t be offered the same luxury.
Following the event on Sunday, the seasoned combat sports promoter revealed the UFC’s future plans with McGregor. Spoiler: McGregor versus Aldo II wasn’t even mentioned.
“If [McGregor] vacated and went to 155 [pounds], it’d probably be Frankie Edgar versus Jose (Aldo) for the title. If not, then we do Frankie Edgar, and José Aldo would fight somebody else,” White told UFC’s video team backstage.
The UFC’s inconsistent treatment of dethroned king and queen has been frustrating for fans and fighters alike. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the latest to chime in on the issue, supporting Aldo’s bid to get a return match.
He isn’t wrong. Aside from pure marketability, there isn’t one good reason why Rousey deserves an immediate rematch more than Aldo.
Rousey was incredibly dominant during her tenure as UFC champion, holding the crown for 1074 days and lodging six successful title defences.
That’s impressive, no doubt. But Aldo was the 145-pound king for 1848 days, racking up seven defences against a significantly tougher crop of talent.
Not to mention, Aldo lost his title after a flash knockout in a matter of seconds. That naturally gets chalked up as an easy victory for the SBG Ireland prodigy McGregor, but also leaves a bunch of unanswered questions.
None of these are determining factors in booking title rematches, though. Like with anything in combat sports it all comes down to dollars and cents.
The announcement of Rousey versus Holm II for 2016 got a mostly negative reception from hardcore fans.
I understand the feeling. Just last month, the two-time Olympian received a bloody nose, a split lip, a badly bruised face and a likely concussion after her meeting with Holm in Melbourne.
Despite the decisive victory, UFC decision makers recognise that the rematch is a multi-multi-million dollar fight and the opinions of the vocal minority won’t make it any less of a box office success.
The UFC matchmaking process is often based on hunches and gut feelings to determine which matches the public is willing to pay top dollar to see.
There isn’t an exact science to it, but more often than not matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby make the right call.
If the UFC’s decision makers believed that McGregor needed Aldo to remain an international pay-per-view juggernaut, they would probably be at the negotiation table within the next few weeks.
But McGregor doesn’t, so they won’t.
Brad
Guest
And Tate, Rousy has already demolished Tate twice do we really need to see it again? I want Rousy Vs Holm II because it is the most exciting fight that I can think of for that division, unlike Aldo Vs McGregor.
DJW
Guest
McGregor will do his best to avoid Aldo now. Aldo defended his title 7 times before that fight so definitely deserves a rematch. I think McGregor knows he got a bit lucky with that quick knock down and won't want to meet Aldo again. Saying that McGregor has been in the wrong weight division all along, he cuts ridiculous weight, looks like a gaunt skeleton at weigh in to make 145,
Damien
Roar Guru
McGregor has said many times that he wants to be as active as possible, make as much money as he can then 'bounce'. Word is he and Dana don't see eye to eye on how Conor wants to pick his fights. With Conor being the most powerful man in MMA right now I think Conor will get his way and be able to pick his fights. He's worth too much money to the UFC to not be active and everyone at the table knows it. So with that in mind fighting Aldo again doesn't quite fit that bill right now. All things going well (Cowboy beats RDA) I think McGregor is thinking more in terms of : 1. Cowboy 2. Edgar 3. Pettis 4. Aldo 5. Fergusson 6. Mendes/Faber 7. RDA Thats about 2 years worth of fights if Conor can stay healthy and the chips fall in place. If he gets through that then maybe Conor will make good on his statement and bounce.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wvIHk_shAg
Damien
Roar Guru
Cyborg ? She's got to be able to make 135 first. And that ain't happening any time soon..
SM
Guest
The manner in which the UFC goes about deciding their next contenders is a joke. They should have a tournament of sorts to find the next contender, rather than just giving it to the fighter who lobbies Dana White the most behind the scenes. Rousey should get in the queue behind Tate and Cyborg.
damo
Guest
With the overworked beauty of hindsight in action, I think that the manner of defeat, the humdinger, WTF ?! just happened moment has closed the door on Aldo's kudos to demand the immediate re-match. I don't agree with what seems to be going to happen, i.e, Aldo is slid sideways to allow Edgar v McGregor or McGregor v ?anyonebut Aldo? as seems to be an expected outcome. Aldo seems to deserve his re-match much in the same way as anyone you might think of has done, & that he seems destined to be denied that is uncomfortable ground for fans & pro alike. The contrast with the recent Rousey situation, which has obvious parallels given the rather brutal, efficient & absolute nature of what took place in both bouts. One gets another go, one does not. There has been interminable talk already about what should happen, but I think Rousey has Aldo by virtue (?) of copping a more visual hiding, & thus giving the crowd at least a taste of more. Poor old Aldo possibly does not even remember. I think if Aldo v McGregor went for longer, or even better all five rounds with a late decision TKO or to the judges, then the re-match would have much more appeal. As it is, Aldo has somehow come & gone a bit lightly, suffering being caught up in the McGregor show for both the loss & the ripples into future. It seems that "a re-match" not "the rematch" will be Aldo's best hope. He doesn't fight all that often anyway, so the chance to let/hope for McGregor to go up a weight class for one fight (beats Cerrone for example) & then come back down to prove he is 'the Man!' wherever he may roam, could give Aldo the chance to be rested, ready & waiting for Round 2! with virtual supremacy of the world thrown in for good measure. McGregor would be doing the honourable thing, UFC get a mega match & Aldo gets the re-match. Who knows what happens, but Aldo may be best placed by looking to the Rousey situation again, a long, recuperative lay-off & camp, then give it another glorious go at the very top level.
Justin Faux
Expert
To hear McGregor tell it, he plans to hold the UFC featherweight title and still challenge for the lightweight crown. Coach John Kavanagh said that his days at 145lbs are numbered, but that hasn't come from McGregor yet. I actually think McGregor's future at 155lbs depends on the outcome of this weekends lightweight title fight - if Donald Cerrone wins the title, it's a no-brainer. They're both super charismatic, can hype the fight, and stylistically - with McGregor's power and Cowboy's tendency to be a really slow starter - the Irishman has a pretty good chance of winning that one. If dos Anjos wins, though, I think there's a good chance McGregor stick around at 145lbs. Not only is that a harder fight to market, but it's also a nightmare style match-up.
Justin Faux
Expert
Personally, I think it's an easier sell to do McGregor-Aldo II than Holm-Rousey II. In a few months (many of which will be spent on a couch) how many alterations to Rousey's game can be made? Aldo, on the other hand, can plead his case that he 'got caught', and it will play out differently in the rematch. A lightning-quick knockout always leaves unanswered questions. It's only fair to give McGregor all the props for an easy win, but it's not a certainty that it would play out like that ten times out of ten. Take Cain Velasquez versus Junior dos Santos, for instance. Dos Santos torched Velasquez in the first fight but wound up getting brutally beaten down in the next two. I think it's only fair that Aldo gets his title rematch, but for the reasons I outlined above I don't think it's going to happen - at least not right away.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Think what Jerry was saying was that Velasquez is getting an immediate rematch against Werdum. Renan Barao was also granted an immediate rematch against TJ Dillashaw, but pulled out just before the fight and Joe Soto replaced him, so he lost his immediate shot after that incident, and had to fight Mitch Gagnon. To be honest, I'd rather see McGregor vs Edgar, and a number-one contenders fight between Aldo and Holloway. We have no idea where Aldo's head is it at at the moment, but if he beat Holloway in typical Aldo fashion, then people can start looking to at a rematch. I agree McGregor vs Aldo 2 is a hard sell, but I am fascinated to see how an immediate rematch would play out. I would probably still pick McGregor to win, but I don't think it would be as easy as the first time.
Rob9
Roar Guru
The key difference between the Rousey v Aldo situation is that McGregor’s days as a featherweight are numbered. If McGregor were sticking around at 145, I’m sure a rematch with Aldo would be on. After Holm/Rousey 2, Holm isn’t going anywhere and will go on for her first fight with Tate. Rousey’s beaten Tate twice in her career whereas McGregor/Edgar is the unknown and if he has 1 fight left in the division to solidify his position as the undisputed champ, it’s that fight. It sounds like McGregor’s on the way up to 155 immediately for a fight against dos Anjos/Cowboy before coming back to 145 against Frankie mid 2016.
Rugby stu
Guest
No, actually Velasquez had to fight Antonio Silva before his rematch with JDS, and that fight between Cain vs JDS one was very similar to Aldo vs MacGregor. Renan Baro fought Mitch Gagnon before his rematch with T.J. I don't think Rousey should get an immediate rematch and it is unfortunate in my opinion, the parallels being that a rematch is harder to sell when a champion is embarrassed in a one sided contest as opposed to a close contest. UFC as both the matchmaker and promoter will do rematches based on the likelihood to draw, Aldo vs McGregor two is a hard sell considering that Jose pulled out of the first fight, this fight had monumental build-up and concluded in embarrassing fashion, there is genuine fan fatigue with this rematch and hard to build up again after such an anti-climax.
Jerry
Guest
I agree it probably won't happen and it's a total joke. Penn, Edgar, Silva, Barao, Rousey, Velasquez. All got immediate rematches when losing the title despite the last 4 all being comprehensive losses. Edgar's loss wasn't comprehensive but it wasn't particularly controversial either (in fact, his rematch decision was more controversial) - he basically got a rematch cause the UFC had given Penn and Maynard rematches. I know it's a business and all but the UFC's match making is a joke at times.