Jose Aldo: I Don’t Care What They Do In America

Undefeated during his UFC and formerly WEC stint as featherweight champion, pound-for-pound topper Jose Aldo has been the subject of much controversy over the past month. A mishap with random drug testers just weeks out from his scheduled UFC 189 title defense against Conor McGregor did not make for positive press, and neither did a rib injury that forced Junior from the fight all together. Chad Mendes eventually stepped in on late notice to fight ‘The Notorious, after the UFC put the interim title in place for the winner.

The landmark event was one of the most exciting in recent times, and saw the Irish sensation continue his meteoric rise to prominence. For Aldo it was a case of sitting back and letting the event go with the water, but it wasn’t without further negative press, as UFC president Dana White refuted reports that ‘Scarface’ had a broken rib and claimed he was actually cleared to fight in Las Vegas. With a potential date in Texas looming, Aldo spoke to MMAFighting during a recent press conference, as transcribed by yours truly:

‘(The interim belt) means nothing to me, of course, fans and media know that they shouldn’t have created this interim belt because I just defended it. The business side effected it, they needed to have him fighting for the title so that’s what happened. I don’t even care about it, everyone knows who the real champion is.’

Aldo’s rematch with Chad Mendes was back in October of 2014, making the interim title belt a little unnecessary, although the promotion’s profit margins would likely argue that it was much needed. Aldo continued

‘I think that when an athlete doesn’t give them much money it changes things completely. Ronda is a star, she does movies and stuff, so her treatment is different (from mine). Same thing with Conor, he’s doing all this stuff, if I had an employee bring me that much money I would put him on my lap. I just focus on my career. I’m the only champion and I want to keep it that way until I retire.’

It’s known that Aldo doesn’t really attract much attention from the US market, partly because he doesn’t talk English, but also because he usually lacks in pre-fight beef during the lead up to his title defenses. The fact he is one of the best fighters of all-time doesn’t hold as much weight as before. With the mainstream explosion of the UFC and MMA, there comes an expectation of a theatrical kind. McGregor plays the role perfectly, but the champion is more reserved. He vows to be ‘More aggressive’ towards ‘The Notorious’ during the next media events, but also that he doesn’t really care for the American market:

‘I don’t care about it, I care about my people. What they do in America, I couldn’t care less. Every time I fight, I represent myself, my country and the fans of Brazil. That’s why I don’t train (in America), I’m Brazilian and I don’t leave Brazil for anything. They can say whatever they want, if they don’t say it in Portugese I won’t understand so I don’t care. I don’t leave my neighbourhood for any place in the world. I’m a man of the people, I won’t put on a costume and trash talk, this and that.’

You have to respect Aldo for his ability to remain humble, but he truly doesn’t do himself any favors by taking sides against the UFC. It’s true, they maybe be crooked shifters with bad intentions and money on the mind, but he is the champion there. That being said, if money isn’t his motive and the promotion is happy to somewhat throw him under the bus, then it’s understandable that Aldo would be sour when talking about Dana White and co. ‘Scarface’ agrees that the fact the UFC is the biggest promotion by far makes it easier for them to make unfair decisions (as posed by a Brazilian reporter):

‘(When a promotion gets big) the (UFC) buys them. I have to defend my promotion, but if there was a bigger promotion like Pride or if Bellator was as big as them, it wouldn’t be that way. They offer you candy, and you have to accept it. It’s tough, I would prefer that there was a bigger promotion so we could negotiate differently.’

If Aldo can beat McGregor, it would certainly throw the spanner in the proverbial works for the UFC. The organization has a tough time promoting the champion, and he sounds like he relishes that. Is his distance from the American market and his obvious distrust for the UFC part of the reason that the promotion looks over him in favor of McGregor, or is it purely money motivated?

Perhaps it’s comments like these?