Jose Aldo: I Hope Conor McGregor’s Next, Because It Would Be A Huge Fight

The proud owner of seven consecutive title defenses as the only featherweight champion the UFC has ever seen, Jose Aldo nearly cleaned out the super-talented division by beating each of its top four contenders at least once.

However, you wouldn’t know it, as the division is only now reaching its full potential thanks to the massive hype generated by No. 5-ranked Conor McGregor. “Notorious” has become one of the UFC’s biggest stars in under a year-and-a-half, winning four straight bouts and skyrocketing to the top with a mix of self-promotion and skills that has never been seen in the Octagon.

It’s that hype and attention that has Aldo anticipating the foregone conclusion of a bout with McGregor. Speaking at a Q&A session from this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 58 in Barueri, Brazil, “Junior” said that he wants to fight the Irish trash talker next due to the huge numbers it would put up (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I hope he’s next because it would be a huge fight. We have to look at both sides of the situation. He talks a lot, so it makes you more excited to fight. It makes it more intense. I hope he’s next and that we can do a great fight.”

The champ continued on about McGregor, giving him respect for his impressive victories but noting that he hasn’t faced the best of the best quite yet. Aldo thinks that his mouth has gotten him further than his actual fighting skills:

“He’s a tough fighter, but we haven’t seen him against a top 5. He’s not ready, but the promotion he does is good. He’s a good athlete. He talks a lot. If he doesn’t talk that much, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”

According to Aldo, top-ranked contender Chad Mendes, who he beat for the second time with a hard-fought unanimous decision at October 25’s UFC 179, is still the best featherweight in the world aside from him:

“I see Chad (Mendes) as the best of them. If you put (Frankie) Edgar, Conor or (Ricardo) Lamas, he beats all of them on the same night.”

It sounds like high praise for “Money,” but it’d be a tall task to take on all three fighters he named in one evening. In any case, Aldo is only concerned about getting booked in the biggest fight, and him vs. McGregor would certainly make a case for potentially the biggest fight of 2015.

Because of that, Aldo definitely wants McGregor to win against Dennis Siver in the main event of January 18’s UFC Fight Night 59 from Boston, Massachusetts. If McGregor wins, Aldo said he’d even go to Ireland to fight him in a soccer stadium, but he also wants to battle “Notorious” in a Brazilian stadium:

“I’m rooting for Conor. Like it or not, I hope he wins because I will win a lot by fighting him. It all depends on the negotiation. If they pay me well… We have soccer stadiums here too, so if I could bring this fight to Brazil, I don’t care about him.”

Aldo may say he doesn’t care about McGregor, but as a small draw in North America, the dominant champ probably should care about fighter who could bring him his biggest-ever fight. Like him or not, even after all he’s accomplished, McGregor has ironically became Aldo’s ticket to riches.

Will “Junior” be able to shut up the mouth that never stops running?

Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports