Jose Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz Targeted for UFC 265 on August 7th
A massive UFC bantamweight scrap between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz is looking to be added to the UFC 265 card on August 7th, as first reported by Combate’s Ana Hissa and Raphael Marinho.
The UFC hasn’t formally announced the matchup just yet, but the initial discussions of the bout are sure to excite fans of the stacked bantamweight division.
Right now, the only fight confirmed for UFC 265 is the highly-anticipated women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena. The promotion is also looking at booking the heavyweight title fight between champion Francis Ngannou and top contender Derrick Lewis for later this summer and could potentially add their rematch to the August pay-per-view.
Aldo has had an up-and-down run in the UFC’s bantamweight division since making the cut in weight following a long tenure at featherweight, which included seven title defenses as the champion. He has lost three of his four bouts at bantamweight including a controversial split-decision loss to Marlon Moraes, a fight in which many around the MMA community felt that Aldo won. Since then, he has got back in the win column with a dominant victory over Marlon Vera at UFC Vegas 17, calling out Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw following the fight.
For Munhoz, he’s looking to get back into title contention. After his Fight of the Night performance against former champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235, Munhoz went on to lose back-to-back fights before getting back on track with a win against Jimmie Rivera at UFC Vegas 20.
The matchup between Aldo and Munhoz would add to a series of big fights in the bantamweight division slated for this summer. Garbrandt and Rob Font are slated to compete in the main event at UFC Vegas 27 this Saturday, while Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen will reportedly compete in a UFC Fight Night on July 24th.
This also doesn’t count out the impending rematch between current titleholder Aljamain Sterling and former champion Petr Yan. While the fight hasn’t been booked just yet, Sterling and Yan are expected to be the next bantamweight title fight after their controversial finish at UFC 259.
Aldo and Munhoz each have a chance to get back in the title picture with a win. Aldo has looked pretty impressive despite making a tough weight cut late in his career, while Munhoz is looking to get back to his winning ways.
What are your thoughts on the targeted bout between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz for UFC 265?
