Jose Aldo will fight Anthony Pettis but not for the belt

UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo has decided to take a stand against the UFC’s recent practice of taking fighters with questionable resumes and awarding them title-shots based on name value rather than performance in a given division. In Aldo’s case, he is coming off a bout against Frankie Edgar (making his debut at 145 pounds after losing back-to-back bouts as a lightweight) and lined up to face Anthony Pettis (also a former lightweight who has yet to notch a win at featherweight).

Though Aldo was initially open to action against Pettis, some recent reflection produced the conclusion that “Showtime” should not leapfrog contenders who have been putting in work at 145 for years.

“Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

“They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

UFC President Dana White has said Aldo will suffer some sort of consequences if he refuses to face Pettis. However, with it being a matter of principal, chances are the 22-1 Brazilian may not waver on his stance, setting up what could be a nasty feud between the sides over the next few months.

Aldo-Pettis are tentatively scheduled to scrap in early August.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The post Jose Aldo will fight Anthony Pettis but not for the belt appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2013/02/25/jose-aldo-will-fight-anthony-pettis-but-not-for-the-belt/

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