It’s been a turbulent week for Jose Aldo. The 12-year MMA veteran recently requested to leave the UFC following a fallout with the company over conflicting issues.
Aldo’s request came after it was announced that Conor McGregor would challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title instead of rematching ‘Scarface’ in a featherweight title unification bout. Aldo, though, says this wasn’t the reason for his sudden demands and claims he’s been on shaky ground with the UFC for a long time.
The interim featherweight champion elaborated to ‘Tap Nap Snap’, claiming that the top athletes are drawing negativity to the sport by ‘snorting cocaine’ and ‘throwing objects at press conferences’.
It’s understood that Aldo is referring to McGregor’s bottle-throwing war with team Diaz at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference, and is likely referring to Jon Jones’ failed UFC 182 drug test for cocaine.
McGregor, Diaz and Jones will stand before the Nevada State Athletic Commission on October 10 -- two days after the middleweight championship bout between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson at UFC 204 -- where all three athletes could face suspension. Jones, though, will be disciplined for a separate issue. The former light heavyweight champion recently tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was subsequently pulled from UFC 200’s main event with Daniel Cormier.
Aldo, who also criticized the UFC’s sponsorship deal with Reebok, captured the interim 145-pound title when he cruised to a unanimous decision win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. The Brazilian was promised a rematch with McGregor, but the Irishman’s superfight with Alvarez proved too enticing for the head brass.
If Aldo can come to terms with the UFC, the Nova Uniao product is likely to face top-ranked Max Holloway in his next bout.