It took some time, but a featherweight title unification bout between Jose Aldo and Max Holloway has been slated for UFC 212 in Aldo’s backyard of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
‘Scarface’ was officially promoted to official 145-pound champion after the UFC decided to strip Conor McGregor of the belt last year, but there was a lot of uncertainty about his future in the sport. At one point Aldo even threatened to take a dive to terminate his UFC contract, but it appears as though both parties have settled their differences and come to an understanding.
Holloway, who won the interim featherweight title after finishing former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis with strikes at UFC 206, says the reason for Aldo’s frustration was because he was ‘chasing’ after a rematch with McGregor.
‘Blessed’ says this is why it took so long for their title unification bout to come to fruition and asserts that he would never beg for a fight with ‘The Notorious’ like half the UFC roster.
“It’s crazy. I thought we were all men here, but they’re trying to chase [Conor McGregor] around, trying to get this and that. It is what it is. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” Holloway told Submission Radio on Wednesday (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “I ain’t chasing nobody. I’m gonna make my damn self my own money fight. I was kind of irritated that I might have to be out a little longer, that’s why I got the movie so I’m fine with it, but at the end of the day, it’s just kind of mind boggling. I was just mind blown. If that’s what [Aldo] wanted to do, that’s what he wanted to do, but I’m gonna get ready and focus on 145 [pounds] at the moment. If opportunities present itself, I’m gonna take it, but I’m not gonna go out there and start begging like half these guys out there.”
McGregor captured the 155-pound title at UFC 205 and is currently angling for a superfight with boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Holloway, who will fight Aldo on foreign soil, says he will storm into his Brazilian village and ‘take over’ - that is what kings do.
“This is what kings do. Kings go to other kings’ villages and they take over. That’s what they do and that’s what I have planned come June 3rd. I’m gonna go there and show everybody why I’m a king and what better place to do it than in his backyard, in his own village.”
Aldo vs. Holloway will feature as the headlining bout for UFC 212. The pay-per-view takes place on June 3 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.